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A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick; and based on the novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess. The film stars Malcolm McDowell as charismatic delinquent Alex DeLarge, and features a soundtrack by Wendy Carlos.
Synopsis Set in a futuristic England (circa 1995, as imagined in 1965), the film follows the life of a young man named Alex, whose main pleasures in life are classical music (especially Beethoven), rape, and random acts of "ultraviolence". Alex is 15 years old and the leader of a small gang of thugs, whom he refers to as "droogs". Alex provides a voiceover narration through most of the film, relating his story in a fractured teenage vernacular called "Nadsat", a combination of Slav, English, and British slang (in particular, Cockney rhyming slang). Alex is irreverent and abusive of others and lies to his parents to skip school. His room is adorned with a bedspread covered with rubber breasts, an expensive stereo and classical-record collection, a terrarium containing a boa named "Basil", and a bedside table containing a drawer filled with expensive watches and other swag. In one scene, he picks up two teenyboppers in a record store, discovering that he does not recognize the names of their favorite popstars; nonetheless, he takes them home and has sex with them both (in fast motion, to the William Tell Overture, in a bit of comic relief—there was a controversy over this scene as to whether or not the hugely speeded-up sexual activity did or did not constitute "obscenity"). Eventually, during an attempted robbery, Alex is caught, having been set up by his droogs (he is hit with a bottle and left unconscious at the scene); after his arrest, he learns that the robbery victim has died, making Alex a murderer: he is sentenced to 14 years in prison. After serving two years, he is offered a chance at parole if he undergoes an experimental aversion therapy (called the Ludovico technique), developed by the government in an effort to solve society's crime problem. The therapy renders him incapable of violence (even in self-defense) and incapable of even touching a bare-breasted woman (he crawls away retching), but in an unintended side effect, also makes him unable to enjoy Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The doctors tell Alex that "it can't be helped" and whisper to each other that this is "the punishment element, perhaps?" Stripped of the ability to fight back, and having been rejected by his parents at home (they have rented out his room to an older man, discarded his stereo and other treasures, and apparently killed his pet snake), Alex wanders through the city, revisiting scenes of his crimes. He soon encounters two of his former partners-in-crime (who, having both joined the police, beat him up and nearly drown him), and some of his former victims, who turn the tables and victimize him. He then goes to the home of the writer whose wife he had raped and beaten: the writer offers him hospitality, then learns who he is, and drugs him and tries to drive him insane by playing an electronically distorted Beethoven's Ninth (Second Movement) at a painful volume. Alex tries to commit suicide (or "snuff it") by jumping out a window, but survives. After a long recovery in hospital, Alex seems to be back to his former self. While in the hospital, the Minister of the Interior (who had personally selected Alex for the Ludovico treatment) visits Alex and apologizes for the treatment program, saying that he was only following the recommendations of his staff. He begins by rolling in a new, costlier stereo, playing the finalé of Beethoven's Ninth (Fourth Movement). Alex is then promised a position in the government if he agrees to campaign on behalf of the ruling (conservative) political party, whose public image has been severely damaged in the wake of Alex's suicide attempt. The closing shots of the film feature Alex's voiceover saying "I was cured, all right..." while anticipating his return to creating havoc. The film ends with Alex's surreal fantasy (that has been conditioned into him) of having sex with a woman in the snow, surrounded by applauding Victorian ladies and gentlemen, with the finalé of Beethoven´s Ninth continuing to play in the background. Themes One of the central moral questions of the film, as well as many of Burgess' other books, is the definition of "goodness." Once he has undergone the aversion therapy, Alex behaves like a good member of society, but not through choice; his goodness is as involuntary and mechanical as the clockwork orange of the title. In one scene, the prison chaplain criticizes the therapy, saying that true goodness has to come from within. Another theme is the abuse of liberties, both by Alex and by those who use him for various ends. Adaptation The film is relatively faithful to the novel, except for the omission of the final chapter. Burgess's novel ends with Alex maturing and growing out of his sociopathy, eventually becoming an upright citizen. Kubrick's film ends with Alex being offered an open-ended government job. Kubrick implies that Alex remains, at the end of the story, a sociopath at heart, while Burgess expresses Alex's positive change. This discrepancy is because Kubrick based his film on the American edition of the novel, which had its final chapter cut at the insistence of the American publisher. * Kubrick claimed that he had not read the original version until he had virtually finished the screenplay, but that he never gave any serious consideration to using it. Behind the scenes During the filming of the Ludovico scene, Malcolm McDowell scratched a cornea and was temporarily blinded. The doctor standing next to him in the scene dropping saline solution into Alex's forced-open eyes was not just there for filming purposes, but was a real doctor needed to prevent McDowell's eyes from drying. McDowell also suffered cracked ribs during filming of the humiliation stage show and nearly drowned when his breathing apparatus failed while being held underwater in the trough scene. When Alex jumps out the window to try to end his torment, the viewer sees the ground coming toward the camera until they collide. This effect was achieved by dropping a portable camera from two or three stories up, lens pointing downward, thus presenting a realistic sense of what such a fall could be like (although the way Alex either McDowell or a stuntman jumped, he actually would have landed on his back, presumably into a net). Direction Director Stanley Kubrick was a notorious perfectionist, and so he demanded many takes during the making of his films. In the words of actor Malcolm McDowell, however, he usually got it right, so Kubrick didn't have to do too many takes. Kubrick wanted to give the film a dream-like, fantasy quality, and filmed many scenes with fish-eye lenses and in fast and slow motion. Responses The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture (it lost to The French Connection) and reinvigorated sales for recordings of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. It also caused considerable controversy (see below) and was withdrawn from release in the UK. By the time of its re-release in the year 2000, it had already gained a reputation as a cult classic. Many critics and aficionados consider it to be one of the greatest films ever made. It was recently placed at number 21 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills and number 46 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies lists. Alex De Large was placed at number 12 in the villain section of the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes & Villains list. United States censorship
British withdrawal In the United Kingdom the sexual violence in the film was considered extreme. Furthermore, claims that the film had inspired copycat behaviour were made: the press blamed the influence of the film for an attack on a homeless person and a rape in which the attackers sang "Singin' in the Rain". The film was subsequently withdrawn from UK distribution by Kubrick himself. At the time, it was widely believed that the copycat attacks were what led Kubrick to withdraw the film from distribution in the United Kingdom. However, in a television documentary made after Kubrick's death, his widow Christiane confirmed rumours that Kubrick had withdrawn A Clockwork Orange on police advice after threats were made against Kubrick and his family. (The source of the threats was not discussed.) That Warner Bros. acceded to Kubrick's request to withdraw the film is an indication of the remarkable relationship Kubrick had with the studio, particularly the executive Terry Semel. Whatever the reason for the film's withdrawal, it could not easily be seen in the United Kingdom for some 27 years. The first video and DVD releases followed shortly after Kubrick's death. DVD Releases In 2000, the film was finally released on video and DVD, separately and as part of 'The Stanley Kubrick Collection.' Following negative comments from fans, Warner Bros released the DVD again, digitally restored and remastered. A limited edition collector's set with a soundtrack, poster, booklet and film strip followed, but was later discontinued. A UK re-release, packaged as an 'Iconic Film' with a limited edition slipcase made its way to stores in 2005. It was identical to the remastered DVD except in terms of cover art. In 2006, Warner Bros announced a two-disc special edition for September, along with several other Kubrick two-disc sets. Malcolm McDowell recorded a commentary. Several UK retailers have set the release date for November 6, 2006. Anthony Burgesss response Burgess had mixed feelings about the film adaptation of his novel. Publicly, he loved Malcolm McDowell, Michael Bates and the use of music, and praised the film as 'brilliant', and even as a film so brilliant that it could be dangerous. His initial reaction to the film was very enthusiastic, and he insisted that the only thing that bothered him was the removal of the last chapter, although he blamed his American publisher and not Kubrick (who had read the American version of the book, missing its last chapter). According to his autobiography, Burgess got along quite well with Kubrick. The two both had similar philosophical and political views, they both were very interested in literature, film, music, and Napoleon (Burgess even dedicated his book Napoleon Symphony to Kubrick, who gave him ideas for it). However, things started to go bad when Kubrick left it to Burgess to defend the film from the accusations that it glorified violence. A devoted Christian, Burgess tried numerous times to explain its Christian moral point to outraged Christian groups who felt it was a Satanic influence, and even defend it from accusations by the media that it supported 'fascist' dogma. He even collected awards for Kubrick. Burgess was deeply hurt and felt Kubrick had used him as a pawn for the film's publicity. Malcolm McDowell, who went on a publicity tour with Burgess, shared his feelings, and at times said some harsh things about Kubrick. Burgess and McDowell said that proof of Kubrick's out-of-control ego was the fact that only his name appears in the opening credits. Burgess went on to spoof Kubrick's image in several of his later works: his musical version of A Clockwork Orange (which includes a character who looks just like Kubrick, and who is beaten up early in the piece); The Clockwork Testament, in which the fictional poet FX Enderby is similarly attacked for supposedly glorifying violence in a film adaptation; and finally, thinly-disguised references to Kubrick also appear in Burgess's novel, Earthly Powers, which features a crafty director named Zabrick. Soundtrack The film's soundtrack combines classical music with electronic music created by Wendy Carlos (credited under the name Walter Carlos). The music in this film can be interpreted as extending the theme of conditioning to the audience: during any scene of violence in the movie, beautiful classical music is played, so that for a short while afterwards, whenever the viewer listens to that music, they may associate them with the violent images in the film. Track listing
Cast The character Alex (de Large) is played by Malcolm McDowell, who played in many science fiction movies, TV series and animated series later, including Star Trek, Superman and South Park. The character Dim is played by a young Warren Clarke, now most famous as Dalziel in the BBC detective drama series Dalziel and Pascoe. John Savident, who plays the Conspirator, is now known to ITV audiences as the character Fred Elliot in the soap Coronation Street. David Prowse, who plays Julian, Frank Alexander's bodyguard, is more well-known for playing Darth Vader in the original Star Wars Trilogy (1977-1983). James Marcus who played Georgie is also notable for his role as Sidney Tate in the TV show London's Burning. Virginia Wetherell played the platinum-blonde nearly-nude nymph in Alex's Ludovico-Treatment "graduation" scene. Previous film versions The first dramatization of A Clockwork Orange (excerpts from the first three chapters only) was by the BBC, for part of the programme Tonight, broadcast shortly after the novel's original publication. No recording of this dramatization has survived. Seven years prior to the Kubrick film, Andy Warhol had produced a low-budget version, titled Clockwork (also known as Vinyl). Reportedly, the only two recognizable scenes are those where Victor (Alex) wreaks general havoc and undergoes the Ludovico treatment. Members of The Rolling Stones proposed to film their own adaptation, with themselves playing the violent gang, before Kubrick acquired the project. Other unrealized versions were supposedly to contain girls in miniskirts or senior citizens as the gang. Differences between the film and the book Trivia about the film Influence on popular culture Both the story and individual elements have had a strong influence on popular culture in general and popular music in particular. They have also been targeted by parodies, affectionate and otherwise. The related article contains an extensive, though not exhaustive, list of these. Plays After Kubrick's film was released, Burgess wrote a Clockwork Orange stage play. In the stage version, Dr. Branom "defects" from the psychiatric clinic when she realizes that the treatment has destroyed Alex's ability to enjoy music. The play restores the novel's ending, ending with Alex deciding to start a family. One of Alex's early victims is modelled on Kubrick: a bearded trumpeter who plays "Singin' in the Rain" at the Korova milkbar. A second play, entitled A Clockwork Orange 2004, was written for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1990. This is entirely free of references to the film, but does away with the novel's ending. See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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