Clockwork Orange
Without a doubt the greatest of all of Stanley Kubrickās Masterpieces (and that says a HELL of a lot), this 1971 milestone about how a teenage hoodlum (Malcolm McDowell), whose prime interests are rape, ultraviolence, and Beethoven, is captured, sent to prison, and then ācuredā through a specialized conditioning / brainwashing technique, only to be released and find out heās no match for the sick, cruel world he once lorded over, is so perfect in every way that where else can one begin than with McDowellās lead performance, pretty much the best acting job from any performer in a Kubrick film ever (also no small feat, putting him ahead of Sellers in Strangelove, Nicholson in Shining, and R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket), mostly due to the fact that during the filmās opening 30 minute nearly nonstop orgy of violence, we see how his Alex DeLarge really does epitomize, pure, amoral evil, yet after his capture and ātreatmentā, McDowell amazingly turns the viewerās feelings about him around and brings himself to be seen as a sympathetic figure, when we realize that his freedom of being able to CHOOSE to be good or evil has been taken away from him, leading him to be victimized left and right upon his release.Ā Moreso, repeat viewings and study of the film reveals that the fictional, futuristic / alternate reality society in which he exists is REALLY the sick, evil monster which breeds such behavior and of which Alex is simply a byproduct of.Ā Just amazing acting work, which in the hands of a lesser actor (or ANY other actor) would have sunk the film like a stone, and how McDowell was denied even a NOMINATION for the Best Actor Oscar is one of the great travesties of 20th century cinema.Ā Also of note is the stunning production design by John Barry, which brings this world to life in ways that make the viewer downright uncomfortable, Walter Carlosā near perfect electronic music score (including the legendary opening title theme), cobbled together from classical compositions but yet given a sinister life all its own, and the clear, beautifully but naturally lit cinematography which makes the colors and images literally jump off the screen, not to mention the screenplay which, like the Anthony Burgess novel this was taken from, literally invents its own special dialect for how many of the characters talk to each other, different from any dialogue weāve ever heard in any other movie but still perfectly understandable in expressing how the characters feel.Ā Perhaps the greatest thematic element is that which asks the question, if such a conditioning process (called the Ludevico Technique) were actually possible, would it be something worth using to curb crime and violence??Ā Certainly in the age of terrorism and Obama, some would say yes, while others might argue that it would cheat malcontents out of genuine redemption while subjecting them to nonstop cruelty and torture by others.Ā The greater ambiguity though, is whether we should be heartened by the filmās somewhat happy ending, as Alex is seemingly cured and free to live his life any way he pleases again, but knowing his horrific actions of the past, does he really deserve to?Ā These questions and more all signify why this film is still being talked about over 40 years later, an ultimate living monument to Kubrickās genius and a showcase for one of the greatest lead performances of all timeā¦
10/10