Category Archives: 1971
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
And the first thing that flashed into my gulliver was that I’d like to have her right down there on the floor with the old in-out, real savage.
— Alex
A Clockwork Orange, another one of Kubrick’s classics was viewed last night. I have seen bits and pieces of the movie over the past couples of years, but never sat down a watched it. I thought that this movie would be so savage and depraved that I would automatically turn it off. It was not what I except for the flick.
Nominated for four Oscars in 1971. Currently #50 of the Top 250 of all time on IMDB. It got off to a rocky start. After the first twenty minutes, it got really good.
Alex (Malcolm McDowell) is the protagonist and narrator of this twisted tale of what happens to society after the sexual revolution and how it could lead to dark places.
Alex is part of a band of “droogs” that terrorize random people in their small English neighborhood. He has Pete (Michael Tarn), Georgie (James Marcus) and , Dim (Warren Clarke) to tag along on their crime sprees.
All of their misadventures come to an end when Alex brings into the Catlady’s (Miriam Karlin) place and kills her. The others are sick of Alex and betray him to let him take the fall.
Then, the movie turns into a psychological thriller. This movie was not that shocking. Maybe the desensitization to brutal rape and violence has numb from a public outcry. It’s sad.
Can you change a person? This is commentary that nobody could be rehabilitated. No matter how much you try to change. Your natural instincts will be there. If you are a drug addict, a criminal, gay or whatever, you cannot change what is natural to you.
The major problem with this movie is the acting. Some of the actors were so hammy and over-the-top that they took me out of the movie. Malcolm McDowell was fantastic, but some of the supporting player were blah.
Judgment: A smart dissection of the human condition.
Rating: ****