DVD Review: A Clockwork Orange
Published June 02, 2006
Listen, my dear brothers, to a review of a tale most vile, full of the old in-out and other such nastiness. A tale in which Alex (Malcolm McDowell), our faithful narrator and leader, is imprisoned for the accidental killing of a person and later conditioned by his government to abhor sex and violence, but also the glorious music of Ludwig Van. Sometimes karma can be a cruel, cruel mistress. Sometimes it can be poetic. But, my dear brothers, we must never forget that it is always in play.
So learns Alex after his release from prison. Cured of his predilection toward sex and violence, he encounters the victims of his earlier transgressions only to find that people's forgiveness depend little for his cure or the fact that he's paid his debt to society. The wounds Alex has inflicted are deep, so it's little surprise when his victims exact their revenge because, deep down, they are no better than Alex. Freed from restraint by a feeling of righteous indignation, they are able to expose their true selves, as dirty and nasty and vile as Alex in his prime, only now Alex has been so conditioned that he cannot even fight back. He is defenseless, begging for mercy. It's doubtful that this was a desired effect of the conditioning, so you have to wonder: if the government takes away Alex's ability to defend himself and sends him out in a society that hates his very existence and distrusts this so-called cure, does perhaps the punishment exceeds the crime? Taking nothing else into consideration, possibly. But when you factor in the conditioning against the perfectly natural sexual appetite and the music of Ludwig Van Beethoven, then it's clear the government has gone too far.
There's little question that's part of the film's message, but to what end? The Prison Chaplain (Godfrey Quigley), as close to a voice of morality as A Clockwork Orange gets, argues before the review board that, due to the conditioning, "He ceases also to be a creature capable of moral choice." He's right, of course, as the Pavlovian approach to morality takes away the subject's humanity, reducing him to nothing more than a castrated animal. He's pitiful, really, which is a stunning turn of events considering his actions in the first half of the film. A great deal of that change relies on the acting abilities of McDowell, who's amazing in the role.[1]
- DVD Review: A Clockwork Orange
- Published: June 02, 2006
- Type: Review
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Review, Video: Art House, Video: Classics, Video: Comedy, Video: Drama, Video: Horror
- Part of a feature: 100 Great Films
- Writer: Lucas McNelly
- Lucas McNelly's BC Writer page
- Lucas McNelly's personal site
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Nadsat also has traces of the Malayan language in it, as Burgess was very familiar with the language. He'd spent time in Malaysia whilst in the army, I believe.
A book - and film - that will continue to be as frightening as it has been influential.
Lucas: You write really excellent reviews and when I just went to your blog I saw you were only 27.
The fact I thought you were older is meant as a compliment in that you seem wiser than your years.
But it also explains why, for example, you saw the remake of Psycho before the original.
What list of 100 films are you using? The one from AFI? If you haven't read I'd recommend AFI's 100 Essential Movies book (or is it 100 influential movies). Either way I went through it last year and watched each movie on the list I could get my hands on (about 90 of the 100) and then compared my thoughts to those of the reviewer included.
I think it was in there that I read something to the effect of the Singing in the Rain bit being a late addition to the film which is amazing considering its one of the most memorable.
This movie has the distinction of being the only one which I think is so good that I hesitate to recommend it to some who I think would find the movie - especially the rape scenes - too disturbing.
I had not heard before that the movie was not released in Britain until after his death. Was it ever shown then?
As for Kubrick being an acquired taste I definitely agree with that.
Scott,
Thanks for your kind words. The list I'm using is the Time 100 Great Films list, but it's actually a hybrid of that and a few more criteria (a critic's poll, certain high metacritic scores, and They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?'s top 100)
the story i've heard about the Singin' in the Rain inclusion is that it was the only song McDowell could remember the words to. it ended up being a pretty brilliant bit of luck, as anyone who saw Clockwork before Singin' can attest to being a bit uneasy when they saw the musical.
as far as I know, this was shown in Britain after Kubrick's death.
Ah, well, then I'd suggest this book, because it's also a pretty good list.
I just asked for a review copy of a new book that's supposed to be even more comprehensive.
excellent Review....thaks for bringing this Masterpiece up!
/golfclap
one of the things i have always found fascinating about the film, not counting Malcolm's performance, was the whole "full Circle" thing that happens...
how everything that happened before Alex going to jail is repeated form the other side of a funhouse mirror...
your mileage may vary
Excelsior?
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Talk about guilty pleasures. I'm troubled by the way this movie appeals to me.
I recommend the book, too - very important to get the updated edition with the new ending that Burgess wanted but the original publishers didn't.
The slang is called nadsat, by the way.