DVD : A Clockwork Orange (2 Disc Special Edition) [1971]

Rating: - what is wrong with this movie.....
'CLOCKWORK' is a remarkable, innovative piece of cinematic anarchy that still demands our attention. However......


------there are more than enough elements contained within it's incendiaritary frames to merit serious discussion as to exactly WHY it has attained such notoriety...including;

-----the very early rape scene; which un-neccessarily lingers for too long on the full-frontal nudity of the 'unfortunate' actress [SHIRLEY JAFFE], ---it is self-evident that this scene involves the smirking, smug, self-satisfied performances of BILLYBOY'S fellow rapists, nondescript actors who clearly can't believe their luck that they are actually being PAID to film this scene [which probably took multiple takes over a long time] ---it is obvious in their triumphant expressions [in which they can clearly view a naked, well-endowed young woman] that they relish their role.

-----ALEX himself, ---who clearly gloats directly to the audience in the [stunning] opening shot: this is a clear [unwholesome] signal to the audience that we are about to witness sadistic, voyeuristic thrills that clearly benefit Mc DOWELL...


--------the bizarre, clown-like 'uniform' of ALEX and his 'droogs',---CLOWNS often disturb, as they are seen to get away with almost anything [they could be plotting behind your back]---and that is clearly the case here.


----the 'HOME' VIOLATION SCENE:

like the much later 'HENRY-PORTRAIT of a SERIAL KILLER', [which has a very similarly-themed segment] this sequence is 'CLOCKWORK'S' most notorious, nightmare-like series of events.
Essentially an unwholesome, nasty depiction of an innocent couple being subjected to the DROOG'S humiliation and [disturbingly] motiveless sadism, this ends with the clown-like McDOWELL soft-shoe shuffling his bizarre dance-turn, ultimately stripping [aother attractive woman; this time ADRIENNE CORRI] fully naked another pitiful victim, [seen from the point of view of her floor-level, armlocked husband].

Sometimes I can sit through these repellent, evil final shots in this sequence; ----other times, I choose to skip through it....I'm pretty open-minded, but these events are unpleasant, non-entertaining acts [at least to me].....RAPE is an evil that undoubtedly exists in society, but I don't want to see it 'dressed up' [or down!] in the name of highly stylized, cinematic 'art': this just seems pretentious and off-putting, the way KUBRICK has handled it in this instance.

--UNEVEN CONTINUITY: ----the first reels of 'ORANGE' are brilliantly eerie, otherworldly and genuinely futiristic-seeming. Much of the film's strength stems from KUBRICK'S twisted vision, especially the sanitized, warped interior of the 'KOROVA MILK BAR' with it's alienating nude sculpture, and flourescent lighting. The opening shot is undoubtedly a striking image; for me one of THE classic openings in all cinematic history.

---------however, after ALEX is finally arrested, all futuristic elements instantly evaporate, there are no further obvious sets, and the remaining two-thirds of the movie are mostly shot on existing 70/71 locations.....fine as a document of the early decade, but visually, this seriously jars with the excellent fantasy visuals of the opening scenes.

------POOR PACING: for the first 40 minutes or so, KUBRICK delivers a riotous, relentless anarcho-fest of energetic mayhem, which slows down severely over the last two-thirds------this is 'spiced up' with brief shots of semi-naked [or fully-naked ] nubiles who are paraded to instil 'shock value' to the proceedings.

Judge for yourself the merits [or otherwise] of this admittedly original movie; however, I feel it contains key scenes of exploitative elements, that visually 'rape' women in the guise of 'entertainment'.

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Rating: - and subtitles ?
Could anyone help pwith subtitles? Postuguese?

amazon must know subtitles are important for people outside UK and US
thanks for help.

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Rating: - FINALLY! IT REALLY IS ABOUT TIME!
My personal favorite form Stanley Kubrick's legendary line up of award shattering films has FINALLy been released in this great and nicely presented special edition DVD.
Along with the shining, in particular, we have been stuck with the tyranny of having to cope with some shocking single disc editions of such undeniable and renowned, infamous masterpieces of cinema by such a timeless director!
These are what i have been waiting for.
The violent, powerfull and surreal visualiseation and portrayal of the classic and brilliant novel is something i dont think i need to review due to the movie's well earned fame and timelesness.
The soundtrack adds an eery and darkly atmospheric tone to the already impressive sets and briliantly directed scenes. 'McDowell is quiet frankly superb as the psychotic schoolboy.
This upgrade to the new special edition DVD doesnt exatlty burn too much of a hole in your pocket either soi suggest you shakea leg and click*ad to basket* now!

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Rating: - Kubrick's forbidden fruit... a cinematic gem.
Trapped somewhere between the rigid, socio-political, part allegorical anti-violence parable that forms the core of Anthony Burgess's original, watershed tome and the screaming pop-art exuberance, come visceral bleakness of Kubrick's vision, we find A Clockwork Orange; grimacing away behind a false eyelash whilst calmly sipping at a glass of milky moloko plus. Whilst this works primarily as an exercise in the continuation of Kubrick's "2001" (sci-fi) stylisations; with large chunks of the author's innovatively defined arguments augmented by the inclusion of eclectic visual iconography - traversing the decades to give us the antique, the kitsch, the camp and the graphically futuristic - the core humanitarian debate that initially inspired the author can still be seen as a reflection in the eyes of those wildly caricatured performances.

The film, and of course to a greater extent, the book, can be seen as an interpretation of the ultimate 60's social dilemma (spared on by World War II, Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, the Kennedy assassination, etc), being that 'if man cannot choose freely between animalistic violence and the power of rational thought, does he in effect, cease to be a man?' Kubrick and Burgess choose as the focal point of their story a youthful and remorseless street punk, who seems incapable of possessing any feeling divorced from his own self-serving point of view and yet, somehow, through the insightful (and all too relevant) depth of the film's moral debate (and, of course, the central performance from the great Malcolm McDowell), manages to become a tragic and deeply sympathetic creature; able to present both the pros and cons of a central treatise that is, after all, so essential to the film's success.

This would be the main bone-of-contention when the film was initially released, with many critics claiming that Kubrick was somehow glorifying violence, rape and anti-social activity, by presenting this portrait of a dystopian, teenage rebellion, through the eyes of a goose-stepping, twelve-stepping, totalitarian, who not only shows wit, intelligence and charm throughout his escapades, but also narrates said exploits to the audience in a way that somehow makes us his droog-like co-conspirators. There's also the point of Kubrick's direction, which is here giddy, exciting, unhinged and certainly not what you would expect from a seasoned filmmaker in his early 40's. The whole visual and ideological aesthetic of the film makes the action seem like the ultimate rush of adrenalin, with the film cutting between operatic slow motion, high-speed camp, lethargic zooms, hand-held confusion, fish-eye-lenses, severely anachronistic stock-footage, rear-projection and musical montage; all of which is referenced directly from Toshio Matsumoto's classic pop-art masterpiece, Funeral Parade of Roses (1968).

Understandably, the film - as with the book - unfolds in an alien landscape that is a reflection of the present day, but also something much more prophetic; with the director allowing the drama to play out against a backdrop of dilapidated 70's production design juxtaposed alongside surreal interiors that are here adorned with plastic flowers, gaudy coloured wall-paper, naked milk-dispensing mannequins and groovy coloured lighting. This jars against the stylistic realisation of Kubrick's previous films - the cold and stark space stations of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), or the black and white majesty of Strangelove's war-room - with the film, instead, attempting to visualise the absurdity of Burgess's polemic and the stark, stylised, theatrical nature of its text. Certain aspect of Kubrick's realisation of the film could perhaps seem a little dated; with the high-speed sex scene and the costume design in particular, making the whole thing look like something more akin to "Carry on Kubrick" than the regal flair familiar from something like Barry Lyndon (1975) or The Shining (1980). However, for me, the film's power lies in its boundless energy, dangerous charisma and unpredictable atmosphere, which sees it shift uncontrollably from moments of dark comedy to punishing brutality.

Of course, it's not particularly violent in a gory sense, but more foreboding, menacing and threatening in a lingering sort of way; much like the fact that The Shining, as a horror film, isn't all that terrifying, but more suggestive. Like the majority of Kubrick's work, A Clockwork Orange is incredibly bleak and crushingly austere, with the examination of these characters and situations presented in a highly clinical fashion like insects beneath a microscope. For me, it's one of the masterpiece works of the 1970's, fusing Kubrick's jaw-dropping stylisations with Burgess's landmark look at man's capacity for violence (which sadly, seems more relevant now than it ever did before), whilst also offering great cinematography, editing, production design, iconography, music, and the performances from everyone involved (including a number of now highly recognisable British TV veterans).

If you are thinking of seeing this film without having read the book, then I urge you to seek out Burgess's original text beforehand. The images that the book creates within our mind are far more staggering and psychologically lingering than anything Kubrick could create, despite the fact that the two disparate texts still manage to complement each other perfectly. A Clockwork Orange remains a bold and imaginative film that presents an interesting and all too pertinent social dilemma in a way that makes for great and entirely thought-provoking entertainment.