cult film freak: A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

Written by James M. Tate / 4/07/2010 / 1 Comment / action , classic , dark comedy , drama , exploitation , malcolm mcdowell , prison , science-fiction , seventies , stanley kubrick

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

4/07/2010 | 1 Comment

title: A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

year: 1971

cast: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee

director: Stanley Kubrick

rating: *****

TAKE ONE (FOR THE HATERS) • This movie caters to the cold-hearted. Shows rape and murder as a fun and frolicking game and, adding insult to injury, the gloriously rapturous music of Beethoven, and the dapper old ditty "Singin' in the Rain," are used to drive nefarious young Alex DeLarge, played by Malcolm McDowell, leader of a blood-thirsty futuristic gang of clown-like thugs, to commit horrendous acts of "ultra-violence" against society. TAKE TWO (TO THE HATERS, FROM THE LOVERS) • This movie shows cold-blooded killers having a great time killing and raping to classical music because that's what they do. It's merely a joke... for them, not director Stanley Kubrick who, in creating a futuristic society of recklessly-determined, guiltless youth, shows it without a buffer or remorse i.e. shit happens 'cause it happens. McDowell brilliantly displays viciousness, childishness, stubbornness, insanity, sympathy, and even humor. Yes, humor: an important aspect haters seem to miss. The parody is the pandemonium and vice versa. "Viddy Well, little brother, Viddy Well!" But remember: that to believe pure evil exists on screen you must visually experience it, and for this to happen it must be genuinely, and shamelessly, represented. And that's just the first half. The rest, concerning the government's experimental "cure" for violence and mayhem, and the ramifications thereafter, is where the true story lies.

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Tags : action , classic , dark comedy , drama , exploitation , malcolm mcdowell , prison , science-fiction , seventies , stanley kubrick

James M. Tate

1 comment:

AnonymousApril 28, 2010 at 12:46 PM
I remember a certain someone with the initials J.T. came over to my house one night and popped this tape into my VCR and told me I had to watch it. I loved it the first time we watched it Jim and I love it even more now. Thank you for turning me onto this movie and to turning me on to Kubrick.
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