Thought-provoking and Unique!

Rating: Null/10 (20 February 2010)

I very much anticipated A Clockwork Orange. I consider Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey to be the best film ever made, and the only Kubrick film I have seen until now. A Clockwork Orange is a brilliant and very unusual work of film-making. I am sure many people, and critics, still dismiss it to this day of some sort of nasty piece of work, especially when taken out of context and because many will think Kubrick is trying to make us emphasize with Alex and his violent acts because of the different music, especially the ending titles. One can argue that the ending credits' "Singing In The Rain's" cheery tone is meant to make us feel happy for Alex's transformation back to the way he was. It is true that A Clockwork Orange is a piece of futuristic fiction but also true that Kubrick tries to clear out it's themes in a satirical way. It even does not feel futuristic at all when thought about because it's presentation of ultra-violence can be seen in the present, even today. It is a meditation on society, and even nearly 40 years later that is still clear when I watched it. It is clear because of the dark comedic aspects of the film.
A Clockwork Orange's themes are horrifying, because it then seems to first ask, then answer, the question about whether our basic human instincts, whether violent or not, should be respected and not tampered with instead of clarifying them to make a simple, clean solution. I have heard from many people, mostly young, that they love this film because they think it is 'cool'. Of course, the violence and the way scenes are filmed will surely please many audiences who really are not sure what to make of a film like this that, if done differently, would not satisfy them. It is all about style for some, and about what a film holds, but not about what a film means. If this is the case, then it would certainly be better if these people simply did not like this film and called it 'boring' or 'confusing', words that are given to many classics today. The film is taken out of context into something that is almost like abusing it's maturity, which can be seen in the actual film itself.
A Clockwork Orange is truly a genius film. I can already foreshadow the time that I will set a date to rewatch it, since like 2001, it is a film that requires multiple viewings. The film is in itself a very disorienting and, clearly, risky film.