Try to Watch More than the First 45 Minutes...

Rating: Null/10 (23 June 2003)

When I first rented A Clockwork Orange I think I had the biggest grudge ever with Kubrick after having seen Eyes Wide Shut. The first time, I only watched 45 minutes of A Clockwork Orange and thought Kubrick was only trying to shock his audience, much like the terrible movie KIDS did. After deciding to make it through the entire movie, I was so glad I finished it. The movie has many issues to ponder and I will try to explain them below.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS
1)The priest in the film sums up the entire meaning of A Clockwork Orange. He says that once man loses the ability to choose, he is no longer a man. Alex is forced to views "viddies" that show ultra-violence he was once a part of. In fact, the videos are a complete copy of the crimes he was committing, rape and murder. Alex is forced to be good due to his violent, nauseated reactions to violence and sexual encounters. He doesn't want to be. When the naked woman is presented to him, he says he wants to give her a "bit of the old in-and-out" but then he gets sick. He is not cured. He wishes to be bad because that is his true nature.
2)Kubrick shows violence for the first hour of the film, which is actually the film's most ingenious trait. What Kubrick is actually doing is giving his audience the treatment Alex went through. The audience is supposed to be sickened by the shock value in the opening parts because we are supposed to despise it and want to be good. This is masterful and highly thought-provoking.
The most gratifying part of the film for me has to be the end where Alex gives his little smirk. His acting was superb because he was completely overdoing it. Kubrick is oftentimes praised for his art more than his film talents and this one just happens to have both elements.