"Oh Bliss"

Rating: 10/10 (31 December 2007)

Look no further for Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece. A Clockwork Orange is one of the great achievements in film. It's both visually and mentally phenomenal.
Malcolm McDowell gives a breath-taking performance as Alex de Large, a violent hoodlum of a futuristic England who takes delight in making people suffer after drinking down a milk plus at the Korova. McDowell creates an engaging character. He's evil with no moral compass whatsoever and yet we can't help but let him take us along on his journey. The character both fascinated and repulsed me. I never really liked him or had sympathy for him but his charismatic way of telling this story had me hooked. Alex is one of the great characters of film and McDowell and Kubrick do something that only the best storytellers do, they tell a story centered around a villain.
The romantic storyline of good vs evil has been at the center of all most every movie ever made. Clockwork Orange is outstanding in the fact that it isn't your traditional story. There is evil in Clockwork Orange other than Alex and his droogs, it's the society in which Alex has been molded by. Clockwork Orange is a political commentary in more ways than the one usually debated. Anthony Sharp 's Minister is a villain as well. He cares only for political gain and keeping his party in office. Even though Alex has done terrible things we know he is the product of a much greater evil.
Those who accuse the movie of being only a showcase of pornographic violence and sex need to look at the issues and storytelling presented by Clockwork Orange. And those images stay in your head long after you finish watching the film. They make you think and what porn flick has the power to do that? This is the best showcase of Kubrick's direction. Unlike 2001,Spartacus and Dr.Strangelove we have a relatively simple looking film. Yet Kubrick is able to create an astonishing atmosphere with his camera work and cast that he wasn't in those films. 2001's flaw is that it's more of an image based movie but with Clockwork Orange you get picturesque images and a gripping story to go along with it. Kubrick's trademarks are all at their best here, the dark humor, the surreal environment, and the deep psychological journey through the psyche of our main character.
A Masterpiece, "Real horrorshow"