One of the treasures of the cinema

Rating: 10/10 (15 February 2001)

There aren't many films I would praise as highly as I could "A Clockwork Orange", the select few would be the likes of "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994); "It's A Wonderful Life" (1946) and Kubrick's marginally (very marginally, I might add) better "Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb" (1964). Of course "A Clockwork Orange" has its critics - indeed, what film doesn't? - but none of these narrow-minded individuals can prevent me from appreciating the film. A grim vision of the future sees young Alex (a career-best performance from Malcolm MacDowell) and his band of 'droogs' (there are a lot of post-modern slang words used in the film, by the way) who spend every evening beating, raping and pillaging innocent people for their own amusement. In 1971, the film understandably caused outrage for its graphic violence and sexual scenes but by modern standards they are what cinema-goers have come to expect. Alex is arrested and the film centres on his rehabilitation in prison and how he volunteers for a revolutionary new treatment aimed at wiping out crime.
A hugely important film, it most likely paved the way for the more tolerant censorship of today, as violence on-screen became gradually more accepted.

Being a UK resident, I had to wait a while before being able to legally see the film, Kubrick infamously pulled the film from UK Cinemas amidst fears of copycat violence and proclaimed it could not be released until after he went to that great editing suite in the sky, which he lamentably did in 1999.

One of the greatest cinematic achievements, don't be put off by the film's unsavoury reputation, it's not nearly as horrifying as you might think. The chilling question the film provokes is just how far are we now from the future Kubrick envisioned?
One thing goes without question - Stanley Kubrick is the best director bar none.