English psycho?

Rating: 9/10 (3 August 2007)

When I first watched A Clockwork Orange, I gave it 10. Then I wondered whether I liked it that much - was it really that good, or was it just a film filled with random violence and sex? After a second viewing, I was convinced that this is one of the most brilliant - and bizarre, films ever made.
1971 was a particularly good year for film; Straw Dogs, Get Carter and Dirty Harry were some of the best, but A Clockwork Orange surpasses them all. Obviously it was hugely controversial when released, which pretty much just increased its popularity. The controversy however, was not needed, as the other films I have listed from 1971 were just as violent (although Straw Dogs was banned whereas this wasn't). All violence is in the first half an hour, and is nothing by today's standards. The violence and sex is only there to introduce us to the main character. After the opening, the story unfolds and is completely unique to any other film.
The screenplay is the key to this film. Stanley Kubrick did an amazing job of adapting a book which might as well be written in Japanese rather than English. I have a copy, which has to have a glossary defining all slang words used by Anthony Burgess - it is 10 pages long. The voice over narration is a masterful touch, offering us a portal into the mind of a total psychopath.
The only problem is in the nudity. Any need? There is at least 1 penis in every scene in the first half. It is completely pointless, and doesn't add anything to the film. And before you call me homophobic - the female nudity during the rape scenes is also totally unnecessary.
I'll forgive Kubrick for that though. Because with A Clockwork Orange, he has given us one of the best, most original and most unique films ever. Behind the sex, violence and controversy lies a story asking more questions than any other, and which has stood the test of time as easy as any script ever written.