Memorable, Mesmerising and Magnificent Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (13 August 2007)

A Clockwork Orange is a story of a young degenerate called Alex de Large who seems as if he is a normal teenager living with his parents. But as you scratch the surface you see that he's a cold hearted evil criminal. After he gets betrayed by his gang and sent to jail for murder he is chosen to try out the governments new reformation program which has interesting results.
The reformation technique is called the 'Ludivico Technique' in which the prisoner is pinned down and forced to watch films of graphic crimes such as rape, murder etc. The idea of it is to give so much violence to the prisoner that he begins to dislike it and grow a natural resistance to it. This natural resistance is a sick sensation felt any time the thought of violence comes to the prisoners mind. Although this stops the prisoner committing crime, it raises ethical issues that are stressed by the prison vicar such as the fact that Alex isn't truly good, he only performs because of the fear of being in physical pain. A quote that interested me in the film is 'A man who cannot choose ceases to be a man'. Alex cant choose whether to do good or bad because hes a robot forced to do good. This in itself is called a clockwork orange.
There was much confusion of the name 'A clockwork orange' and what it means. In the book, F.Alexander is writing a book called a clockwork orange which Alex notices prior to the brutal rape of his wife (otherwise known as the 'singin in the rain' scene) he then rips its up. However this isn't in the film. The actual definition of a clockwork orange is someone that can only perform good or evil. This is in direct correspondence with Alex's story in the book and film.
Alex and his droogs (Dim, Pete and Georgie) use a very enigmatic and somewhat Shakespearian lexis such as 'chelloveck' and a personal favourite quote of mine 'how art thou glob of cheap stinking chip oil'. This is the slang of teenagers in the time of the film which is in the not so distant future. This is a fantastic prediction and also assumption of how youth will change. Many people find the dialect used by teenagers in the present day very hard to understand like we do to the language used by Alex and his droogs. No-one else seems to use that language other than Alex and his droogs, its teenage talk. Its like another realm of todays world. Also the fashion is a fantastic prediction of the not so distant future. The outfit and hairstyles in the film seem ridiculous to us as we watch it such as Alex's mum's crazy hair!. Much like today, we look back at 80's and 70's fashion and we see it as ridiculous. This all adds up to the conclusion that everything in this film is plausible even the crazy design of the Korova milk bar.
The movie is in three parts, Alex and his droogs, Alex in jail and the treatment then Alex out of Jail
Alex de Large rapes, steals and kills people but he listens to and is driven by Classical music such as Mozart and Beethoven. Music is a very important device in this film. Part 1 of the film is series of music and violence orchestrated together with perfect harmony. Kubrick manages to take relaxing classical music and use it to make the scenes deranged and frantic. Not only that, the film also manages to give the music sadistic outlooks for the audience. For example, i now see the 9th symphony and Singin in the rain as evil songs now however, i enjoy listening to them more!. The film conditions us to like or hate the music more much like Alex is inavertely conditioned to resist beethoven in the Ludivico technique later in the film.
Near the end of the film, Alex's demons come back to haunt him. Firstly, the old man he and his droogs assault in the beginning of the film spots him and realises who he is so he and his other homeless friends attack Alex savagely and take his belongings. Of course, Alex cant fight back because the pain of being punched is better than the sickly pain he gets if he performed any violence. The fight is then broken up by two police officers.....which Alex realises in horror are his two former droogs that betrayed him, Dim and Georgie. This is an ironic twist in the tale that the ones who are doing bad have switched sides. Alex is then near killed by his two former droogs. This is of course afer Alex had been rejected from home by another lodger staying there. He had no home, money or prospect so he ends at F.Alexanders house...Yes the man who Alex and his droogs assaulted earlier in the film. The writer doesn't recognise Alex at first but he knew he was on thin ice. F.Alexander wanted to use Alex for political value against the government because he is against the use of the Ludivico technique and the government. However, all changes when the old writer finds out who Alex really was when he hears him singing the same jingle he was singing when raping his wife, Im Singin in the rain.
Kubrick manages to make the audience feel sorry for Alex. We feel sorry for a prisoner of rape and murder. Alex is clearly an evil soul yet we seem to have a relationship with him through the film which makes us like him and empathise with him. This makes this film a beautifully cunning film.
I love the music, I love the iconic direction and I love the language!
10/10