Still startling, one of Kubrick's best

Rating: 9/10 (5 January 2002)

Minor spoilers
The plot of this film involves a group of street thugs having a bit of
fun at the expense of everyone they meet. The groups young
leader, Alex, finally runs afoul of the law and decides to enter a
new re-education program to "cure" himself of violent behaviour.
There are better plot synopses out there, I leave the rest to them,
and turn to reviewing the content.
Another reviewer remarked that the violence, considered
outrageous at the time this film was released, no longer seemed
shocking on screen. Despite the recent explosion in violent
imagery on film, Clockwork Orange does not seem dated at all.
Modern violence scenes, even those in which the characters
express as little remorse as Alex and his pals do in this film, seem
to be more emotional. The use of classical music in the
background of violent imagery, or Alex's rendition of Singing in the
Rain as he beats the liberal author and rapes his wife, somehow
separate the action on screen from the normal emotions a viewer
would feel upon seeing such things. Because of that, this film
struck me as far more violent than any of the Tarantino-style flicks
released these days.
The moral issues discussed in Clockwork Orange are even more
fascinating than the wonderful portrayals of detached violence. As
a civil libertarian, people sometimes face me with the question of
whether I could hold onto those ideals if it were *my* loved ones
whose security were threatened. I enjoyed seeing the liberal
author face this dilemma when Alex suddenly reappears in his life.
This is probably the 3rd Kubrick film to watch, behind Strangelove
and Full Metal Jacket, and before Shining. If you need a fifth
Kubrick film to watch, just watch Strangelove again. The
similiarities between Orange and 2001 begin and end with the
score, despite 2001's "cameo" appearance during Alex's trip to the
record store. I never miss a chance to warn Kubrick fans to stay
away from the horrible 2001, but Clockwork Orange I highly
recommend to any fan of other Kubrick films.