Very overrated

Rating: Null/10 (14 June 2004)

"A Clockwork Orange" is an early film by famed director Stanley Kubrick about a distant future where bands of vicious criminals roamed the night. We meet Alex, a young boy, who, with his three friends beat innocent elderly people for their sick kicks. However, one night, an attack went terribly awry. While his droogs escaped, Alex was captured by the "rozz" (police) and sent to the "Staja" (state prison). While there, he discovers an experimental procedure that could get him out of prison in two weeks. However, he was ill-prepared for what horrors awaited him. He sits in a dental chair in the center of a simulated while his body is strapped down, eliminating any movement. His eyelids are forced open, so he has to keep utmost attention to the gruesome images he is shown on the screen. After 14 excruciating days, Alex is deemed cured. The media hails him as a success, although Alex's sanity is beginning to deteriorate. He goes back home, but his parents are convinced he escaped, so they refuse to let him in. Through the movie, Alex frantically tries to find some salvation from society. Eventually, he returns to his original state of mind, but vows not to return to his criminal behaviors of the past.
Before I get into the actual review, I must admit that I am not a huge fan of Kubrick. I think his movies are somewhat overrated, considering most of them are based on books, including "Clockwork". Maybe he was a revolutionary in his time, but now there are plenty of quote-unquote "weird" directors, so I'm not that impressed with him. "Clockwork" was no exception. If you didn't know, the movie is based upon the '60s novel by Anthony Burgess. His novel, if you can imagine, was actually MORE controversial than the movie and was banned in several countries. It was also better than the movie. It's not that I think "Clockwork was a bad movie, it's just that it bears too many similarities to the book. With the source material Kubrick was given, he should've made a much better movie than this. He and this movie get far too much credit. Almost everything was taken word-for-word from the book. Instead of interpreting it in his own way, he interpreted as it Burgess did, which I dislike in movie-book adaptations. So, basically, what I'm saying is: If you're a fan of the movie, do yourself a favor and read the book, then see how much respect you have for the movie.
** 1/2 out of ****