moral choice

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2005)

I used fake ID to get into this movie when it first came out. I'm 50 now. At the time, this movie made me laugh, think, and shrink back into my seat. The scenes of violence were so 'in your face' for the time, and yet so....so...eeeesh.....breathtaking??? I abhor violence, and can't believe I am using the word 'breathtaking', but damn, it really was (is) amazing how Kubrick pulled it off.
Younger folks who watch it these days may not see the big deal about the violence as it is portrayed in the movie....which is simply a testimony to the movie's worth over time. Desensitization towards violence is a core element of the movie's point, after all.
I liked (*really* liked) the main character (Alex) in the movie...he is funny, quick witted, and charming. But he is also a scumbag prick bastard, and it's easy to lose sight of that. He is easily embraced while we sit in the dark and eat our popcorn, but most of us would probably go out of our f*king minds if he lived next door to us.
I walked away from religion as a young adult, a few years before I saw this movie. I am enjoying the view from out here to this day. However, the one person who seems to 'get it' in this movie is the prison chaplain. With all of it's visuals, and fine use of music, and great acting and directing, there *is* a point to this movie, and the chaplain articulates it. It's a simple assertion, and certainly not a new one...that people are regarded as being either "good" or "bad" based on their ability (or lack of) to make the correct choice while using their own set of ethics as arbitrator. The Catholic church **HATED** this movie when it came out, and yet it articulated the foundation of their entire credo in a favorable light. LMFAO!!!! They missed the whole point!!
Bottom line is that you shouldn't. This is a fantastic movie on many levels. Enjoy.