The Greatest Film Ever Made!

Rating: 10/10 (1 January 2005)

What Stanley Kubrick accomplishes with A Clockwork Orange is simply beyond words. This film is number 1 on my favorite film list for an infinite number of reasons. First of all, the acting, screenplay, and direction are all top notch; the story is ambitious and brave; the film's use of classical music fits perfectly; and it leaves you with so much to think about. The key to the film's brilliance lies in its humor. The film contains extraordinarily dark subject matter yet seems lighthearted all the way through. I can't help but watch this film with a smile on my face because I know and understand that the film is trying to poke fun at society and the hypocrisy within our various institutions. That's what all great satire does and this is the greatest satire of them all. Notice such scenes as the nurse and the doctor having sex while Alex is waking up in the hospital, the cat lady with her obscene paintings and statues, the naive parents who don't suspect that their son is up to no good when he goes out at night. All of these things highlight the fact that ordinary, everyday people act much differently behind closed doors than they do in public. In fact, I believe that one of the main messages of the film is that we all in a sense have elements of Alex DeLarge's personality within our own personality. When we can't even acknowledge our own barbaric and disgusting drives then how can we even begin to think of solving such social problems as murder and rape? Many people make the mistake in thinking that the film is trying to justify Alex's crimes. Alex is not meant to be looked upon as a hero or a role model. He's a villain all the way through. But one must also notice how villainous all the other characters are too. Everyone in this movie is essentially a villain because they are all human, and subject to the same drives that drive Alex and his droogs to murder and rape out of boredom. The reason why I believe Stanley Kubrick to be the greatest director who ever lived and ever will live is his ability to depend on the audience's intelligence. All of his films are deliberately ambiguous because the audience is supposed to come to its own conclusions. What you put into a film is what you take away from it. Stanley Kubrick will be missed. Perfect 10/10