Academy Award nomination despite it's initial 'X' rating inspired fans along with Alex's sweet smile as he imagines the old in-out in the finale

Rating: 10/10 (26 February 2003)

With the sudden death of Stanley Kubrick recently a part of my love for film died along with him as I recognized the unfortunate fact that there was no other director alive to closely heed the call for attention to detail and visceral content. The thought of looking to Steven Spielberg for future answers was almost unbearable as I remembered that his originality often gives way to family fare (The Pinnochio finale of `Artificial Intelligence') in an attempt to pad his already overloaded wallet. I thought about Sam Mendes and cringed as I remembered that for him art was a floating grocery bag with unclever teenagers clamoring around it in `American Beauty.' No one could replace Stanley Kubrick and after the intitial tears I bought his boxed set and tried to make the best out of a bad situation. And it was then that I rediscovered his greatest achievement `A Clockwork Orange.'
What inspired me to watch `A Clockwork Orange' all those years ago was initially it's `X' rating. I knew that mom would have a fit and I had to see why it was so provocative. For the better part of the 1970's it was also banned furthering my desire to see it. I was surprised by the `X' rating until I witnessed the hilarious in-out rape scenes and was somewhat amazed at the blatancy and sheer delight of the slow-motion pummeling of his droogies by the sweet looking but awfully scary Alex De Large (Malcolm McDowell). Upon further viewing a new love and passion grew for the film until I became part of the passionate cult that remains inspired by `A Clockwork Orange' more than any other films on the AFI Top 100 of all time list.
`A Clockwork Orange' was a very sad film for any lawmaker who adores social order and loathes freedom of speech in 1971. The response of lawmakers who banned this critical statement on social order proved their fear by banning it almost immediately though it still managed an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture and Best Director and deservedly so. Ironically, Kubrick's most original piece was a witty and insightful adaptation of the terrific Anthony Burgess novel. I believe that Burgess would have loved what Kubrick did with it. There were subtle changes and Alex ultimately failed to become a do-gooder in the film but it was all for the best. You almost never like the movie more than the novel but this is a film where Kubrick works overtime to bring his imagination to the proceedings and the movie is better than the novel.
With every Kubrick film comes the feeling of eating Turkish food. As a principle Turkish food can be presented with a taste that is somewhat unedible. More importantly is the idea of presentation and the experience requires elegance and an amazing contrast of color. This as opposed to taste makes for quality food. Similarly, Kubrick often shied away from telling a fundamentally coherent plot and concerned himself with the details of visual artistry. `A Clockwork Orange' was his best effort on the silver screen because he was able to finally incorporate a fantastic story with the elegant presentation of color, a task that surely kept him at night as he tossed and turned searching for a perfect balance of the two.
What truly makes this adaptation of the Burgess novel a success, is what Malcolm McDowell brings to the screen. He is Alex De Large and you can't help but kind of adore his urgent needs for a little of the old ultra violence each night as he unexpectedly makes his house calls through the neighborhood and pounces on innocent women. You also can't help but appreciate his interaction with his good old mom and dad as a tiny snicker forms when he insists on not being able to attend school and a sad but sweet look of confusion and sadness innocently appears as his parents introduce him to their replacement son and he finds himself homeless and in need of his droogies. His interactions with his droogies are a delight as he goes from `singing in the rain' to a mad villain beating up the little groupies in slow-motion. There is a sense of sadness as he ironically goes from being Beethoven's number one fan to a botched suicide that leaves him with broken limbs abounding but the same clever smile and good attitude. The finale is quite possibly the best ever in cinema as sweet Alex cannot help but think of a little of the old in-out as the nurses attempt to curtail his ultra violent tendencies. The slow smile that appears on his innocently despicable face is a sheer delight. The incredible accent makes it all the better.
`A Clockwork Orange' was a film that was so far ahead of it's time in 1971. The Kordova Milk Bar was a trendy little place we can only picture existing in the future. The fascinating way that his crime was dealt with could be the wave of the future should the capital punishment issue cause too much disagreement. In short, a little of the old ultra violence is what propelled this film to high rankings and what will eventually allow all of us to allow our children to see it, once their 18 of course.
10/10