Product: A Clockwork Orange [VHS] (1972)
Rating: 5.0
Dark satire from a twisted genius
A face fills the screen with a wry smile. Slowly, the camera draws back to reveal our humble narrator, Alex, and his three droogs lounging in the Korova Milk Bar among a variety of sculptures depicting nude women.Thus begins A Clockwork Orange, a modern satire about drugs, sex, and ultraviolence, brought to us by the fiendishly twisted mind of the late Stanley Kubrick. Played with wonderful intensity by British actor Malcolm McDowell, Alex takes the viewer on a long and winding journey in which he and his droogs, prompted by their drug-laced Milk Plus, go out and commit random acts of theft, sex, and violence night after night, much to the dismay and grief of Alex's parents. When one of these random crimes results in the death of their victim the droogs run off, leaving Alex to the mercy of a corrupt justice system. He volunteers for a program designed to "cure" incorrigibles of their desire to commit mayhem, and he is subjected to a type of aversion therapy that ultimately leaves him completely defenseless.The language that Alex uses both as our humble narrator and as a participant is also a very vital part of the characters and story. A mixture of schoolboy speak, 60's British slang, made-up words, and "Nadsat" Russian (that is, Russian spoken without regard for the subtleties and nuances of the language), it gives Alex and his droogs a richness and dimension that sets them apart from the others and makes them unique.All in all, A Clockwork Orange is a great movie, and one that I highly recommend.