Movie : A Clockwork Orange

Four guys (Droogs) are sitting in a milk bar.  They are all dressed alike in white, black hats, jock straps and black boots.  The setting is dreamlike, futuristic.  One of the gang is narrating.  They set out from the bar for a night of raising hell (a little ultra-violence) starting with a beating of an old drunk, then a gang fight, cruising in their auto and finishing up with a break in, another beating and a rape.  Then it’s home.

The next morning the leader of the gang, Alex, is visited by his probation officer who questions him about missing school and rumors about his violent behavior.

The boys meet up the next night for more of the same but this time the rest of the Droogs want to change it up a bit as far as their course of action goes.  Alex suppresses this by laying a beating on his boys.  Now back on track they break into a house.  Things go bad, the gang turns on Alex and he gets busted.  Alex is sent to prison for fourteen years.  While doing his time he volunteers for a new treatment, experiment to cure violent criminals.

Alex completes the treatment and thinking he’s cured he’s released where he encounters the people from his violent past who put to test  his supposed cure.  Anytime he tries to resort to violence of any kind he gets physically ill.  He is eventually  pushed to  attempting suicide.  He survives and gets back to his old self.

 

‘A Clockwork Orange’ was another of those films from the 70’s that CB was exposed to that influenced his taste in film.  It was an unique experience not your usual conventional film.  Babyhead loved it.  He was engaged right from the opening scene.  The whole feel and tone of the movie from the look, the music to the performances engaged CB.

This was Babyhead’s intro to Stanley Kubrick.  He creates this world with his style of film making.  He wrote the screenplay based on Antony Burgess’s novel.  The narration with the slang worked.  It wasn’t hard to like.  Cinematographer John Alcott captures Kubrick’s vision.  This wasn’t the first movie that Babyhead had seen in which music played a big part but Walter Carlos’s sound track certainly was a key element with the Beethoven angle.  CB was a rocker but he loved this sound.

So many great scenes and images throughout.  From the opening scene, the gang fight, the look of the tunnel standing over the bum and many more.  Alex’s look was also unique. Performances are memorable.  Warren Clark and James Marcus as Alex’s  droogs , Patrick Magee as the rape victim’s husband, Philip Stone as Dad are all great.  But it’s Michael Bates as the Chief guard who stood out in the supporting roles.

Malcolm  McDowell as Alex gives a standout performance.  Totally immersed into this psychotic character.  Believable , truthful piece of work.  Really liked the way he brought humor to a role that leans toward the dark side.  Great work!

CB loved this film.  Opened up more roads to the kind of films that were out there.

Watch it and let the film and a little Ludwig van give the ‘gulliver’ a treat.