cult film freak: DEFENDING THE CONTROVERSIAL LEGEND OF 'A CLOCKWORK ORANGE'

Written by James M. Tate / 4/07/2010 / 1 Comment / action , classic , dark comedy , drama , exploitation , malcolm mcdowell , prison , science-fiction , seventies , stanley kubrick

DEFENDING THE CONTROVERSIAL LEGEND OF 'A CLOCKWORK ORANGE'

4/07/2010 | 1 Comment

Year: 1971 Rating: *****

TAKE ONE: This movie caters to the cold-hlooded. Shows rape and murder as a fun and frolicking game and, adding insult to injury, the gloriously rapturous music of Beethoven, and the dapper old ditty "Singin' in the Rain," are used to drive nefarious young Alex DeLarge, played by Malcolm McDowell, leader of a blood-thirsty futuristic gang of clown-like thugs, to commit horrendous acts of "ultra-violence" against society. TAKE TWO: This movie shows cold-blooded killers having a great time killing and raping to classical music because that's what they do. It's merely a joke... for them, not director Stanley Kubrick who, in creating a futuristic society of recklessly-determined, guiltless youth, shows it without a buffer or remorse i.e. shit happens 'cause it happens. McDowell brilliantly displays viciousness, childishness, stubbornness, insanity, sympathy, and even humor. Yes, humor: an important aspect haters seem to miss. The parody is the pandemonium and vice versa. "Viddy Well, little brother, Viddy Well!" TAKE THREE: So remember: that to believe pure evil exists on screen you must visually experience it, and for this to happen it must be genuinely, and shamelessly, represented. And that's just the first half. The rest, concerning the government's experimental "cure" for violence and mayhem, and the ramifications thereafter, is where the true story lies.

Share This Post :

Tags : action , classic , dark comedy , drama , exploitation , malcolm mcdowell , prison , science-fiction , seventies , stanley kubrick

James M. Tate

1 comment:

AnonymousApril 28, 2010 at 12:46 PM
I remember a certain someone with the initials J.T. came over to my house one night and popped this tape into my VCR and told me I had to watch it. I loved it the first time we watched it Jim and I love it even more now. Thank you for turning me onto this movie and to turning me on to Kubrick.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)CALCULATED RISK 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)THE SERGEANT 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)RIOT 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6) CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)SAM PECKINPAH 10)MICHAEL WINNER