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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about A Clockwork Orange |
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in the future criminals take over after dark. one teenager, Alex, is arrested for murder. In prison he is placed in a program that rehabilitates him by making him watch several horrible movies. When he is released and deemed "cured" his life is turned upside down.
--trevor schmitt, Resident Scholar
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Alex lives in the near-future, and each night, with his gang of "droogs", he goes out for the "old ultra-violence." Hence, he rapes and kills people. One day, he kills a cat woman, and after being betrayed by his gang, the police catch him. He is put in prison, and later in a mental asylum, where he is forced to watch violent films all day. He is cured, but then all his victims, get their own back. Kubrick cleverly uses the book's vocabulary in the screenplay. McDowell is amazing as Alex, and Kubrick's direction is top-notch. Not for all eyes, this film is terribly disturbing, but still interesting to watch. Warning: Do not try what is shown in A Clockwork Orange at home.
--Estefan Ellison, Resident Scholar
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Stanley Kubrick wrote and directed this 1971 classic based on Anthony Burgess's science fiction novel. Alex, a teen hooligan in near-future Britain, routinely commits violence and rape and does drugs with his gang of "droogs." One night he accidentally kills a woman and his gang turns on him, so that he is captured by the authorities and undergoes aversion therapy to make him unable to commit further violence. The cure seems to work, and Alex becomes a government exhibit, yet he has lost his free will. When he re-encounters his old buddies, they savage him; worse, a liberal writer who opposes the government's aversion therapy program but who was victimized by Alex and the droogs in the past (his wife was raped and he crippled) gets his hands on our "hero" and effects his own revenge. Though somewhat dated now, this remains a groundbreaking movie, with a stirring soundtrack by Wendy Carlos and Beethoven (with a little help from Rossini), and an unforgettably powerful performance by McDowell.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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A film based on a book that captures most of its themes. Beginning in a 'milk-bar' which serves milk laced with various drugs, Alex and his droogs go out on a night of rape and violence, which ends in a fight between Alex and his friend (droog) Dim (Warren Clarke). The following night, Alex accidentaly kills an old lady during a robbery, and is betrayed by his friends, sent to prison and falls victim to an experimental mind control technique that leaves him unable to defend himself in the viscious world outside. He is eventually almost killed by a former victim and taken to hospital to be 'cured'.
The main adversary in the film is the government rather than an indivdual.
--Matt Lewis, Resident Scholar
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In Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange," Alex Delarge (Malcolm McDowell) is first seen with his 3 "droogs" in the Korova Milkbar, which sells Milk with LSD in it. He drinks a glass of this, and basically for the first half of the movie, beats men, rapes women, and listens to the good "Ludwig Van." Alex is caught and sent to jail, and is volunteered to be a part of a new experiement. His mind is altered, goes through some interesting visits, but in the end, "He is cured alright." Awesome Soundtrack by Wendy Carlos. My Favorite Kubrick Film.
--Denny Hanson, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of A Clockwork Orange |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 46%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzle - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 34%
**Fantasy or Science Fiction?**
- science fiction story
Repressive Society
Yes
Repression:
- drugs you
- controls your mind
Character operated on/altered?
Yes
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- unemployed
Age:
- a teen
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
- mentally ill
- emotionally unstable
- wild
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- blonde
- brunette (Brown)
Body type
- average (man)
Unclothed?
- Chest and Buttocks
Events of movie makes character more...
- sensitive
Ethnicity/Nationality
- English/British
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor?
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
- an organization
Age:
- a teen
Profession/status:
- govt employee
Eccentric:
Yes
- deluded
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Physical condition
- average physique
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Setting
Earth setting:
- near future (later in 21st century)
- medium future 22-24th century
- Over controlled society
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Big cities?
Yes
Misc settings
- prison
- mental hospital
- bar/restaurant
Kind of city
- Dirty, crime-ridden (like NY)
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- very explicit references to deaths and torture
Tone of movie
- depressed/sad
Comedy or somewhat funny movie?
Yes
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- touching of personal anatomy
- actual description of sex
- seeing breasts
- seeing nude female butt
- seeing nude male butt
- seeing full frontal--women
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- English
Any profanity?
- A huge amnt of foul language
If Soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Orchestra/classical
Is this movie based on a
- book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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