A Clockwork Orange
“When a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man”
9 / 10 ciny would watch this vidy on the plane’s silverscreen again as Kubrick originally intended.
A surrealistic trip through a nightmarish worldscape of hollowed out theatres, Korova milkbar steeped with inuendo, and a retro futuristic dystopian society.
Kubricks attention to detail is second to none here. The color palette, otherworldly camera movements, and experimental - to say the least - non-conventional plot full of disgusting, psychotic and violent acts against people makes me genuinely amazed that something like this ever released on the big screen in the first place.
Cinematography: 10/10. Some of the most beautiful, picturesque shots. Dolly, FPV, Composition is all just textbook here, but done so meticulously well. So many gorgeous shots of Kubrick’s retro futuristic world: joyride pov shot of the droogs in the car, music store, prison courtyard, alex’s house, korova milk bar - just to name a few.
Color palette: 10/10 Kubrick uses color to further his world building of dystopian Britain. The opening shot of the milk bar is plastered with white - the symbolic color of purity, yet Kubrick immediately flips this on its head and perverts the color to become the symbol of hedonism, disgusting acts of rape and violence against women. Red and blue appear. Namely, the blue curtains when Alex is abused in front of the audience in support of the Ludivigo technique. Blue as a symbol of trust and loyalty is again turned on its head as the people that were supposed to help Alex cheer and clap for his abuse on stage while he is powerless to do anything. Blue is also the color of the police uniforms - the very people that society entrusts with power. Yet Kubrick deliberately flips this on its head showing that violence, corruption and morality of “good” dont exist in this purgatory. We see this display of color in full when Alex visits where? The music vinyl/cd store. We see Alex don his purple suit while shopping after his heinous joyride. Here Alex is powerful, in control of his henchman droogs and flaunts this royalty like power as if he were Nero overlooking his empire. The shop has that one gorgeous shot. Rainbow colored cassettes with two women next to Alex as he swoons them. Here Alex is at the peak of his lawless freedom rampage.
Acting: 10/10 the acting here is in another level. Lets talk about the dialogue. After watching i realized this film was a book adaption. Even then, it doesnt detract from yhe fact that Kubrick really brought to life the linguistic importance here. The droogs talk with nonsensical dialogue, not to the total point of absurdity - since we as the audience are just an passive viewer captive to the foreign speak of alex and his droogs. Linguistics here becomes a powerful tool to juxtapose the class differences in this dystopia. Alex’s language is simple, brash, yet to the point. Blunt, trite and obtuse. The doctors and politicians in power speak very corporate speak: drawn out phrases, complex words where we as the audience can surmise the meaning. Language here in this world becomes a tool of power, control and corruption. The higher class uses this sophisticated double speak to persuade and manipulate Alex as one of their pawns for their own Agenda - BOTH parties, the totalitarian regime and the revolutionary literature regime.
Irony and satire: Police in this world are as corrupt and heinous as Alex. White is the color of hedonism. Artistic paintings are defaced with phallic drawings. High society music is liberating, especially when you pleasure yourself to it in the comfort of your own home instead of seeing the orchestra in a theatre. Science is for control and corruption- to lobotomize and passify the masses, not for good. Religion and faith is easily faked and believable.
Music and sound: 10/10 notable pieces:
Ludwig Van’s 9th: ode to joy about humanity, contrasted with Alex’s despicable acts of violence
Rimsky Korsakov’s song about ancient love is used when Alex is fantasizing Christs crucifixion.
Pomp and Circumstance: celebratory song for when Alex is lobotomized.
Influence on Cinema: immediately so many of my favorite works come to mind: namely, severance, tarantino, yorgos lanthimos, even Lynch’s elephant man:
Severance: concept of free will, individuality, power and manipulation. Evil science. End scene of S2 vaguely familiar with ending of clockwork orange soundtrack wise.
Tarantino: violence, wacky set costume design, interesting experimental and subversive plot and characters.
Yorgos and Bugonia: dolly, fish eye and pov shots. Un-human, otherworldly like camera movements. Corridor long one take shots. Subversive all around here. Checks the box for weirdness and disturbing here.
Lynch’s elephant man: religion as a healing transformative tool for good. Science not inherently evil here; but the group of researchers use Elephant man as a pawn to further their own research. Hospital corridor shot mirrors the institutional corridor shot. High art and music: high art and classical music as a construct for high society. Where elephant man gains true human sympathy, classical music and the fine arts are defaced in this world and turned into hedonistic objects of desire.
This movie is a complete masterpiece. As disturbing, uncomfortable and heinous as this movie is to watch at times (blatant display of disgusting rape, unfiltered violence and psychotic behavior, you have to give credit to Kubrick for how subversive this was to even fathom in 1972. This movie is totally a 🖕finger to Hollywood, the established system, an exploration into morality, religion and philosophy, politics as a whole: a reminder to those in power that:“When a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man”.
- wrote this on the plane -