A Clockwork Orange (1971)

[tom-tom]

How about a little discussion about Alex and Co.?
Although A Clockwork Orange doesn't qualify as horror, it deserves a thread.
Any thoughts?

[Vodstok]

With due respect to the subject matter and the director (Kubrick), it definately belongs on a Horror board.

I didnt like it at all. Kubrick did a great job, as did Malcom Mcdowell. Everything was very well done, which is why i dont like it. Too much of the bad stuff for me.

Weird isnt it? I dislike it because it succeeds in telling it's story properly. I am glad to have seen it, though. Too many references in the Simpsons would be lost without it :)

[Marroe]

I actually like the story, but I can't stand to watch the movie. I've seen it about three times and it disturbes the piss outa me.

[tom-tom]

Originally posted by Vodstok
With due respect to the subject matter and the director (Kubrick), it definately belongs on a Horror board.

I didnt like it at all. Kubrick did a great job, as did Malcom Mcdowell. Everything was very well done, which is why i dont like it. Too much of the bad stuff for me.

Weird isnt it? I dislike it because it succeeds in telling it's story properly. I am glad to have seen it, though. Too many references in the Simpsons would be lost without it :)

Sure, wasn't there an episode in The Simpsons featuring Alex's torture - in a comical way, of course. I think it was the dog, Santa's Little Helper.

[Vodstok]

Originally posted by tom-tom
Sure, wasn't there an episode in The Simpsons featuring Alex's torture in a comical way, of course...i think it was the dog, Santa's Little Helper. Yep, and for the 3rd halloween episode, bart was Alex for halloween, eye makeup and all.

The irony is, when they were totruring Santa's Little Helper, Mr Burns was trying to make him violent, not non-violent. :)

[urgeok]

i remember reading that Kubrick's take on this film is that this was the same time frame as 2001 - what was happening on earth at the time that the space mission was taking place.

not Anthony Brugess's idea - just Kubrick - who is kind of famous for bending subject material to suit the way he thinks ..

[tom-tom]

Originally posted by Vodstok
Yep, and for the 3rd halloween episode, bart was Alex for halloween, eye makeup and all.

The irony is, when they were totruring Santa's Little Helper, Mr Burns was trying to make him violent, not non-violent. :)


Ah, that's it. Sure, was one of the Simpson's Halloween specials not taking the piss out of 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' - it was something to do with Ned Flanders.

[Vodstok]

Originally posted by tom-tom
Ah, that's it. Sure, was one of the Simpson's Halloween specials not taking the piss out of 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' - it was something to do with Ned Flanders. Yeah, they hit him with a car and disposed of the body. Turns out they didnt kill him because he had just become a werewolf.

Kubrick was pretty good at adaption. its interesting how his movies made from book susually turned out to be more well known than the books themselves.

[urgeok]

Originally posted by Vodstok
its interesting how his movies made from book susually turned out to be more well known than the books themselves.


well if you think about it - thats really the norm...

movies are always better known .. they are in our face - advertised ..

whens the last time you saw a TV commercial for a book ?

the sad fact is that there aren't that many readers ... i'm surrounded by people who are in their 30's - 40's and havent read fiction since high schools.

the good thing is that the people who are readers - are avid readers ... readers are word junkies .. more rabid than film fans ..

[Vodstok]

Whats frustrating for me is that deep down i am an avid reader, i just havent had time or the energy to do it for extende periods in YEARS. This fucking job is killing me. I'm glad that i have been writing a lot more recently, but i miss books :(

[crippler666]

Horror depends on the individual

There is rape, murder and brutality in the film, which was for its time, got the film band

People now look for something more graphic

I like the film and would not say it was a pure horror film, but it is closer to a horror movie than anything other genre

[tom-tom]

And as for me, I am one of the worlds biggest film and book junkies in the world. I simply can't get enough of either.
And as for the lack of readers, i find it rather depressing.

[crazy raplh]

I thought the movie was really really bad.

[knife_fight]

the film, although it is Kubrick's vision, is extremely similar to the book. most of the lines said are taken straight from its pages.

and I like the movie, even though I don't want to.

[urgeok]

Originally posted by crazy raplh
I thought the movie was really really bad.

everyone has their own opinion - but i always want to know when someone says they thought a classic film was bad - what their reasoning for it is ..

[Elvis_Christ]

I like this movie a lot more than the book. Very cartoonish and sleazy. Almost reminds me of a Manga film or perhaps one of those horrible Carry On movies on acid. In my top 3 Kubrick films, second only to Dr Strangelove.

[urgeok]

Originally posted by Elvis_Christ
I like this movie a lot more than the book. Very cartoonish and sleazy. Almost reminds me of a Manga film or perhaps one of those horrible Carry On movies on acid. In my top 3 Kubrick films, second only to Dr Strangelove.

then that would make it in your top 2 Kubrick films :D

[The_Return]

I saw about 10 min of this on TV.

Alex was acted awesomely [I know the actors name, dunno how to spell it], but I have no intention of seeing the rest of this anytime soon. Maybe in a few years Ill check it out....

[Elvis_Christ]

Originally posted by urgeok
then that would make it in your top 2 Kubrick films :D

True...... smartass ;)

Full Metal Jacket would be my third.... for the first half anyway.

[zwoti]

Originally posted by Elvis_Christ
Full Metal Jacket would be my third.... for the first half anyway.

awesome 1st half, 2nd isn't bad either

[Marroe]

Originally posted by The_Return
I saw about 10 min of this on TV.

Alex was acted awesomely [I know the actors name, dunno how to spell it], but I have no intention of seeing the rest of this anytime soon. Maybe in a few years Ill check it out.... You're ?15?, right? I saw it for the first time when I was about 13 or 14, and it was very unsettleing for me.....and I too watched a lot of horror type films...but this for some reason made me all morbid for days after seeing it, still does.

[Elvis_Christ]

Originally posted by zwoti
awesome 1st half, 2nd isn't bad either

Yeh you're right. I just love the intensity of the first half the second half is good but I don't like it as much as the first. Probably my favorite Vietnam war film.

[tom-tom]

Originally posted by Marroe
You're ?15?, right? I saw it for the first time when I was about 13 or 14, and it was very unsettleing for me.....and I too watched a lot of horror type films...but this for some reason made me all morbid for days after seeing it, still does.

It's an unsettling movie no matter what age you are...for me, that's what is so good about it.

[Elvis_Christ]

I didn't really find it unsettling.... more comical

[tom-tom]

Originally posted by Elvis_Christ
I didn't really find it unsettling.... more comical

Comical? How?

[Elvis_Christ]

Just how absurd, overblown the violence is portrayed... very cartoon like (kinda like Natural Born Killers did years later).

[bruzzeler]

I didnt saw clockwork orange but i heard a lot.. who knows which regisseur made these movie? I want to watch this movie but no Video store has it.. so do you know from where i can get these film?? Please post it to me if you know!
Special thanx in forward!

so long..

[Elvis_Christ]

You should be able to get it pretty easily from most stores. Try Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk (for PAL format) if all else fails.

[tom-tom]

Originally posted by Elvis_Christ
Just how absurd, overblown the violence is portrayed... very cartoon like (kinda like Natural Born Killers did years later).


But that was the intention I think. I mean, Alex and his friends are having fun through a bit of the old 'Ultra-violence' and via rape - in-out in-out.
Hell, he begins beating the shit out of the writer whilst singing the Gene Kelly sone, "Singing in the rain".

[Elvis_Christ]

Yeh for sure I know it was intentional.

[alkytrio666]

Originally posted by bruzzeler
I didnt saw clockwork orange but i heard a lot.. who knows which regisseur made these movie?

You didn't saw it, huh?

Should be in any video store...

[crazy raplh]

I just didn't enjoy the story line, plus I am not into rapeing that much.

[PR3SSUR3]

Hmmm, but are you saying you're into axe-murders and exploding heads? (You did enjoy Friday the 13th and Scanners, didn't you?)

Define thee not by what thee might observe.

Otherwise, I'm into necrophelia, cannibalism, animal slaughter, humiliation, serial killing...

A Clockwork Orange, though, is a most inhuman film. Anyone notice the similarities in style between this and Trainspotting?

[alkytrio666]

Originally posted by PR3SSUR3
Hmmm, but are you saying you're into axe-murders and exploding heads? (You did enjoy Friday the 13th and Scanners, didn't you?)

Define thee not by what thee might observe.

Otherwise, I'm into necrophelia, cannibalism, animal slaughter, humiliation, serial killing...

A Clockwork Orange, though, is a most inhuman film. Anyone notice the similarities in style between this and Trainspotting?

No I did not.

But seriously, you shouldn't knock someone if they don't feel comfortable watching something like rape. Rape is a much more serious and realistic scenario than exploding heads, my friend, and although you aren't sensitive about it, others might be.

[Doc Faustus]

I would first of all, classify Clockwork Orange, as at least to some degree a horror film. Lit-fic often tries to dodge genre distinctions to avoid looking like trash, but I think a film using displays of violence didactically and presenting a dark alternate history could be called a horror film. The movie has a foot in the door of a lot of genres, but I would say that horror is one of the more solid of them. Burgess wrote the book and Kubrick made the movie for the same reason Mary Shelley told us not to play god with Frankenstein. A Clockwork Orange terrifies and provokes to remind us of another moral; that a person is a person and cannot be rendered inorganic and cannot be remade no matter how much we try. In the same way Victor Frankenstein's attempt to make a man fails, so too does Burgess' draconian regime's attempt. Frankenstein is a foundation of literary horror and is every bit as didactic and artistic and utilizes methods that looked just as scary and scandalous at the time to make it's point. I think it's also right that a Clockwork Orange is comical. Alex's sadistic glee and nonchalant approach toward killing, not to mention his hillariously earnest narration are quite funny, or even if not funny to the viewer, intended to be comedic. This movie commits acts of aggression against the viewer to teach, not because it's for people who like rape. Personal sensitivities are to be respected, but a film's intentions should be too.

[cryptkeeper666]

i think this sucks dogy dicks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[piggwinn]

Clockwork Orange is by far my favourite Kubrick film. I would rate it in my top ten movies.
I have difficulty with how to classify it's genre though. I would say it is a sci-fi/revenge/comedy/horror/political/thriller type of movie. I can remember trying to get a copy in the early eighties and paying £30 for a crappy 7th gen copy on tape. I didn't like it or get it very much at first but pretended to as it was a trendy film to be in to (youth eh!). I know every frame of the film now after many years watching it, and can see why it is highly regarded in some circles. I can appreciate it more now with dvd and absolutely adore the movie.
Dooby Doo, One in the Yarbolls, a bit of the old Molloco plus and bed time is right time now.

[PR3SSUR3]

But seriously, you shouldn't knock someone if they don't feel comfortable watching something like rape. Rape is a much more serious and realistic scenario than exploding heads, my friend, and although you aren't sensitive about it, others might be.

But to state that a viewer of A Clockwork Orange might be "into" raping just because a scene happens in the film is rather inflammitory to those who are able to distinguish between reality and fiction.

[alkytrio666]

Originally posted by PR3SSUR3
But to state that a viewer of A Clockwork Orange might be "into" raping just because a scene happens in the film is rather inflammitory to those who are able to distinguish between reality and fiction.

Ok, yes. I can agree with that. I was just making sure you weren't kncoking him for being uncomfortable with that. But seeing your perspective, fair enough.

I apologize.

[stubbornforgey]

came out years before trainspotting
so if there are any similarities ..it would be
the latter.
I enjoyed the movie but not so much the storyline.

[Marroe]

Originally posted by stubbornforgey


I enjoyed the movie but not so much the storyline. I liked the "point" of the movie, but could hardly stand watching it.

[Maerlyn]

Excellent movie. Among my favourite 20 films. One can see Kubrick's genius in this one.

[PR3SSUR3]

came out years before trainspotting
so if there are any similarities ..it would be
the latter

Get the fuck out of here.

:eek:

[stubbornforgey]

just making a factual point :D
no need to drop a ball bag over it !!

[Festered]

I would first of all, classify Clockwork Orange, as at least to some degree a horror film. Lit-fic often tries to dodge genre distinctions to avoid looking like trash, but I think a film using displays of violence didactically and presenting a dark alternate history could be called a horror film. The movie has a foot in the door of a lot of genres, but I would say that horror is one of the more solid of them. Burgess wrote the book and Kubrick made the movie for the same reason Mary Shelley told us not to play god with Frankenstein. A Clockwork Orange terrifies and provokes to remind us of another moral; that a person is a person and cannot be rendered inorganic and cannot be remade no matter how much we try. In the same way Victor Frankenstein's attempt to make a man fails, so too does Burgess' draconian regime's attempt. Frankenstein is a foundation of literary horror and is every bit as didactic and artistic and utilizes methods that looked just as scary and scandalous at the time to make it's point. I think it's also right that a Clockwork Orange is comical. Alex's sadistic glee and nonchalant approach toward killing, not to mention his hillariously earnest narration are quite funny, or even if not funny to the viewer, intended to be comedic. This movie commits acts of aggression against the viewer to teach, not because it's for people who like rape. Personal sensitivities are to be respected, but a film's intentions should be too.

Burgess said in an interview, around the time of the film's release, that the book was a sort of act of revenge. His wife had been raped by American GIs stationed in England. He, in fact, was the author in the book. The book is a terrific read, BTW.

[Dahlia]

I loved the book (still read it from time to time) and I loved the movie. I think the movie did have some intentional comedy. There had to be some juxtaposition to the ultra-violence. I was pleased that the film kept most of the book's slang because that made the violence even more horrific. The slang was funny and even a little too cute in ways thus making the violence extremely jarring. I also think the rape scene was necessary because the reader/viewer had to be horrified to make the story work. You had to go along thinking that Alex needed this treatment, that he was a monster deserving of his treatment. It's your own guilt about this that makes the story effective.

Just my own humble analysis...

[Nella]

No I did not.

But seriously, you shouldn't knock someone if they don't feel comfortable watching something like rape. Rape is a much more serious and realistic scenario than exploding heads, my friend, and although you aren't sensitive about it, others might be.


I'm glad I read this thread. I will not be reading the book nor watching the movie.

[Ferox13]

There is rape, murder and brutality in the film, which was for its time, got the film band

Film Band? Do u mean THE ADDICTS.

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7984/adictsfm6.jpg

Actually it wasn't banned by any censorship board - it Kubrick himself who asked for the film to be withdrawn from circulation.