Film: A Clockwork Orange

Original cover of A Clockwork Orange published by Penguin Books

An epicly written novel by Anthony Burgess, that gets your mind twisted at the most unexpected intervals; I present to you, A Clockwork Orange. This novel was then directed into a movie by the extremely talented, Stanley Kubrick. His take on the film made it a hit, and has transcended through time. It has received critical acclaim time and time again and has generated controversy on the portrayal and "glorification" on sex and violence. This year, we celebrate A Clockwork Orange's 40th anniversary with limited edition releases and its debut on Facebook.

The band of droogs at the Korova Milk Bar, where the drinks are doped and described as knives (that dictate his mind like liquid courage) by Alex

I know this movie has been around for ages but I finally caught on it and realized how warped certain theories about the modern society were already formulated back in the older days, and how they actually turned out to be true. The protaganist, Alex Delarge is classified as an anti-hero, a wasted youth with ultra violent tendencies. I can't tell if it was supposed to be a mental illness or some sorts but either way, the story really has its ways of making karma look like it exists. 

Alex with his signature lower eyelash look

Alex goes to prison after getting sabotaged by his own "droogs" (aka friends/men) after a heated small discussion which looked like a rebellion of some sort so that he would step down as leader. I'm not going to go into detail of everything that happens but it's going to be messing with your mind for the two hours you're sitting in your sofa or bed trying to digest every bit of it. Themes of freedom, choice, the good vs evil and other somewhat vulgar acts of murder and rape are being portrayed throughout this film.

The story also shows his struggle to have an early release from prison by being subjected to tests that are about to mechanically alter his reactions to violence so he would not cause harm to society as he did before. Alex then gets rejected by the people in his life and find karma hitting him right in the face.

Alex is saved by a victim that he crippled two years ago, and the victim finally discovers his identity

Alex subjected to a demonstration of the anti-violent reaction test before his release

The usage of classical music definitely heightens the whole experience you're getting (Alex has an obsession with his dearest Ludwig Van, better known as Beethoven himself). It's seriously mindblowing how Kubrick made it look so convincing and together considering this film was produced in the early 70s when it was really hard to use computer graphics to sub for some of the somewhat disturbing scenes in the movie itself (especially when Alex was subjected to a test where his eyes were kept opened by metal lids that were definitely torturous).

I've tried reading the novel and only made it halfway because of Burgess' usage of the Nadsat (language) which was heavily influenced by the Russian language. I'm making an effort to re-read the book and hopefully re-evaluate what I think about it now that I've watched the film. Definitely something for you to catch on if you haven't because it's so crazy on realistic themes. It's amazing how this film has remained current despite its time of release.

Fun fact: the film did not finish up on the 21st chapter's ending of the book (the actual last chapter) as it was omitted in the American series so that it will end on a darker note. Burgess however, intended for it to be how good is able to prevail the evil with time and patience.

And before I go, here's a trailer of A Clockwork Orange if you will:

Enjoy and have a great week ahead!