A Clockwork Orange

Photographed By Karen Burgos

One of the things I’ve resolved to do this year is go to the cinema more often. I’m usually hopelessly out of sync with my friends when it comes to new releases. Whenever they’re deep in discussion about whatever’s currently showing, I’m light years behind, and by the time I finally catch up, they’ve already moved on.

That said, "The Artist" is now firmly ticked off my list. Consequently, I’m ready for Oscar Night on February 26.

Speaking of films, one of my all time favourites is "A Clockwork Orange" (1971), directed by Stanley Kubrick, who also happens to be one of my favourite directors. Among his body of work, my personal favourites, in no particular order, include "A Clockwork Orange", "Eyes Wide Shut", "Barry Lyndon", "The Shining"… and, how could I forget, "Full Metal Jacket". Me love you long time!

It’s not on that list, and I feel almost traitorous admitting this, but I actually prefer Adrian Lyne’s adaptation of "Lolita" to Kubrick’s. Please, don’t hate me! I suspect Jeremy Irons’ almost Shakespearean rendering of Professor Humbert Humbert has a great deal to do with it. I’ll revisit Vladimir Nabokov’s masterpiece another time.

"A Clockwork Orange" is based on Anthony Burgess’s novel of the same name. Set in a dystopian future, it follows Alex DeLarge, a Beethoven’s Ninth loving juvenile delinquent, and his three companions, or “droogs,” as they’re called in the invented slang, Nadsat. Alex is portrayed with chilling charisma by Malcolm McDowell.

After a break in goes disastrously wrong, Alex is apprehended and eventually sentenced to fourteen years in prison. While incarcerated, he is offered a reduced sentence on the condition that he volunteers for an experimental rehabilitation programme known as the Ludovico Technique, an intervention designed to “cure” criminal behaviour in just two weeks. Whether it truly succeeds, however, remains an open question.

The film is undeniably violent, ultra violent, and remains graphic even by today’s standards. Yet it is also lyrically and artistically executed, exploring themes of crime and punishment, revenge and retribution, science, politics, and religion, as well as deeper dimensions of human nature. It is, in many ways, sheer perfection. And then there’s the fashion: Alex’s iconic look, bowler hat, false eyelash, white outfit, suspenders, and combat boots, has been endlessly imitated.

The opening scene of "A Clockwork Orange", with Alex and his companions drinking milk at the Korova Milk Bar, is arguably one of the most captivating in cinematic history, perhaps rivalled only by the “I believe in America…” opening of "The Godfather" and John Travolta’s strut in "Saturday Night Fever", with due credit to the Bee Gees.

A close second, in my view, is the scene in which Alex, larger than life, grips his cane and disciplines his droogs, Pete, Georgie, and Dim, by the marina. It foreshadows his own downfall, yet remains mesmerizing to watch. The choreography alone stands as a testament to Kubrick’s genius.

And then, of course, there’s the infamous Kubrick stare:

1. Tilt your head downward.
2. Look up from beneath your eyebrows.
3. Smile, or grimace.
   For best results, ensure the camera is uncomfortably close.

“Here’s Johnny!”