Clockwork Orange, A (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)

It brings the film to higher quality for all to read

This movie is truly timeless and although certain elements betray its age e.g. use of cassettes in the future instead of cds, use of a typewriter instead of a desktop pc by the writer etc, this film transcends time and its message is still very thought-provoking and evokes strong responses from viewers just like modern avant-garde artworks are supposed to. From "Dr. Strangelove" to "2001: A Space Odyssey" to this, Stanley Kubrick's brilliant directing genius can only be described as producing cinematic high works of art. Just like in the great "2001:...", Kubrick forces you to think about serious issues, stunning and shocking you to come to your own conclusions and to stimulate your senses all the while refusing to tell you what to think. Some may feel Alex got off too easy and for all his major offences against society should be severely punished ala capital punishment and may actually come to this conclusion from watching the film. Others may actually feel sorry for and happy for Alex that he returns to "normal" and that the powers that be get what they deserve with the threat of a loss of power. Either way, the film disturbs you enough to elicit strong responses making it difficult to remain indifferent or to not have an opinion which is the definition of good modern art. This film could also be a metaphor for thought control and governance asking the question: is it proper to force people to accept an ideology even if they don't truly believe it themselves? Whether it is Communism or even Capitalism or any religion should people be given a choice which one to go with or should society take all steps to penalise even to the point of using physical pain and suffering to ensure compliance? It is telling at the end when Alex becomes "healed" only when he realises that the very powers that are trying to "heal" him are sick and maybe even sicker than he is; a different sort of corruption but corruption nonetheless. This film as time has shown is the true winner of the Oscar for the Best Picture, Director and Actor awards for that year and how "The French Connection" won for these categories is beyond belief. This film is certainly a lot more rewarding on so many levels and has certainly aged a lot better to rank among the best ever films. The great news is that the digital restoration and remastering has been done very well making both the picture and sound quality of this dvd very, very good indeed. Although the Special Features are nothing to speak about, I'm hoping the newly-released Blu-Ray version will have extras such as making-of and other sorts of documentaries as well. By far a film masterpiece by the great Kubrick and a must-have for every film buff's dvd library. Highly recommended!

Really good Stanley Kubrick film

I ordered a used DVD and it was in perfect condition. Very happy with purchase.

Great movie

Stanley Kubrick's 1971 adaptation of the classic Anthony Burgess novel A CLOCKWORK ORANGE is a thriller for thinkers. That is, it is a frightening but compelling SF-ish flick that, like the novel, is wrapped around deep socio-political and philosophical subtext. It warns about the dangers of blithe, government-dictated social conformity, yet it also cautions against allowing citizens to indulge in so much freedom that society becomes unsafe and anarchic. In other words, it forces viewers to ponder the question of just how far citizens of a society can have their free will restricted before they cease to be truly free...or truly human. Set in an England of the "near" future, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE paints a picture of a British dystopia that, in some respects, is more horrific and more depressing--and in retrospect, closer to the reality of the 3+ decades that have passed since its release--than the Oceania of Orwell's 1984. Malcolm McDowell stars as Alex de Large, a teenage ruffian who nightly roams the streets of his hometown with a gang of other sadistic young hoodlums (his "droogs") and engages in acts of "ultra-violence" (i.e., robbery, rape, pummelings, murder, etc.). Other such gangs of thugs also roam the streets at night, so going outside after dark is a dangerous prospect for the average citizen. Following a botched burglary and murder, Alex is temporarily blinded and left behind by his craven droogs. Young Alex is arrested for the murder when the police arive, and soon after he is found guilty and sentenced to a lengthy prison term. But he thinks he has secured his quick ticket to freedom when he is accepted into a program that promises to "cure" his violent propensities and, upon successful completion of the program, nullify his prison sentence. Unbeknownst to Alex, though, is that the procedure is based on Pavlovian conditioning techniques, meaning that Alex won't be "cured" so much as he will be brainwashed into autonomically behaving like a respectable, law-abiding citizen. Due to the nature of the film's subject matter--and, of course, to help drive home its subtextual message--A CLOCKWORK ORANGE contains many disturbing and violent scenes, including the depiction of a beating and rape during which Alex "kicks" out his rendition of "Singing in the Rain." Some viewers, especially those not normally inclined towards watching horror or crime dramas, have a difficult time looking past the violence and delving into the film's subtext. For those folks, it might be easier to emotionally and intellectually grasp the theme of Kubrick's film if they FIRST read Burgess' novel. (For most viewers, though, enjoyment of the movie does not require familiarity with the novel.) A CLOCKWORK ORANGE is fairly loyal to the source material, though Burgess' complete work includes a final chapter that is not depicted in the film. Supposedly this is because Kubrick only had access to the American edition of the book--this despite the fact that he was an American expatriate living in England--in which the last chapter had been removed because Burgess' American editors considered it inconsistent with the rest of the novel. Literary purists, who will often make value judgments about a film based on its adherence to the printed source, will probably be put off by Kubrick's purportedly inadvertent omission. However, as with any other well-made film, it should be judged solely on its own merits. With A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, Kubrick questions the perceptions of freedom and the concepts of crime and punishment in Western society. The film is a truculent and thought-provoking socio-political satire that, after more than three decades, still retains its ability to shock viewers into philosophical rumination. Of course, Kubrick's excellent script and tight direction contribute to the film's success in eliciting such a reaction, but so does Malcolm McDowell's energetic and compelling performance as Alex, that rare protagonist who is equally reprehensible and pitiable. All in all, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE is an excellent and still-relevant classic that belongs in the collection of any serious lover of great movies.

"A Clockwork Orange" could have been the movie in the Stanley Kubrick canon known only as the film that followed "2001: A Space Odyssey." Released in 1971, three years after that masterpiece, "Clockwork" faced the peril of comparison with what has become the greatest cinematic achievement of all time. In short, how could Kubrick follow "2001," a film that was so incredibly good that one could not imagine a worthy successor? He did it by making a film so different from its predecessor that any comparisons simply fall apart. "A Clockwork Orange" is its own animal -- and "animal" it is, indeed. Whereas "2001" was about the exploration of space but also the exploration of humankind's capacity for change, "Clockwork" was the at-times painful study of a young man caught between violent individualism and repressive society. Malcolm McDowell is brilliant as Alex, the young "droog" who's ever on the prowl for deviant sex, "ultraviolence" and, seemingly, all manner of wickedness for its own sake. The character's relentlessly immoral (or amoral?) behavior stunned audiences at the time. The violent scenes -- of various victims being raped, beaten, kicked, murdered -- proved that, in 1971 at least, people had not yet become inured to extreme depictions of violence. Some of the film's detractors called it sick. In UK, there was a considerable amount of copycat behavior, which so unnerved director Kubrick that he had the film pulled from distribution there -- for quite a number of years. In between those two extremes -- those who would condemn the film, and those who seemingly condoned it by acting it out -- was an audience that pondered the dilemma posed by Kubrick: Which is worse? An insistence upon individual freedom, which allows for such horrible behavior, or a society that may be going too far in trying to cleanse the populace of such villainy? Alex, you see, is caught and subjected to a conditioning program that is supposed to make him incapable of committing any more crimes. But the effect of this behavior modification upon him is so drastic that he is effectively stripped of any free will at all. It's a diabolical film in part because it steadfastly refuses to provide any answers. Kubrick was a filmmaker, not a moralist, and so his audiences were left to decide, for themselves, which could be more cruel -- the solitary human heart, or the collective conscience that sometimes grows so harsh that it, too, seems hopelessly corrupted. This is a brilliant film. Do not see it, though, if you are easily offended. Upon its initial theatrical release, the film was one of a very few non-pornographic productions in those days to receive an X rating. Frankly, I've seen films far more graphically violent than this one that got tagged with an R, not an NC-17, the successor of the X. But it is true that there is something about this film -- something about Alex's gleefully nightmarish world -- that disturbs the mind like nothing else.

Anthony Burgess, you fall into that category peopled by Jules Verne, Aldous Huxley, Nostrodamus, George Orwell and a few others with prognostical abilities which are often ignored or just admired as imagination and good detective work.....until things begin to happen very closely to how they were written about originally. Well, take a look around you.....violence has become the accepted norm, going from fists and clubs to strapped on bombs and wired up cars. We still find the blood lust a fascinating human trait, and celebrate it in literature, art and cinema and practice it in our daily lives. What I believe is the most pertinent example of the "bully boys" of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE are the school children who bring their weapons to school and decimate their classmates....were they inspired by the uberviolence of Burgess's characters or other horror sharers, or was it a mental abberation that was put into play along with the support of the society that gave them access to weapons of death? There are many caveats presented in the film that would require a wake up call to the viewers, but like the freeway driver who slows down to stare at an accident across the road, we are mesmerized by the violence but rarely connect it with the real world. Kubrick has stepped back from pointing a finger or condemning an action by overemphasizing the inherent madness that plays itself out with these lost "boys" and presents an almost comedic sneer at the stupidity and lack of humanity that has almost become second nature to society today. Many say that this novel and CATCHER IN THE RYE are the reason that so many of the disenfranchised turn to violence and murder. I say there has to be a glitch somewhere in the brain of many that points them towards destruction if they are not dealt with by those who have an ability to re-structure certain behaviors. Our brain is teachable, changeable and capable of creating some of the greatest gifts to humankind.....A CLOCKWORK ORANGE takes it all, mixes it into a dystopian world and leaves it up to the viewer to make their own decision.....or lets them skip down the road singing in the rain......this is a thinker of a film!!!!!