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A clockwork orange - Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, James Marcus, Stanley Kubrick

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Being the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are rape, ultra-violence and Beethoven.

The old ultra-violence is back, as ultra-brilliant as anything Stanley Kubrick ever directed. demonic gang leader Alex DeLarge - Malcolm McDowell's defining performance - goes on a spree of rape, mugging and murder with his pack of "droogs".

But he's a boy who also likes Beethoven's ninth and a bit of "the old in-out, in-out". Then he finds himself at the mercy of the state and its brainwashing experiment designed to take violence off the streets and put it at the service of the government.

With unforgettable imagery, startling music and innovative language, Kubrick's bizarrely mesmerising film fashions a fast moving science fiction thriller about free-will versus state control.

Hugely controversial when first released, A clockwork orange earned four Academy Award nominations, including Best picture. Its power to excite and perturb is undiminished; its warning about the state's encroaching hold over the individual, more relevant today than ever.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film crime science fiction police Beethoven ultra-violence murder rape UK

Persons of interest

Malcolm McDowell .... Alexander "Alex" DeLarge
Patrick Magee .... Mr Frank Alexander
Michael Bates .... Chief Guard Barnes
Warren Clarke .... Dim
John Clive .... Stage Actor
Adrienne Corri .... Mrs Alexander
Carl Duering .... Doctor Brodsky, Director Ludivico Medical Facility
Clive Francis .... Joe the Lodger
Michael Gover .... Parkmoor Prison Governor
Miriam Karlin .... Miss Weatherly the Cat Lady
James Marcus .... Georgie
Aubrey Morris .... PR Deltoid
Godfrey Quigley .... Prison Chaplain
Sheila Raynor .... Mrs DeLarge (Em)
Madge Ryan .... Doctor Branom
John Savident .... Z Dolin
Anthony Sharp .... Frederick, The Minister of the Interior
Philip Stone .... Mr DeLarge (Pee)
Anthony Burgess .... Author
Stanley Kubrick .... Screenwriter
Stanley Kubrick .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Awards and film festivals:

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS - Oscars): Nominated: Best picture, Best director, Best film editing, Best screenplay
Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes): Nominated: Best director, Best motion picture, Best motion picture actor
London Film Festival 2007: Screening
New York Film Critics Circle: Won: Hugo Award for Best dramatic presentation; Nominated: Best director, Best picture
Raindance Film Festival 2006: Screening

See also Copying Beethoven
Studios and distributors:

Warner Bros * Roadshow Films

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Weird shit from Mother England.

For decades, A clockwork orange has been banned from the Motherland, ostensibly because it promotes violence and portrays a negative image of government. Like how hard is that to do? That ban has recently been lifted but when you watch the film you will understand why a government could feel somewhat edgy about having their inner workings displayed so openly. The violence is stylised but no less effective for it. In fact, the surreality of it all allows you to step back and really look at what's going on: this ain't the orange-blooded effervescent cinematography of Hollywood. There are motivations and consequences for and of all actions.

The film's sharp edge hasn't been blunted by time, either. The violence, the sex, the blind eyes and the collusions are just as real as they are today. Historically, A clockwork orange was ahead of its time at the same time as it was painting daily life on the big screen; queer resonances reverberate between the past's dark vision of the future and the present's sorrowful version of the past. In other words, you'll get off on it no matter when you were born because it speaks to something fundamental to human nature: the need for power.

From the first forms of life to appear on earth, the ability to dominate your fellow beings was the best way to survive and procreate. Aggression is rewarded with offspring, submission with solitude. Sea lions are well down this path with each generation of males being more aggressive than the previous, enforced by violent mating rituals and inbreeding. Humans are on a somewhat more diverse journey, what with the popularity of non-harem breeding customs, but there are still rewards for getting the best of your competitors: power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Alex's petulant control over his droogs is shaky but he displays all the criminal tendencies that will return, like chickens, to roost. Each level of societal authority contains a new hierarchy of power: civilians, criminals, social workers, police, prisons, scientists, opposition parties and governments. He is saved only by his ability to learn from past mistakes and present errors, and to put that knowledge to good use. The ultimate scene where he, a virtual cripple, bargains with the minister, the hand of government, is a masterful display of shifting power. Just watch the way that the minister graciously condescending to feed Alex becomes a fall from beneficent provider to humbled servant.

It's a long watch, but a rewarding one, with layers upon layers of symbols, musicality, recurring themes and blunt-edged repetition. You will get the message, come what may, so you'd better make sure that you watch A clockwork orange.