A Clockwork Orange

“Welly, welly, welly, welly, welly, welly, well. To what do I owe the extreme pleasure of this surprising visit?"

 

1971
Director: Stanley Kubrick

Writers: Stanley Kubrick (screenplay), Anthony Burgess (novel)

Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke 

On my to-watch list for months, I finally got around to watching Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange last night after finishing the book yesterday morning. On the knowledge that the film had been withdrawn from British distribution upon release due to its disturbing nature, I was expecting an extremely difficult watch but was surprised to find this was not exactly the case. Some scenes were indeed very unsettling, but having read the book where some acts were even more violent, nothing was particularly unexpected.

Though a big fan of the book, I’m not about to complain about every single little detail that Kubrick decided to omit. I often find it frustrating when book lovers overly criticise a film adaptation because it is “not true to the book but adapt is the key word there. One must realise that cinema is a completely different medium to literature and that certain elements need to be changed to visually please and excite the audience. For example, though I initially winced about the differences in the scene where Alex goes to “home” and discovers that the owner, Mr. Alexander, was once a victim of the former’s crimes, Kubrick’s alterations actually made for better viewing. As Alex lies in the bathtub, we quietly hear the words of “Singing In The Rain”, once heard before as he attacked his new-found guardian. The audience automatically makes the connection and is left tense, to see if the man will discover the truth: a close-up of a hysterical face confirms he does. That said, the tension is more acute in the book as Alex attempts to cover up the clues he drops accidentally (“I thought you didn’t have a phone”) and would have worked well in the film. I also found the scene where Alex is assaulted by old ally Dim and his fellow police officer to be positively modified for the big screen. By lengthening the sequence and involving a frighteningly long stay in a water trough unmentioned in Burgess's novel, the audience is put on edge and continues to somehow sympathise with our violent yet charismatic narrator. 

I will probably now sound as if I am contradicting my earlier statement that I won’t criticise the changes but I found a few to be slightly unnecessary, especially given the size of the novel. Firstly, the film excludes the references to its title, showing how Alex has been made “a clockwork orange” by his aversion therapy. Though not vital, the fact that Mr. Alexander  created the title and that it stuck in Alex’s head during their first encounter was an important, intriguing part of the novel and served as another clue to their meeting that Alex attempts to conceal. 

Your  Humble Narrator, Alex

The most controversial change, though, occurred in the film's conclusion.  In the novel, the ending is optimistic; we see Alex growing out of his sociopathic tendencies, even after he is cured of his therapy, and deciding to lead a better life. In the film, he is seen collaborating with the autocratic government and the viewer is left unsure whether Alex will return to his villainous ways or not. Though the positive ending was satisfactory as a reader, I do not completely oppose to Kubrick's unintentional editing, as it seemed more realistic in the vision he put on screen. 

 Keeping the Nadsat dialect was vital, and it is used most effectively in Alex’s narration. A few words seemed to keep their English variation, but unlike the reader, the viewer is not given a glossary of terms and needs to be gradually introduced to this unique style. Though not all first-person narratives need be maintained in film format, it was necessary here and most effective during the film screenings. 

Though initially uncertain about the casting of Alex, his voice in particular was not what I had imagined, it was in the scenes after Alex goes to prison where I believe Malcolm McDowell portrayed him fantastically; the hospital scene with the Minister of The Interior feeding him being a favourite and another positive addition to the book. 

This was the first Kubrick film that I had seen, and I was therefore incredibly impressed. Though not a knowledgeable film critic, I appreciated the experimental aspects of the film: a close-up of Alex’s haunting face to start, the change to animation as the cat-woman’s face is about to be squashed, the slowing down and speeding up of various sequences. The use of music was particularly ingenious and not only did the classical music reflect upon our protagonist’s love for the genre, but it gave the film the satirical edge needed. 

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this film as a motion picture in its own right and also a impressive adaption of a classic novel. 

9/10