What Makes "A Clockwork Orange" Great.

Still regarded even more than 40 years later as one of the most controversial films ever made, Stanley Kubrick once again pushed the boundaries in film making in this adaption of Anthony Burgess's science fiction dystopian novel on sex, violence, and government corruption.

The world Kubrick creates in A Clockwork Orange remains a sight to see, production designer John Barry and costume designer Milena Cananero created a setting that for me is the first thing I think of when I think of the term dystopia. Its a world of great art, but it is also a world of great vulgarity and violence and often we see these three things thrown together. The opening scene with the camera zoomed in on Alex's face and then panning back to show the rest of his gang and the establishment they hang out in is a perfect example of this subjects coming together. The camera slowly pans out revealing the profanity of the place with its naked woman stools and fountains, Alex and his gang's hypnotic stares as well as the haunting rendition of "The Funeral of Queen Mary" make this one of my favorite openings to a movie ever. Another scene that shows this mash-up comes just a few moments after this scene with the establishing shot of a religious painting on top of a theater that has been altered into something vulgar, then the camera pans down to the theater showing a gang of teenagers raping and fighting over a naked woman with Beethoven playing in the background. It's shots like these that show the viewer that this is a world that has a lack of security and proper control brought on by a government that doesn't seem to care for its people anymore.

The Main protagonist Alex Delarge (Malcolm McDowell) is definitely an interesting protagonist, to say the least. At the start of the movie, we see that Alex is deranged psychotic teenage delinquent various acts of violence and sex. A fact that is even more disturbing than the acts he performs is the age at which he is doing it, he can't be more than 16 or 17 and the fact that he is doing all this before he is even a legal adult that makes this acts all the more horrible. Trying to make a protagonist that does these sort of things a likable character is indeed a tricky tightrope, but Kubrick's script and McDowell's amazing performance make us get behind Alex, as well he may be a horrible person, there is much more to him than just violence and sex. He is charming, he's intelligent, and has got a love for classical music. It's this level of likability and charm that McDowell brings to this character that makes you feel sympathetic to him after he undergoes the treatment and is released as a defenseless and hypnotized victim into a world that tournament and nearly kill him. Many of the people that do these to him are the people he terrorized before he went to prison, and while that sounds like he deserves this, he is an empty shell compared to the person that did those acts, this makes it impossible to get a sense of justice when this happens to him, but rather sympathy and disgust at this at this cruel world.

The film is also a perfect example of a three-act movie and how to do one properly. The first act establishes the world of the film, as well as the character of Alex Delarge as a psychopath terrorizing people who will later get back at him in the third act. The second act is Alex in prison and the establishment of the corruption of the government and the destruction of the individual. When Alex enters the prison he is given a number he is told he must remember as this is essentially his new name as this is what he will be referred to by the guards and the rest of the prison staff, and we can assume this is the case with the rest of the prisoners. He then volunteers for treatment so he can get out of prison more quickly, only to discover it's a disturbing act of hypnotizing him into being a defenseless zombie that can't defend himself, stripping him of his free will. The government hopes to use this technique to make him and other people who can't be so easily controlled by law into individuals who can't think for themselves and can be controlled into not doing acts of lawbreaking and violence. It's this idea of hypnotizing and controlling rather than proper rehabilitation (which would take more work on their part) that establishes the government as the true menace. In the third act, we see just how much of a horrible decision this is by the government as Alex is released but the treatment has left him unable to defend himself in a violent and cruel world and turned his passion of music into something that makes him sick and distressed. In the end when this effects nearly kill him he is taking to the hospital seemingly cured of this and is given an "apology" by the government who quickly place the blame on the technique they were "referred" to and offer to give Alex a job in their government to essentially be a pawn that blindly supports them. The ending also suggests that Alex's sick desires of violence and sex are back, and will likely continue to do the same horrible things that got him into prison, as deep down pass that hypnotized brain, he is still the same deranged boy, and as soon as the brainwashing is gone, so to are the inserted blocks of this urges, as this urges are something only proper rehabilitation can get truly get rid off and because the government didn't accept the responsibility and work it takes to achieve this, Alex will no doubt continue his cycle of violence.

With its disturbing elements of nudity, violence, dark comedy, and moral and psychological themes, A Clockwork Orange is one hell of a ride, and God Bless every minute of it.