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A Clockwork Orange

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02:10

A Clockwork Orange

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• Comedy
• Crime/detective

• 1971
• Stanley Kubrick
• 130 mins
• X

Summary

Stanley Kubrick's controversial futuristic vision, dramatised from the novella by Anthony Burgess and starring Malcolm McDowell. Imprisoned after the brutal murder of a woman, Alex, leader of a gang of sadistic thugs, agrees to undergo behaviour therapy designed to turn him against violence. However, when he is released back into the community, the results of the treatment prove to be costly for the reformed Alex.

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Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Andrew Collins

Withdrawn from release by director Stanley Kubrick in 1974 and officially unseen until 1999 (after his death), A Clockwork Orange suffers from an artificially inflated degree of mythology. Adapted from the 1962 Anthony Burgess novel about anarchic, slang-spouting yobs ("droogs") in a grey, divided, dystopian future, it was shocking then and still is today, particularly the rape and sadistic "ultraviolence" in the first half. But such unpleasant excesses make important points about the dangers of a two-tier totalitarian society, and the scenes in which ringleader Alex (Malcolm McDowell) is relentlessly brainwashed into submission by the state send an ambiguous message. Kubrick's vision is a thing to behold; whether or not it's an actual masterpiece is still up for debate. What it is, however, is prescient, visceral, compelling and hard to forget.

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8.2/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameAlexMalcolm McDowellMr AlexanderPatrick MageeDimWarren ClarkeGeorgieJames MarcusMrs AlexanderAdrienne CorriCat LadyMiriam KarlinDeltoidAubrey MorrisChief guardMichael BatesPeteMichael TarnDadPhilip StoneConspiratorJohn SavidentConspiratorMargaret TyzackConstableSteven BerkoffJulianDave ProwseStage actorJohn CliveDr BrodskyCarl DueringLodgerClive FrancisTrampPaul FarrellMinisterAnthony Sharp

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Crew

rolenameDirectorStanley Kubrick

Details

Theatrical distributor

BFI Distribution

Released on

2019-04-05

Languages

English

Guidance

Violence, swearing, sex scenes, drug abuse, nudity

Available on

video, DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

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