• A Clockwork Orange is Stanley Kubrick's 1971 adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novel of the same name. Nominated for the 1971 Academy Award for Best Picture, it lost to The French Connection.

• Summary

  In the film, as in the book, Alex de Large, played by British actor Malcolm McDowell, engages in a spree of "ultra-violence" with his friends (called in the film's future hybrid language "Nasdat", "droogs"). Alex and his droogs live in a futuristic and permanently economically depressed England and participate in a series of nihilistic acts of sex and violence. At various points in the film, Alex and/or his friends engage in a threesome, attempt to rape a girl on the street, brutally attack a homeless man, rapes the wife of a writer, and finally, kills a woman during a home invasion with a heavy, phallic sculpture. Alex is arrested and convicted for the last crime and in return for a reduction in his 14-year sentence, is required to undergo a controversial behavioral therapy meant to cure him of his antisocial and psychotic tendencies.

• Controversy

  A Clockwork Orange was a controversial film even before its release. Originally rated X in the United States by the MPAA, Kubrick removed and toned down footage of sex and violence for its theatrical release. However, this footage has since been restored in the home video and DVD versions. The film was believed to have inspired copycat crimes in both Britain and the United States, and the film remains a cult classic to this day. Several songs that appear in A Clockwork Orange have become permanently associated with the film, including "Singin' in the Rain", the "William Tell Overture", and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

• Fast Facts

  1. Director: Stanley Kubrick
  2. Distributor: Warner Bros.
  3. Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee
  4. Release Date: December 19, 1971
  5. Running Time: 136 min.
  6. Budget: $2.2 million

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Stanley Kubrick | Malcolm McDowell | A Space Odyssey | The Shining | Lolita | Full Metal Jacket | Eyes Wide Shut | Anthony Burgess | A Clockwork Orange (Book)

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