A Clockwork Orange (1971 35mm)
Thursday Weekly 35mm Movie Night
Thursday, October 4th
8pm | $10
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Few films are as sensational or infamous as Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. It's impossible to sit through ACO and not have a reaction; whether it be shock, disgust or amazement. The savage tale of a brutal young droog and his subsequent "reformation" by the government is as shocking and thought-provoking as ever.
While based on Anthony Burgess's book, the film's depictions of violence and sex are what it's most known for, and ACO works on far deeper levels. The disturbing portrayal of youth and its satirical depiction of a government's attempts to create a better society are brilliant, but the most fascinating aspect of ACO is the questions it poses about good and evil.
Malcolm McDowell gives a career-best performance as the sadistic narrator, terrifying in the film's horrific first half and oddly pitiable in the more philosophical second.
A Clockwork Orange has aged tremendously well over the years. Frightening & witty in equal doses, controversial on the grounds of its violent imagery yet an eye-opener when it comes to the subject of morality, this socio-political satire remains as relevant today as it was during its time of release and its critical take on mental conditioning that aims to control an individual by removing his or her ability to choose transcends the realms of psychology itself.