CLOCKWORK ORANGE

Alex (Malcolm McDowell) has his own way of having a good time. He has it at the tragic expense of others. Alex's journey from amoral punk to brainwashed proper citizen forms the dynamic arc of Stanley Kubrick's future-shook vision of Anthony Burgess's novel. Unforgettable images, startling musical counterpoints, the fascinating language used by Alex and his pals - Kubrick shapes them into a shattering whole. Hugely controversial when first released, A Clockwork Orange won the New York Film Critics Best Picture and Director honors and earned four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. The power of its art is such that it still entices, shocks, and holds us in its grasp.
1972


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TRIVIA

Rated #2 of the 25 most controversial movies of all time. Entertainment Weekly, 16 June 2006.

Kubrick had his assistant destroy all unused footage

The Car used by Alex and the droogs was the "Adams Probe 16", one of three ever made.

Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 25 Most Dangerous Movies".

In the music shop scene there is a list of Top Ten music bands up on the wall. One of the bands listed is Heaven Seventeen, which one of the girls mentions to Alex. This name was used by a real band in the 80's.

In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #70 Greatest Movie of All Time.

Contrary to popular claims, this film was never banned in the UK. It originally received an "X" rating in 1971 and was withdrawn from distribution in 1973 by the film's director. In 1999 (the year of Stanley Kubrick's death), the film was released again and received an "18" rating.

The writer of the book, 'Anthony Burgess' , lived for a time in Malaysia [where his wife was beaten by four American GI's, thus giving inspiration to this story]. In Malay, the word "orang" means man,[this is also part of the derivation of the word 'orangutan', the other half being derived from "hutan" meaning jungle] therefore, the title of the story is actually a pun on the British expression. Rather than a clockwork fruit, it is a clockwork man, which is, of course, exactly what Alex has become by the end of the film.

The title was translated into Serbo-Croatian as "The Orange From Hell" ("Paklena Naranca" - Croatian, "Paklena Pomorandza" - Serbian). This comes from the term for clockwork bombs - "Paklena Masina" - "Machine from hell"

In the early 1990's London's popular Scala Film Club showed this movie without permission from Stanley Kubrick or Warner Brothers. At Kubrick's insistence Warners sued and won. As a result the Scala was almost bankrupt and closed in 1993.

Much of the continuity errors in this film (glass placement in the dinner scene, Alex's droog's hats appearing/disappearing at the river, etc.) were all intentional. Stanley Kubrick was trying to have a slight disorienting effect in this film.

The combination to Alex's bedroom door is 17-34-89

In the scene where Reformed Alex is being taken into the woods by his old droogan buddies you can see the officer numbers on their uniforms 665 and 667 implying that Alex is 666.

The doorbell at the Alexander residence, "Home", plays the first four notes of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony" (but in a different key).

At one point, Tinto Brass was attached to direct.

"Korova" is Russian for "Cow", hence the name "The Korova Milk Bar."

The word "Moloko" on the walls of the milk bar means milk in Russian.

Alex's prison number in the movie is 655321. "Six, double five, three, two, one." However in the book his prison number is 6655321.

Ken Russell was considered to direct the movie, with Oliver Reed playing the part of Alex.

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