A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 dystopian crime film written, produced, and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on Anthony Burgess’s 1962 novel. The film uses upsetting and violent themes to discuss psychiatry, juvenile delinquency, youth gangs, and larger social, political, and economic issues in a dystopian near-future Britain.

Alex (Malcolm McDowell), the main character, is a charming but anti-social delinquent who enjoys classical music, especially Beethoven’s work, and commits crimes such as rape, theft, and extreme violence. He leads a small group of friends—Pete (Michael Tarn), Georgie (James Marcus), and Dim (Warren Clarke)—whom he calls his droogs (a Russian word meaning "friend" or "buddy"). The film follows the violent actions of Alex’s group, his arrest, and his attempt at rehabilitation through an experimental psychological method called the "Ludovico Technique," promoted by the Minister of the Interior (Anthony Sharp). Most of the film is narrated by Alex in Nadsat, a mix of Slavic languages, English, and Cockney rhyming slang.

The film premiered in New York City on December 19, 1971, and was released in the United Kingdom on January 13, 1972. Critics had mixed opinions about the film, and it caused controversy because of its graphic depictions of violence. After it was linked to real-life violent crimes, Kubrick requested the film be removed from British theaters, and it was also banned in other countries. Over time, the film received more positive reviews and gained a cult following. It earned several awards and nominations, including four at the 44th Academy Awards, such as Best Picture.

In the British Film Institute’s 2012 Sight & Sound polls, A Clockwork Orange was ranked 75th in the directors’ poll and 235th in the critics’ poll. In 2020, the film was chosen for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, which called it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Plot

In a future version of Britain, Alex DeLarge is the leader of a group called "droogs," which includes Georgie, Dim, and Pete. They spend a night drinking alcohol and committing violent acts, such as beating a homeless person and fighting another gang. They severely injure a writer named Frank Alexander and force Alex to sexually assault Alexander's wife while singing "Singin' in the Rain." The next day, Alex's probation officer, P. R. Deltoid, warns him about his actions.

Alex's droogs want to commit more serious crimes, such as stealing valuable items, but Alex uses violence to stop them. He enters the home of a wealthy woman known as a "cat-lady" and hits her with a statue shaped like a man's body part. His droogs stay outside, and when police arrive, Dim throws a bottle at Alex's face, leaving him to be arrested. The woman dies from her injuries, and Alex is sentenced to 14 years in prison for murder.

After two years in prison, Alex agrees to participate in an experiment called the Ludovico technique, designed to help criminals stop committing crimes quickly. During the treatment, Alex is tied to a chair, forced to watch films showing violence and sex, and given drugs. He is made to listen to music by Ludwig van Beethoven and becomes very sick, begging to stop the treatment.

The Minister of the Interior shows officials that Alex can no longer resist violence or sexual temptation. The prison chaplain says Alex's free will was taken away, but the Minister claims the treatment will reduce crime and free prison space for political prisoners.

After his release, Alex finds his belongings have been sold to help his victims, and his parents have rented out his room. A homeless man Alex had attacked earlier attacks him, but two police officers—his former droogs, Dim and Georgie—save him. They beat him and leave him injured. Alex collapses outside a house.

Alex wakes up at the home of Mr. Alexander, who now uses a wheelchair. Alexander does not recognize Alex but knows about him from the news. Alexander plans to use Alex as a political tool. While bathing, Alex sings "Singin' in the Rain," and Alexander realizes Alex was the attacker. Alexander drugs Alex and locks him in a room, then plays Beethoven's Ninth Symphony loudly. Overcome by pain, Alex tries to kill himself by jumping from a window.

Alex survives in the hospital with serious injuries. Tests show he no longer avoids violence or sex. The Minister arrives, apologizes, and says Alexander has been moved to a mental institution. The Minister offers Alex a job if he helps with his election campaign. He plays Beethoven's Ninth Symphony again, and Alex thinks about violence and having sex in front of a crowd, saying, "I was cured, all right!"

Cast

The film gave their first roles to Steven Berkoff, David Prowse, and Carol Drinkwater. Steven Berkoff played a police officer, David Prowse portrayed Julian, who was Mr. Alexander's attendant, and Carol Drinkwater played a nurse.

Themes

The film's main question is about what makes someone "good" and whether using aversion therapy to stop bad behavior is acceptable. Kubrick, who wrote about the film in Saturday Review, said it is a story that shows how dangerous it might be for a government to use psychological methods to control people and make them act like machines. On the film's production notes, Kubrick also wrote that the story is about a troubled teenager who is changed by therapy, but it also discusses whether people can truly be free to make their own choices.

After aversion therapy, Alex acts like a good person, but not because he wants to. His good behavior is forced, making him like a clockwork orange—seeming natural on the outside but controlled on the inside. A chaplain in the film says Alex's new behavior is not real goodness because it is not from his heart. This leads to the idea that both the government and a group of people called Dissidents use Alex for their own goals. The film shows that both the government and the Dissidents are criticized for their actions. A man named Frank Alexander, who was hurt by Alex, wants to use Alex to help people oppose the government. He fears the government is becoming like other countries where leaders control people through harsh methods.

On the other side, the government's leader, the Minister of the Interior, imprisons Frank Alexander, saying he is a threat to Alex. The Minister claims Frank Alexander is being prevented from writing material that criticizes the government. It is unclear if Frank Alexander was harmed, but the Minister says he can no longer write.

The film criticizes a theory called behaviorism, which was promoted by psychologists John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner. The author of the book the film is based on, Anthony Burgess, disliked behaviorism and called Skinner's book Beyond Freedom and Dignity one of the most dangerous books ever written. Skinner believed that using methods like operant conditioning—teaching people through rewards and punishments—could lead to a better society. The film's Ludovico technique is seen as a humorous version of aversion therapy, which is a type of operant conditioning.

Author Paul Duncan said Alex is the story's narrator, so the audience sees everything through his eyes, including his thoughts and dreams. Psychiatrist Aaron Stern, who once led a group that rated movies, believed Alex represents a person's natural, uncontrolled state. After therapy, Alex becomes more controlled, and Stern thought the problems that follow are caused by society's rules.

Kubrick told critics that Alex is not trying to hide his bad nature. He is completely evil, but he also has qualities like honesty, wit, and energy, which make him interesting. Kubrick compared Alex to a character from a famous play, Richard III.

Some people thought the society in the film was communist because of its Russian influences, such as the slang used by teenagers. The author, Anthony Burgess, said the slang was used to help readers understand the characters and keep the story from becoming outdated. The film shows socialist artwork, like a mural with offensive words drawn on it, and Alex's home is shown in a style of housing common in socialist countries.

When a new right-wing government takes power, the film shows a more controlled and strict society than the earlier, more chaotic setting. Kubrick did not clearly say what kind of society the film represents. He said the film shows that both the right and left sides of politics have similar problems. Kubrick explained that the government official, played by Anthony Sharp, represents the right, and the writer, played by Patrick Magee, represents the left. He said they only differ in their beliefs, but their actions and goals are very similar.

Comparison of film and novel

Kubrick's film follows the Burgess novel closely, except for the final chapter, which shows Alex growing and changing his behavior. In the film, Alex is offered a government job, suggesting he still has harmful behavior. However, the novel ends with Alex making positive changes. This difference happened because Kubrick based his screenplay on the American version of the novel, which removed the final chapter. Kubrick said he did not read the full original version of the novel until nearly finishing the screenplay and did not consider using it. The 1996 edition of A Clockwork Orange explains that Kubrick found the ending of the original novel too overly optimistic and unrealistic.

• Critic Randy Rasmussen noted that the government in the film is shown as weak and struggling, while the government in the novel is strong and confident. This reflects Kubrick's focus on how people act in their own interest while pretending to follow rules.
• In the film, Alex has a pet snake. This detail is not mentioned in the novel.
• In the novel, F. Alexander recognizes Alex through mistakes Alex made during a previous attack, such as a reference to a telephone. In the film, Alex is recognized when he sings the song "Singing in the Rain" in the bath, a scene that mirrors the attack on F. Alexander's wife. The song does not appear in the book. It was added by actor Malcolm McDowell during filming when Kubrick asked him to dance after the rape scene felt too stiff. McDowell chose the song because he knew some of the lyrics.

Production

Anthony Burgess sold the film rights to his novel for US$500 (worth about $5,300 in today's money) shortly after the book was published in 1962. At first, the film was planned to star the rock band the Rolling Stones, with their lead singer, Mick Jagger, interested in playing the main character, Alex. British filmmaker Ken Russell was chosen to direct. Film historian William K. Everson mentioned in a 1972 interview that both the Rolling Stones and the Beatles were considered to play Alex and his group of friends, called the "droogs," during the 1960s before Stanley Kubrick became involved. According to 225 Magazine, writer Terry Southern first created a script for the film with the Beatles in mind for the main roles. However, in February 1968, the film's producer, Si Litvinoff, sent a letter to director John Schlesinger, including a petition signed by Jagger and all four Beatles, requesting Jagger to play Alex and the Beatles to compose the film's soundtrack. This plan did not happen because of issues with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), and the rights eventually went to Kubrick.

After Kubrick saw actor Malcolm McDowell in the film If… (1968), he chose him to play Alex. Kubrick explained that McDowell could show intelligence on screen. McDowell also helped Kubrick design Alex's gang uniform by showing him his cricket whites. Kubrick asked him to wear the jockstrap on top of the costume instead of underneath.

The film A Clockwork Orange (1962) was not originally planned for the screen. Terry Southern gave Kubrick a copy of the book, but Kubrick set it aside because he was working on a project about Napoleon Bonaparte. Kubrick's wife later said she gave him the novel after reading it. Kubrick said he was excited by the story's plot, characters, and language, and he believed it worked on many levels, including political, philosophical, and psychological. He wrote a screenplay based on the novel, though he made some changes to the story and used the shortened American version of the book, which left out the final chapter.

Kubrick was very careful in his work. He took thousands of photos of possible filming locations and made many takes of scenes. McDowell said Kubrick was so detail-oriented that if he had not been a director, he might have been a military leader. To create the dreamlike feel of the story, Kubrick used special wide-angle lenses.

Filming took place from September 1970 to April 1971. During the scene showing the Ludovico technique, McDowell scratched his eye and was temporarily blinded. A real doctor was present to help protect his eyes. McDowell also broke some ribs during a scene showing Alex being humiliated. A special effect was used when Alex jumps from a window during a suicide attempt. The camera was dropped from the third floor of the Corus Hotel, and it survived six takes.

The main theme of the film is an electronic version of a short piece from Henry Purcell's Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary. The soundtrack includes two of Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance Marches. Kubrick wanted to use the Pink Floyd song "Atom Heart Mother," but the band refused.

Alex loves the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, especially his Ninth Symphony. The soundtrack includes an electronic version of parts of the symphony, arranged by Wendy Carlos. The film also uses more music by Rossini than Beethoven. Scenes such as the fast-motion sex scene, the slow-motion fight between Alex and his friends, the fight with Billy Boy's gang, the drive to the writer's home, the invasion of the Cat Lady's home, and Alex looking into a river before being approached by a beggar are all accompanied by Rossini's William Tell Overture or The Thieving Magpie Overture.

Reception

When A Clockwork Orange was first released, it received mixed reactions from critics. Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised the film, saying: "McDowell is excellent in his role, but it is Stanley Kubrick’s work that stands out. Kubrick uses techniques like wide-angle lenses to make spaces in scenes feel strange and disconnected, showing how people and their environments are separated." The next year, after the film won the New York Film Critics Award, Canby described it as "a brilliant but dangerous work, like many great things can be."

Some critics did not like the film. Stanley Kauffmann noted that the script left out a reference to the book’s title. Roger Ebert gave it two stars out of four, calling it an "ideological mess." Pauline Kael of The New Yorker wrote that the film was "pornographic" because it showed Alex’s victims being treated poorly while focusing on Alex’s suffering. She also mentioned that a scene where a gang strips a woman was included for entertainment.

In a later review, Leslie Halliwell called the film "repulsive" and said that while some found meaning in it, most likely thought it was "pretentious and nasty." John Simon wrote that the book’s strength came from its language and the unusual slang used by the narrator, which made it hard to adapt into a film. He also criticized the actor who played Alex, Patrick Magee, for being too over-the-top in his performance.

Over time, A Clockwork Orange became a cult classic. Philip French of The Guardian said its controversial reputation may have come from the time it was released, when fear of teenage crime was high. Adam Nayman of The Ringer noted that the film’s themes about crime, power, and mistreatment of people are still relevant today. Simon Braund of Empire praised the film’s visual style and Malcolm McDowell’s performance as Alex. Roger Ebert later said the film had "all head and no heart" but acknowledged Kubrick’s distance from the violence.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 86% approval rating based on 84 reviews. The site’s summary says: "Disturbing and thought-provoking, A Clockwork Orange is a cold, dystopian nightmare with a dark sense of humor." Metacritic gave it a score of 77 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

The film was a box-office success, earning $41 million in the United States and $73 million overseas, totaling $114 million on a $1.3 million budget. It was also popular in the United Kingdom, where it played for over a year at the Warner West End in London. Warner Bros. earned $2.5 million in rental fees from the UK in 1973, making it the third-highest-grossing film that year. In France, it was the most popular film of 1972, with 7,611,745 admissions.

The film was re-released in North America in 1973, earning $1.5 million in rental fees. Anthony Burgess, the author of the book, had mixed feelings about the film. He praised Malcolm McDowell and the use of music but was upset that the film omitted the novel’s final chapter, which he believed showed redemption. He blamed his American publisher for this change. Kubrick said the missing chapter was not important and that he had not read the original book until after writing the screenplay.

Burgess and Kubrick initially had a good relationship, sharing similar interests in literature, music, and politics. Burgess dedicated his novel Napoleon Symphony to Kubrick. Their relationship worsened when Kubrick defended the film against criticism. Burgess, a former Catholic, tried to explain the film’s moral themes to critics and organizations. He did not participate in the film’s production and only earned $500 from the rights to the adaptation.

In Burgess’s play A Clockwork Orange: A Play with Music (1984), there is a scene where Alex joins others in singing. In the script, a man with a beard like Kubrick’s appears and plays "Singin’ in the Rain" on the trumpet before being kicked off the stage.

Controversies

In the United States, A Clockwork Orange received an X rating when it was first released in 1972. Later that same year, the director, Stanley Kubrick, changed about 30 seconds of scenes showing explicit sexual content to less intense images. This change allowed the film to be re-released with an R rating.

Because the film showed explicit violence and sexual content, the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures gave it a "C" rating, which meant it was strongly disapproved of and not recommended for Roman Catholics to watch. In 1982, this office removed the "C" rating. After that, films with high levels of violence or sexual content were given an "O" rating, meaning they were considered "morally offensive."

In the United Kingdom, the film was shown in its full version in December 1971. However, British officials thought the sexual violence in the film was very extreme. In March 1972, during a court case involving a 14-year-old boy accused of killing a classmate, the prosecutor mentioned A Clockwork Orange, saying the film had a dark connection to the case. The film was also linked to the murder of an elderly man by a 16-year-old boy in Bletchley, who told police that friends had shown him the film and described the violence in it. A defense lawyer said there was a clear connection between the crime and the film. The press also connected the film to a rape, where the attackers sang a song called "Singin' in the Rain" but changed the lyrics to "Singin' in the Rape." Christiane Kubrick, the director's wife, said the family received threatening messages and had protesters outside their home.

In 1973, Warner Bros. removed the film from British theaters at Kubrick's request. Kubrick responded to claims that the film caused copycat violence by saying:

The Scala Cinema Club faced financial problems in 1993 after losing a legal battle over showing the film without permission. That same year, Channel 4 aired a 27-minute documentary called Forbidden Fruit, which discussed the film's removal in Britain. The documentary included scenes from A Clockwork Orange. For 27 years, it was difficult to see the film in the UK. After Kubrick died in 1999, the film was shown in theaters, on VHS, and on DVD. On July 4, 2001, the full version of the film was shown on Sky TV's Sky Box Office and remained available until mid-September.

In Ireland, the film was banned on April 10, 1973. Warner Bros. did not try to appeal this decision. The film was later shown in its full version in cinemas on December 13, 1999, and released on March 17, 2000. A poster for the re-release, which was similar to the original British version, was rejected because it included the words "ultra-violence" and "rape" in the tagline. A censor named Sheamus Smith explained that these words were considered offensive and unsuitable for advertising.

In Singapore, the film was banned for over 30 years. In 2006, an attempt to show the film was made, but the request for an M18 rating (for older audiences) was denied, and the ban remained in place. Later, the ban was lifted, and the film was shown in its full version with an R21 rating (for adults) on October 28, 2011, as part of the Perspectives Film Festival.

In South Africa, the film was banned during the apartheid era for 13 years. It was released in 1984 with one scene cut and only available to people over 21. The film was also banned in South Korea and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Nova Scotia. The Maritime Film Classification Board later lifted the ban, and both regions now give the film an R rating.

In Brazil, the film was banned during the military dictatorship until 1978, when it was released with black dots covering the actors' nudity in certain scenes.

In Spain, the film was shown at the 1975 Valladolid International Film Festival under the rule of Francisco Franco. It was expected to be shown at the University of Valladolid, but student protests had closed the university for two months. The film was eventually shown at festival venues, where long lines of students waited to see it. After the festival, the film was shown in independent theaters and later in commercial cinemas.

In Malta, the film was banned until 2000, when it was shown in local theaters for the first time. In 2022, the film was mentioned during a court case involving the rape and murder of Paulina Dembska in Sliema. The accused compared himself to the film's main character, Alex, during police questioning.

Home media

In the United States, the film has been available on home video since 1980 and was re-released multiple times on VHS. It was first released on DVD in the US on June 29, 1999.

In the United Kingdom, the film was finally released by Warner Home Video on November 13, 2000, on both VHS and DVD. It was sold separately and as part of The Stanley Kubrick Collection DVD set. Because some fans had negative comments, Warner Bros. re-released the film with a digitally restored image and remastered soundtrack. A limited-edition collector's set, including a soundtrack disc, film poster, booklet, and filmstrip, was later released but eventually discontinued. In 2005, a British re-release was packaged as an "Iconic Film" in a limited-edition slipcase. This version was identical to the remastered DVD set but had different cover art. In 2006, Warner Bros. announced a two-disc special edition featuring a commentary by Malcolm McDowell and other two-disc sets of Stanley Kubrick films. Some British retailers had planned the release for November 6, 2006, but the release was delayed and re-announced for the 2007 Holiday Season.

On October 23, 2007, an HD DVD, Blu-ray, and DVD version of the film was re-released alongside four other Kubrick classics. These versions included 1080p video transfers and remixed Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (for HD DVD) and uncompressed 5.1 PCM (for Blu-ray) audio tracks. Unlike the previous version, the DVD re-release was anamorphically enhanced. The Blu-ray version was reissued for the 40th anniversary of the film's release and included a Digibook and the documentary Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures as bonus features.

In 2021, a 4K restoration of the film was completed with the help of Kubrick’s former assistant, Leon Vitali, working closely with Warner Bros. The film was released in the US on September 21, 2021, and in the UK on October 4, 2021.

Legacy and influence

The film A Clockwork Orange is often grouped with other important movies, such as Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Wild Bunch (1969), Soldier Blue (1970), Dirty Harry (1971), and Straw Dogs (1971). These films are seen as important milestones in the history of cinema, as they helped reduce the strict rules about showing violence on screen.

A Clockwork Orange continues to have a major impact on movies and other forms of media. It is often mentioned in popular culture. Adam Chandler of The Atlantic says this is because the director, Stanley Kubrick, used unique methods in filming, music, and production that were new at the time the movie was made.

In 1999, The Village Voice ranked A Clockwork Orange as number 112 on its list of the Top 250 "Best Films of the Century." This list was created by asking critics to vote. The film also appears on several lists from the American Film Institute (AFI). It was listed at No. 46 in the AFI's 1998 list of "100 Years… 100 Movies," at No. 70 in the AFI's 2007 second list. The character "Alex DeLarge" was ranked 12th in the villains section of the AFI's 100 Years… 100 Heroes and Villains list. In 2008, the AFI's 10 Top 10 list named A Clockwork Orange the 4th greatest science-fiction movie. The film was also placed 21st on the AFI's 100 Years… 100 Thrills list.

In the British Film Institute's 2012 Sight & Sound poll, which asked directors and critics to choose the greatest films, A Clockwork Orange was ranked 75th in the directors' poll and 235th in the critics' poll. In 2010, Time magazine listed it as 9th on its list of the Top 10 Ridiculously Violent Movies. In 2008, Empire ranked it 37th on its list of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time," and in 2013, Empire ranked it 11th on its list of "The 100 Best British Films Ever." In 2010, The Guardian ranked the film 6th on its list of 25 greatest arthouse films. The Spanish director Luis Buñuel praised the film highly. He once said, "A Clockwork Orange is my current favorite. I was not in favor of the film. After seeing it, I realized it is only a movie about what the modern world really means." In 2024, Far Out Magazine named the character Alex one of the "10 most accurate movie psychopaths according to the FBI."

In 2020, A Clockwork Orange was added to the United States' National Film Registry. This is a list of films considered important for their cultural, historical, or artistic value.