A Clockwork Orange [VHS]

A Clockwork Orange [VHS]
by Stanley Kubrick

A Clockwork Orange [VHS]

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Product details

Actor: John Clive, Malcolm McDowell, Michael Bates, Patrick Magee, Warren Clarke
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cinematographer: John Alcott
Producer: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Stanley Kubrick
Producer: Bernard Williams
Producer: Max L. Raab
Producer: Si Litvinoff
Writer: Anthony Burgess
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
Running Time: 136 minutes
Release Date: 2001-06-12
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Studio: Warner Home Video

VHS Movie Reviews of A Clockwork Orange [VHS]

Movie Review: Brilliant movie with one major flaw
Summary: 4 Stars

Antony Burgess' novel `A Clockwork Orange' is in many ways the perfect vehicle for Stanley Kubrick. It contained many of the usual Kubrick themes (individual vs the organisation, morally ambiguous characters, dehumanisation), and no doubt someone like Kubrick would have appreciated the novel's subversive content. So it's no surprise that Kubrick does a great job of translating the novel to the screen, although it does contain one significant flaw.

Kubrick once again nails the technical aspects of the film. There is an unsettling use of close-ups, such as the very opening shot, or the author when he realises who Alex is. Unable to shield the violence with unique language (as Burgess did), Kubrick takes the edge off the most intense scenes with a choreographed, even surreal, approach. Generally, the film closely follows the novel (with the one major exception discussed below), makes use of Nadsat slang in the narration, and the set design mirrors Burgess' deliberately anachronistic setting.

The cast, too, do an excellent job. Malcolm McDowell, a talented but inconsistent actor, was born to play anti-hero Alex, and his outstanding performance carries the film. Reportedly, McDowell suffered quite a few injuries such as scratched corneas and near-drowning, all in the name of realism. Despite this being basically a one-man show, there are also entertaining cameos from Aubrey Morris as Mr Deltoid and Michael Bates as the prison warden.

The "major flaw", of course, is that the final chapter from Burgess' novel in which Alex matures and decides to end his violent ways, is omitted. This was not Kubrick's fault, it was a decision by the US publisher, but the reality is that it destroys the whole point of the book. The darker "I was cured all right!" ending probably fits better with Kubrick's vision, but means that Alex has not developed at all through the course of the film. Despite all he has experienced, he ends up back where he started. As such, Burgess' emotionally complex novel about growth and maturity becomes a bleak and cynical dystopian film, where there is little hope for the future.

Altering the message in this way does hurt the film, and it is impossible for fans of the novel to overlook this. For this reason, I can't really give it five stars. However, in nearly every other aspect this film succeeds, and it will certainly impress fans of Kubrick's other films.

Movie Review: All People are NOT inherently good.
Summary: 5 Stars

Blu-ray makes a big difference here. Darks are darker and brights are brighter (nice in any Kubrick film.) The movie's theme is unrecognized and unutilized talent. Alex is way off track. But the obvious scapegoats are taken from us. His parents are polite, calm, stable, even timid. Money is stuffed in a drawer. Girls are too easy for him. Leadership in the gang rock solid. He has no clear ambition other than to feel something real. There seems to Alex nothing to work for and nothing to acheive...no possibility of recognition or reward. Creative energy can edify or destroy.

Movie Review: great movie my droogs
Summary: 5 Stars

God I love this movie! I watched this,finally,two nights ago and pigged out on chex mix that I made. The only thing I didn't care for was on the second disc there was no indication as to how long the interviews and what not were, so what I thought was going to be a quick interview with Malcolm ended up being an HOUR! I'm not one for sitting there hearing someone talk for an hour, sorry. I decided to skip the "how to" since I didn't want to nod off.

Movie Review: The DVD dosen't work on any of my 3 DVD players
Summary: 1 Stars

The DVD dosen't work on any of my 3 DVD players, i contacted the provider and received nothing in return.

Movie Review: CWO shines in blu-ray
Summary: 5 Stars

There are a plethora of reviews of the movie, but my review is mostly a comparison of the BD vs DVD version. I won't discuss its merits as movie. CWO has a lot of similarities in its treatment of anarchy and violence as Brad Pitt in Fight Club, yet Fight Club is less controversial?

I was too young to see CWO's theatrical release. But since, I've seen it on various tape versions, DVD and finally BD, as a fan of Kubrick's cinema style.

This movie is stellar in BD. I never really thought much of CWO but on BD, the framing of scenes and high resolution detail reveal subtleties that make visuals speak in strong visceral prose like no version before it [could also be remastering?], and the audio is beyond all prior CWO scores on record, tape, CD or its DVD. The subtitles are tack sharp on BD, making for a much more pleasant experience, helping viewers understand droog speak, or "nadsat", yes, yes?

For example, as McDowall's character Alex peruses records in a shop, one can make out clearly titles and liner notes on some covers. Alex's face show subtle changes as blood flows and ebbs into his skin, and shows how McDowall's acted [ or directed ] with frightening zest. Violent scenes of rape and assault appear more play acting or dance moves, as actors use exaggerated movements and victims almost are almost never bruised or bloodied, despite the pounding, compare this to similar themed and recent movies like Fight Club.

The clear crisp BD sound track makes it far easier to discern the nadsat words that at times were garbled in old analog transmission, broadcast TV, VHS, beta, and less on DVD. However, watching the movie with subtitles is less distracting on a large TV in the better font of BD.

The music was a revelation. I never cared for Wendy [credited as Walter prior to her sex change] Carlos's music, sometimes the synthesizer sound gave me headaches. But somehow, the BD version is so much smoother and richer in overtones compared to modern digital synthesizers, I actually enjoyed listening to her.

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Summary of A Clockwork Orange [VHS]

Stanley Kubrick's striking visual interpretation of Anthony Burgess's famous novel is a masterpiece. Malcolm McDowell delivers a clever, tongue-in-cheek performance as Alex, the leader of a quartet of droogs, a vicious group of young hoodlums who spend their nights stealing cars, fighting rival gangs, breaking into people's homes, and raping women. While other directors would simply exploit the violent elements of such a film without subtext, Kubrick maintains Burgess's dark, satirical social commentary. We watch Alex transform from a free-roaming miscreant into a convict used in a government experiment that attempts to reform criminals through an unorthodox new medical treatment. The catch, of course, is that this therapy may be nothing better than a quick cure-all for a society plagued by rampant crime. A Clockwork Orange works on many levels--visual, social, political, and sexual--and is one of the few films that hold up under repeated viewings. Kubrick not only presents colorfully arresting images, he also stylizes the film by utilizing classical music (and Wendy Carlos's electronic classical work) to underscore the violent scenes, which even today are disturbing in their display of sheer nihilism. Ironically, many fans of the film have missed that point, sadly being entertained by its brutality rather than being repulsed by it. --Bryan Reesman

Stanley Kubrick's striking visual interpretation of Anthony Burgess's famous novel is a masterpiece. Malcolm McDowell delivers a clever, tongue-in-cheek performance as Alex, the leader of a quartet of droogs, a vicious group of young hoodlums who spend their nights stealing cars, fighting rival gangs, breaking into people's homes, and raping women. While other directors would simply exploit the violent elements of such a film without subtext, Kubrick maintains Burgess's dark, satirical social commentary. We watch Alex transform from a free-roaming miscreant into a convict used in a government experiment that attempts to reform criminals through an unorthodox new medical treatment. The catch, of course, is that this therapy may be nothing better than a quick cure-all for a society plagued by rampant crime. A Clockwork Orange works on many levels--visual, social, political, and sexual--and is one of the few films that hold up under repeated viewings. Kubrick not only presents colorfully arresting images, he also stylizes the film by utilizing classical music (and Wendy Carlos's electronic classical work) to underscore the violent scenes, which even today are disturbing in their display of sheer nihilism. Ironically, many fans of the film have missed that point, sadly being entertained by its brutality rather than being repulsed by it. --Bryan Reesman

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