+++ Opinion +++
When a film is satirized in more than a dozen “Simpsons” episodes, inspires a Die Toten Hosen hit and yet loses none of its oppressive effect, that’s not a good sign. But a very good one! This is exactly the case with Stanley Kubrick’s biting, bitter and uncompromising social satire A Clockwork Orange.
The dystopian thriller originally titled “A Clockwork Orange” is a delicately thought-out, complex statement about the spiral of violence in which we live. As well as a piece of horror cinema that gets under your skin and whose power blows you away. All film fans who want to experience Kubrick’s tour de force again or for the first time can do so on Amazon Prime Video, among other placeswhere it is currently offered as a rental and purchase VOD for little money.
» “Clockwork Orange” on Amazon Prime Video*
Fair warning: Although “Uhrwerk Orange” in Germany “only” has an FSK rating from the age of 16, it is not for the faint of heart. Because Kubrick shocks less with what he shows, but how he shows it. Although the adaptation of the Anthony Burgess novel of the same name has fewer violent peaks and gruesome details than various harder films, the nefariousness with which the perpetrators act here remains long and burning in the memory.
Alex (Malcom McDowell) leads a London youth gang committed to senseless violence, including rape and murder. When a rebellious gang member knocks Alex out, the police are able to apprehend him. As a result, he is sentenced to prison and ultimately chosen as a test subject for a new type of re-education therapy. As part of this, Alex is confronted with ultra-brutal films…
With A Clockwork Orange, Kubrick orchestrated a symphony of provocations: Gangs that indulge in senseless violence. Violence that Kubrick portrays as the perpetrators perceive it – filmed with casual matter-of-factness, underlaid with cheerful, kitschy and/or beautiful classical music. And as if that weren’t uncomfortable enough, Kubrick and production designer John Barry all of this set in a coldly garish, highly stylized world that’s full of hedonistic traits, yet utterly joyless. A strange attack on the optic nerve that cannot be avoided.
Like any good provocation, however, “A Clockwork Orange” does not degenerate into an end in itself, but has something to say: Kubrick not only urges us to closely follow Alex, played by Malcom McDowell with a suckingly disgusting effect. But also whips us through a world of uncomfortable questions and unclear answers. The violence in “A Clockwork Orange” is rooted in a lack of empathy, pleasure-seeking and self-centeredness, but is also the outgrowth of an oppressive police state as well as part of a media vicious circle.
Prevention fails in this dystopia, re-education measures go far beyond the mark and not only break the will, but completely wear down the minds of their subjects. Individuality and community are equally frustrating dead ends here, compromises impossible. and on a metafictional level, A Clockwork Orange is also a violent film about violence in film: He raises questions about how violence can, should and must be shown in films.
Is the depiction glorifying if it’s too graphic, or belittling if it’s not harsh enough? Does film violence dull, or does it only reveal horror – or are there no universal answers? Only one thing is clear: no parody can be garish, silly or dumb enough to rob A Clockwork Orange of its immense impact. There is nothing stopping this film in its unforgiving fury. So: Curtain up for Kubrick’s horror show!
*The links to the Amazon offer are so-called affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we will receive a commission.
