A Clockwork Orange

ullanta said:
(preparing to take shelter from thrown objects) I never understood the resistance to Eyes Wide Shut - I think it holds it's own amonhst Kubrick's works, in fact it's one of my favorites... anyone "revisiting" Kubrick should revisit it as well, and see how it plays...
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ditto. Its strange that three of his less popular works (for one reason or another) are my favs -- Barry Lyndon, Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut. Not trolling here but while The Shining is an enjoyable movie, it is also the one most lacking in depth, and my least favorite of his.
 
I find it strage that everyone seems to think Kubrick is all tone and no "content" or "depth". I became interested in him when one of my philosophy professors showed us "A Clockwork Orange" and "Full Metal Jacket" back to back. Both films deal implicity with Kubrick's favourite theme- the question of man's free will. Clockwork is about removing will to pacify a rapist and killer, Jacket about removing will to create a killer.

Here's my Kubrick website if anyone's interested:
http://kubrickfilms.tripod.com/index.html

His films do have "depth" and aren't just superficial excercises in style. He's one of the few artists to completely merge form and content, creating a new form with every one of his films.
 
Kubrik is one of my favorite directors and Clockwork is probably my favorite film. I absolutely adore it. The story, the framing, the lightning, the music, the meaning. It's simply a perfect film. Kubrik was an architect of image and a genius.
 
Kubrick is a very special case. When you watch any scene from any film of his, the first thing you're struck by is it's apparant simplicity. But the more involved you get, the more you study that one scene, the more you begin to notice how complex and impossible and perfect it is. Us mere mortals will never figure him out. He was too smart.
 
I absolutely love most of Kubrick's films, but I understand why some people don't. His films are very cold and intellectual, bordering on antiseptic. But his intellect was so deep that if you engage his films on that level they are immensely rewarding. They are not passive entertainments. You get out of them what you bring to them. Many people don't have patience for that and I can understand. If we only had Kubrick's and not Spielberg's the film world would be pretty depressing.
 
I watched it last night and well, it was a kubrick movie 4 sure....slow eery and odd. Cudos to him for his very offbeat, wacky style but it seems his production design and cinematography would have been better suited for a Willy Wonka Movie.

Either way, great film and not as disturbing as I was lead to believe.

"A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later." sk
 
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His was one of the true great cinematic geniuses. A lot of good directors are just that, they're only craftsmen, not really artists. Kubrick was a philosopher and painter with his films, and brought such a level of thought that had not been brought to American filmmaking in many years. Many people dislike A Clockwork because of its content, but they really miss the entire heart of the movie.

The best part is the fact that A Clockwork is the direct counterpart of 2001; one showcases human hatred and squalor, the other showcases the ability of humans to evolve and succeed.
 
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