The film “A Clockwork Orange” directed by Stanley Kubrick was a Sci-Fi film about a vicious fifteen year old boy. The film was an adaptation of the 1963 novel by Anthony Burgess. The film began with Alex and his three droogs drinking milk laced with drugs. The four then set out on a violent rampage. After, beating and elderly man the four stop at the house of a writer. The group then proceeds to beat the man and rape his wife in front of him. The following day Alex, makes the mistake of annoying his droogs. That night while escaping a new crime scene the droogs leave Alex to be caught by the police.
While in prison, Alex manages to get himself into a program that will make him a good person and have him out in a month. The treatment was to give Alex a drug to make him feel horribly sick. During this sick period Alex was forced to watch acts of violence. This was to get his brain to associate the awful feeling with the images of violence. When Alex was released from prison he was rejected from society. Alex could no longer commit any act of violence. He met with all the people that he had wronged in the past. All of these people had taken turns beating Alex. After the treatment Alex was helpless to defend himself against these attacks. Bruised and Bloodied, Alex seeks shelter at the closest home possible. The house is occupied by the elderly writer, that Alex beat at the beginning of the film. The man tortured Alex until Alex jumped out of a window.
When Alex woke up from his attempted suicide he felt different. He had a memory of doctors working on his head. A test was administered and Alex seemed to have his evil side back. Finally, to finish the movie Alex had a nasty evil thought to let the audience know that he was back to his old self.
Stanley Kubrick created an odd futuristic environment for the film. Alex’s home was a myriad of strange colors and odd shapes. his mothers hair color changes every time we see her. Alex’s watering hole the Korea Milk Bar was one of the strangest locations of the all. It was done entirely in black with strange white letters the made up no real words. The drug laced milk was served by a plethora of lactating mannequins. The furniture was made up entirely of bright white nude mannequins.
Kubrick also used counterpoint sound throughout the entire movie. Beethoven was played throughout the entire film. The music came on stronger when there was violence occurring on the screen.
Kubrick showed Alex from odd camera angles to make him appear sinister. Also, Alex’s piercing eyes were the main focus of main shots. The fake eyelashes he wore on his right eye really enhanced the eerie quality of the film. The first scene that I analyzed set the stage for all of the evil that would be carried out by Alex in the film. we begin with a shot of drunk that has already consumed an entire bottle and was working on his second. Alex and his three droogs are backbite and shot for afar. The four advance along an odd tunnel toward the drunk. Alex begins to narrate his disgust toward elderly drunks as he walks. Alex shoves his cane into the mans gut. The old man is shot using a high angel shot to make him appear small. Alex on the other hand is shot using a close up on the side of his face. His head is titled down making him appear evil. After a brief conversation the blacklist droogs beat the man.
Then the next shot is of a bouquet of flowers painted on a wall. The shot pans down to show the stage of a once elegant theater. The camera shows the large stage in its entirety. On the stage we can see a deep angle shot of a young woman who is about to be raped by four men. Then, Alex and his three droogs appear at the back of the theater. At this point the Beethoven’s music picks up in the background. Alex challenges the four to a fight and they all go at it. Suddenly, the shots become fast and very choppy as the screen shows acts of ultraviolence. The camera wobbled and used a few quick pans to make the scene fast paced. A deep angle shot shows Alex and his droogs have beaten the would-be-rapists.
Later that same night Alex and his droogs arrive at a house. There is a large sign reading “Home” done in white letters. The house was well lie and seemed warm, inviting and yet futuristic all at the same time. Alex and the droogs crept up to the house along a long stone walk. The doorbell is rung and it plays a small piece of Beethoven. the next shot is of a writer typing away. The camera remains pointed directly forward as it is moved by a dolly across the room to reveal the man’s wife. The next shot is of a hallway with glass on both sides to make it look even bigger. The wife invites the man in and Alex and his droogs swarm the hallway. the camera makes a quick pan to watch Alex enter and kick the old writer to the ground. The camera shakes violently around as the droogs take over the home. A shaky hand-held camera is used to show a drug holding the wife as both the drug and camera rotate. the camera does a close up of the writer as he tries to free himself of the drug holding him down. The writer is lying on the floor and the camera shoots slightly down on him. Another good example of counter point sound is used as Alex sings “Singing in the Rain”, as he beats the couple. The camera is stationary as this occurs. The editing is no longer choppy now as the couple has been subdue. A deep focus shot is used to see the back of the writers head in the foreground. In the background Alex is using a pair of scissors to remove the bright red body suit of the wife. The film cuts to a close up of the writers face as he tries to escape. The same deep focus shot is used to see the writer watch Alex remove his paints. The wife is shown from the chest up struggling as Alex rapes he in front of her husband.
After going throughout the teatment process Alex is beaten by his old droogs and left for dead. Not thinking clearly he stumbles up to the house labeled “Home”. A hand held camera is used to follow Alex as he crawls up the stone walk way. The same shot as before is used to show the writer typing as the doorbell rings. The doorbell as before plays a piece of Beethoven as it rings. The camera points straight ahead as a dolly moves it to the right to reveal the rest of the room. A young man is lifting weights as the camera arrives at him. As the wife had done earlier the man now went to answer the door. The same shot of the hallway is used with the mirrors on both sides. Alex falls through to door when the man opens it. He is carried inside to the writer now confined to a wheelchair. The old man is shown from high angles to make him appear smaller. Alex takes a bath and is shown in complete relaxation. It slips his mind to remember what he did here earlier. He begins to hum “Singing in the Rain”, while he bathes. The writer suddenly becomes aware of exactly who Alex is. Alex’s words reverberate as the old writer recognizes the song. The writer is shot with the ultimate in low angle shots, with the camera pointed straight up. The writer’s face twists up in anger, his mouth shakes and his eyes roll in his head. All the while Alex’s word’s continue to reverberate in the writer’s head.
I fell in love with the film “A Clockwork Orange”. I plan to read the original book now that I have seen this excellent film. I watched the film three times before I truly understood the plot. Every time I saw something that was new to me. After analyzing the film I found it to look very different. At first I believed that the story was about a disturbed boy murdering and raping. However, after analyzing the film I saw the key scenes in the movie much differently. I really enjoyed analyzing this film. Before we did the movie until in class I never looked at where the camera was and how it affected the shot.

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