Kino immer anders
A Clockwork Orange follows the story of Alex DeLarge, a witty yet violent delinquent. He is the leader of a brutal gang that roams dystopian London. He abuses drugs and develops a delicate taste for classical music, particularly Beethoven, as well as a “refined” taste for crime. He and his gang beats, rape and kill, without questioning morality. Until he is arrested. The state then takes over, enrolling him in a brutal behavioral correction experiment.
“Being the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are rape, ultra violence and Beethoven.”
This sentence was printed in bold on the original 1971 poster. In one line, it encapsulates the film’s disturbing tone and helps to establish its iconic and controversial reputation. Based on Burgess’s novel, the film’s vibrant colors, expressionist compositions and surreal visuals contrast with its violent content. The story is bloody, but the imagery remains strangely clean, suggestive rather than graphic. Beethoven’s music and Wendy Carlos’s experimental score shape the film’s unsettling atmosphere, while Burroughs’s writings contribute to its biting humor — the invention of the slang term “Nadsat” being a prime example. A Clockwork Orange is therefore the perfect finale to our midnight movies cycle, remaining shocking, provocative and captivating after more than 50 years.
Sixtine Asselot
