MovieChat Forums > A Clockwork Orange (1972) Discussion > Classic?

Classic?

posted 8 years ago by bruce-129
9 replies | jump to latest

Some people seem to identify this movie with a classic so much.

Why do people seem to be afraid of disagreement ... it is as if their own
personality and reality were being threatened and attacked because
someone dislikes a movie they think it a classic?

I sas this movie a little after it came out, and I never liked it either.
Since Kubrick was proclaimed a genius because of some of the very
good movies he did, we tend to forget this was the age of
gratuitous sex and violence just to get attention in movies and that
no matter how self-conscious it was, that was still a big reason for
this movie, to get attention.

The people I knew who liked this movie was the people society
started to model, the psychopaths, the bullies, and this was the
start of the bullies pushing back in the world in a way. The US
was questioning its hardline war stance in Viet Nam, and things
were just beginning to wake up, and this movie seemed to be
satyrical of that, and yet it encouraged it ... it did, it was obvious
if you lived through those times.

One could look at it as the beginning of a very bad and ugly trend
in movies that has now made its way to TV and everywhere else.

[–] wdement 8 years ago

I bet you're one of the people that blames fight club for columbine.

[–] bruce-129 8 years ago

You lose, loser.

[–] wdement 8 years ago

Elaborate on how I lose

[–] movieghoul 8 years ago

ACO was not a major cultural force for change because it played mostly for the arthouse crowd, not mainstream audiences.

Dirty Harry and Death Wish were both far more influential, not for the good.

[–] bruce-129 8 years ago

There was a big difference between the movies you cite. Mostly the
sexual content ... big in Clockwork Orange, but in most American movies
it was totally violent and still is for the most part.

[–] themidgarzolom 8 years ago

The movie is based on a book, not designed just for shock value, and is an exploration of these violent themes and that element of human psychology and society, it's not a celebration or justification of them. The immaculate and painstakingly shot cinematography, direction, unique set design, use of contrasting color and interesting language are some of the reasons that this film is regarded as a classic, without even getting into the subject matter or entertainment/violence level. I have 100% no issue at all with you not enjoying the film, but it seems like the reason that you are giving for not liking it is not at all based on the actual intention of the film.

[–] bruce-129 8 years ago

> but it seems like the reason that you are giving for not liking it is not at all based on the actual intention of the film.

Yeah, well, my perceived intention of the film anyway. Same with the "Shining." Kubrick made some really brilliant movies. My favorites (not in order) were "Paths of Glory", "Spartacus" and "2001: A Space Odyssey". These were serious movies with serious themes. "The Shining", "A Clockwork Orange" and maybe "Eyes Wide Shut" seemed to be made for shock value and exploitation.

People use the term "exploration" to justify a lot of movies. The term doesn't mean much to me. I didn't read the book, but I'd much more accept that a book was an exploration of violent themes than a movie. Though look at hip-hop and rap and the movie's warning or exploration was a inducement to celebrate violence more than anything because that is what happened, and ACO led the way.

[–] wdement 8 years ago

I don't understand what your issue with violence is, violence when used to further the story or help communicate a message can be some of the best parts of a movie. I bet you don't complain about pulp fiction and taxi driver having too much violence, or complain about more entertainment based movies being too violent, like the mad Max movies. The real reason why people are so uncomfortable with A Clockwork Orange and it's violence is it is intentionally meant to make people feel uncomfortable. Think about how most movies portray brutal violence, in more artsy movies it's typically portrayed as something terrible and the filmmaker opts for darker colors and more cuts to emphasize how bad violence is, action movies typically use violence for entertainment purposes and pit the purely good protagonist against the bad guys in a flashy fight sequence without too much blood, and horror movies use graphic violence with darkness and lots of over the top effects to induce fear. Kubrick didn't want any of these effects on the audience, he wanted people to feel truley repulsed by Alex Delarge, which he wouldn't achieve through any of those conventional methods, so he instead he chose to present absolutely horrible things as something fun, with wide shots, bright colors, and even a dance number during the infamous rape scene, this inspired thoughts of "oh my god this guy thinks rape is a joke that's fuc.ked up" which ends up giving more weight to the psychological question posed by the film later on. If you really watch the movie strictly from a perspective on content, it really is not that violent or sexual compared to other movies of today.

[–] bradhbbrd 8 years ago

I think that since we're still talking about it. And it's still divisive 45 years later answers your question of if this film is a classic.
The fact that it lives on and didn't disappear down the memory hole is by definition why it's considered a classic.