Monday, June 13, 2011

Dollar Bin Special Post:The 40th Anniversary of A Clockwork Orange

By Eric Polk-
Reaplings, I beg and cajoled Rhonda to let me do a review of Caligula, but for some reason she said no. Musta been the greased-up fisting scene. Then I said, "How bout Star Trek:Generations?" I got laughed at. So scouring imdb for a movie starring Malcom McDowell, I came across A Clockwork Orange. Oh yes! A bit of the ultra-violence!

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the classic film based on the novel by Anthony Burgess. As a result, it has been released on blu-ray with all the bells and whistles including interviews with both McDowell and director, the late Stanley Kubrick.

So what is it about this film that draws pop cultures icons such as Eminem, The Ramones, The Simpsons, and South Park? I have to say its bizarreness(at least for mainstream). Beethoven and rape. "Singing in the Rain." The Ludovico Technique, a parody of aversion therapy. Its satirical take on morality and psychology. Anytime you can blend surrealism with a message successfully, you have a classic film,imo.

While Clockwork isn't a straight piece of horror, with so many scary images, it's a stone's throw away from the genre we love so much.

2 comments:

SheReads said...

OMG!

Damn I'm old...I remember when this first came out. My teen daughter watched it recently and loved it. She's a strange one though. Obviously the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

Eric Polk said...

lol...and it's hard to believe that Friday the 13th is over 30 years old and Nightmare on Elm Street is approaching 30. Crazy!