CWO shines in blu-ray
Added 11/13/2009
There are a plethora of reviews of the movie, but my review is mostly a comparison of the BD vs DVD version. I won't discuss its merits as movie. CWO has a lot of similarities in its treatment of anarchy and violence as Brad Pitt in Fight Club, yet Fight Club is less controversial?
I was too young to see CWO's theatrical release. But since, I've seen it on various tape versions, DVD and finally BD, as a fan of Kubrick's cinema style.
This movie is stellar in BD. I never really thought much of CWO but on BD, the framing of scenes and high resolution detail reveal subtleties that make visuals speak in strong visceral prose like no version before it [could also be remastering?], and the audio is beyond all prior CWO scores on record, tape, CD or its DVD. The subtitles are tack sharp on BD, making for a much more pleasant experience, helping viewers understand droog speak, or "nadsat", yes, yes?
For example, as McDowall's character Alex peruses records in a shop, one can make out clearly titles and liner notes on some covers. Alex's face show subtle changes as blood flows and ebbs into his skin, and shows how McDowall's acted [ or directed ] with frightening zest. Violent scenes of rape and assault appear more play acting or dance moves, as actors use exaggerated movements and victims almost are almost never bruised or bloodied, despite the pounding, compare this to similar themed and recent movies like Fight Club.
The clear crisp BD sound track makes it far easier to discern the nadsat words that at times were garbled in old analog transmission, broadcast TV, VHS, beta, and less on DVD. However, watching the movie with subtitles is less distracting on a large TV in the better font of BD.
The music was a revelation. I never cared for Wendy [credited as Walter prior to her sex change] Carlos's music, sometimes the synthesizer sound gave me headaches. But somehow, the BD version is so much smoother and richer in overtones compared to modern digital synthesizers, I actually enjoyed listening to her.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
|
typical Kubrick--channeling from the dark to the dark
Added 10/5/2009
This film has overt messages: we are what we are, and only a chemical means will change us, because there is no such thing as redemption. But chemical solutions are out of the question because we cannot trust the government or doctors not to abuse this power. And redemption is a moot point anyway, because the very idea of redemption is just a catch word to be used by preachers and politicians.
Why would I care about Alex's absolution anyway? The film did nothing to make me care about him or his soul... And yet Kubrick tries to get you to care about this monster. Alex winds up, after his "treatment", unable to defend himself against those he wronged. I was cheering this part of the film, and did not find it believable that people would be horrified by his comeuppance, especially at the hands of those he wronged.
To say there is a glorification of sex and violence is an understatement.
Because the thing that particularly bothers me about this film is the sped up scene of repeated consensual sex between the main character (Alex) and two young women. In the film, the scene is gratuitous porn that makes Alex out to be a stud... he keeps going and going and going. No wonder teenage boys love this movie. This glorification must be Kubrick's idea, not the writer of the book (Anthony Burgess), who is much more honest about his depravity. In the book on which this film is based, the scene involves not women, but two young girls who are drugged and then raped. Why didn't Kubrick stick to the original story? Raping children is much more in character with the violent sociopath that is Alex.
There is one good thing about this film: if I ever need a character reference, all I need do is ask "what do you think of 'A Clockwork Orange'?. The sociopaths will be revealed. Thank you, Kubrick.
2 out of 14 people found this helpful.
|
Naughty, Naughty, Naughty! You Filthy Old Soomka!
Added 10/1/2009
They just don't make viddies for our glezzies like this anymore! Little Alex and his Droogs will get all the hairs on your plot standing up, real horrorshow! Yet what is true horrorshow is the way the Government reforms little Alex into the model citizen, unable to defend himself against all whom he previously doled out his ultra-violence upon.
Even the title of this movie carries a meaning. Do we really want to reform the incorrigible? And once reformed, will they still be an embarrassment to our own sensibilities and society? Like clockwork, they brainwash little Alex to be a model citizen, and as a result he becomes a Casper Milquetoast who's an embarrassment to the Government. As a result of that, they rebrainwash little Alex to dispel their "treatment" and re-convert him back into the young thug he was, but they now protect him with a cushy job merely to protect themselves against slander. Like that Steely Dan song: "You go back, Jack, do it again," Little Alex is finally free to indulge into his bizzare twisted fantasies, this time with official protection!
Every scene in Clockwork Orange has obvious and hidden meanings to it. Like an onion, Clockwork Orange makes you peel through it, layer by layer. This movie is sheer brillience, which will never go out of date.
Warning: After indulging in this movie, such lovely images will flood your glezzies each time you twang a disc of Beethoven!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
too violent
Added 9/15/2009
This film is disturbing in it's violence and should be kept from children under 18.
1 out of 11 people found this helpful.
|
Hasn't aged well...
Added 9/13/2009
I just saw this movie for the first time on a large screen with a good print. Unfortunately, I don't think it's especially good. I have no problem with either sex or violence, but the way these are used in this movie seems juvenile and tedious. The sensibility that pervades most of it seems more like that of a 14-year old boy than a mature, acclaimed director. Perhaps in 1971 the repetitive "hooliganism" episodes and schoolyard-level phallic props were seen by audiences as amusing and even daring but in 2009 they just look a bit pathetic. Probably it was a lot of fun to make the film, but most of the humor feels really dated and the relentless misogyny wears thin really quickly. 2001 and Dr. Strangelove are much better movies, I think.
3 out of 9 people found this helpful.
|
CWO shines in blu-ray
Added 11/13/2009
There are a plethora of reviews of the movie, but my review is mostly a comparison of the BD vs DVD version. I won't discuss its merits as movie. CWO has a lot of similarities in its treatment of anarchy and violence as Brad Pitt in Fight Club, yet Fight Club is less controversial?
I was too young to see CWO's theatrical release. But since, I've seen it on various tape versions, DVD and finally BD, as a fan of Kubrick's cinema style.
This movie is stellar in BD. I never really thought much of CWO but on BD, the framing of scenes and high resolution detail reveal subtleties that make visuals speak in strong visceral prose like no version before it [could also be remastering?], and the audio is beyond all prior CWO scores on record, tape, CD or its DVD. The subtitles are tack sharp on BD, making for a much more pleasant experience, helping viewers understand droog speak, or "nadsat", yes, yes?
For example, as McDowall's character Alex peruses records in a shop, one can make out clearly titles and liner notes on some covers. Alex's face show subtle changes as blood flows and ebbs into his skin, and shows how McDowall's acted [ or directed ] with frightening zest. Violent scenes of rape and assault appear more play acting or dance moves, as actors use exaggerated movements and victims almost are almost never bruised or bloodied, despite the pounding, compare this to similar themed and recent movies like Fight Club.
The clear crisp BD sound track makes it far easier to discern the nadsat words that at times were garbled in old analog transmission, broadcast TV, VHS, beta, and less on DVD. However, watching the movie with subtitles is less distracting on a large TV in the better font of BD.
The music was a revelation. I never cared for Wendy [credited as Walter prior to her sex change] Carlos's music, sometimes the synthesizer sound gave me headaches. But somehow, the BD version is so much smoother and richer in overtones compared to modern digital synthesizers, I actually enjoyed listening to her.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
|
typical Kubrick--channeling from the dark to the dark
Added 10/5/2009
This film has overt messages: we are what we are, and only a chemical means will change us, because there is no such thing as redemption. But chemical solutions are out of the question because we cannot trust the government or doctors not to abuse this power. And redemption is a moot point anyway, because the very idea of redemption is just a catch word to be used by preachers and politicians.
Why would I care about Alex's absolution anyway? The film did nothing to make me care about him or his soul... And yet Kubrick tries to get you to care about this monster. Alex winds up, after his "treatment", unable to defend himself against those he wronged. I was cheering this part of the film, and did not find it believable that people would be horrified by his comeuppance, especially at the hands of those he wronged.
To say there is a glorification of sex and violence is an understatement.
Because the thing that particularly bothers me about this film is the sped up scene of repeated consensual sex between the main character (Alex) and two young women. In the film, the scene is gratuitous porn that makes Alex out to be a stud... he keeps going and going and going. No wonder teenage boys love this movie. This glorification must be Kubrick's idea, not the writer of the book (Anthony Burgess), who is much more honest about his depravity. In the book on which this film is based, the scene involves not women, but two young girls who are drugged and then raped. Why didn't Kubrick stick to the original story? Raping children is much more in character with the violent sociopath that is Alex.
There is one good thing about this film: if I ever need a character reference, all I need do is ask "what do you think of 'A Clockwork Orange'?. The sociopaths will be revealed. Thank you, Kubrick.
2 out of 14 people found this helpful.
|
Naughty, Naughty, Naughty! You Filthy Old Soomka!
Added 10/1/2009
They just don't make viddies for our glezzies like this anymore! Little Alex and his Droogs will get all the hairs on your plot standing up, real horrorshow! Yet what is true horrorshow is the way the Government reforms little Alex into the model citizen, unable to defend himself against all whom he previously doled out his ultra-violence upon.
Even the title of this movie carries a meaning. Do we really want to reform the incorrigible? And once reformed, will they still be an embarrassment to our own sensibilities and society? Like clockwork, they brainwash little Alex to be a model citizen, and as a result he becomes a Casper Milquetoast who's an embarrassment to the Government. As a result of that, they rebrainwash little Alex to dispel their "treatment" and re-convert him back into the young thug he was, but they now protect him with a cushy job merely to protect themselves against slander. Like that Steely Dan song: "You go back, Jack, do it again," Little Alex is finally free to indulge into his bizzare twisted fantasies, this time with official protection!
Every scene in Clockwork Orange has obvious and hidden meanings to it. Like an onion, Clockwork Orange makes you peel through it, layer by layer. This movie is sheer brillience, which will never go out of date.
Warning: After indulging in this movie, such lovely images will flood your glezzies each time you twang a disc of Beethoven!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
