A Clockwork Orange
Movie, 1971, The '70s, Set in A future Britain
A Clockwork Orange is #9 of 13 in release order and #9 of 13 in chronological order in the Stanley Kubrick.
The story
In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenile crime, gives an incarcerated Alex the option to undergo an invasive procedure that'll rob him of all personal agency. In a time when conscience is a commodity, can Alex change his tune?
A Clockwork Orange recap
A Clockwork Orange (1971) follows Alex DeLarge, a violent, Beethoven-loving gang leader in near-future Britain, through prison and an experimental cure. Stanley Kubrick adapted Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel. Malcolm McDowell plays Alex, who talks in the slang Nadsat and leads his droogs Dim, Georgie and Pete through a night of beatings and a home invasion where they cripple the writer Frank Alexander (Patrick Magee) and rape his wife. His droogs turn on him during a break-in where Alex kills a woman, and he is jailed for murder. Two years in, he volunteers for the Ludovico Technique, which makes him sick at the thought of violence, sex, and Beethoven's Ninth, whose music played under the films he was forced to watch. Released "cured", he is beaten by his old victims and ends up at Mr. Alexander's door. A Clockwork Orange follows 2001: A Space Odyssey and precedes Barry Lyndon.
A Clockwork Orange ending explained
A Clockwork Orange ends with Alex in hospital, cured of his cure. Mr. Alexander recognises him and plays Beethoven until Alex jumps from a window. The government, embarrassed by the scandal, has the Minister of the Interior offer Alex a job in exchange for good press, as photographers crowd the bed. Alex imagines a sex scene before an applauding crowd and says, "I was cured all right." Kubrick followed the American edition, which drops Burgess's last chapter where Alex outgrows violence. Kubrick withdrew the film from British release, and it returned only after his death.
Post-credits scenes
No. A Clockwork Orange has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange is streaming on HBO Max in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 8.2/10, Rotten Tomatoes 86%
Where it fits
- Release order: after 2001: A Space Odyssey, before Barry Lyndon.
- Chronological order: after 2001: A Space Odyssey, before Barry Lyndon.
Cast
- Malcolm McDowell as Alex
- Patrick Magee as Mr. Alexander
- Carl Duering as Dr. Brodsky
- Michael Bates as Chief Guard
- Warren Clarke as Dim
- James Marcus as Georgie
- Michael Tarn as Pete
- Miriam Karlin as Catlady
- Adrienne Corri as Mrs. Alexander
- Sheila Raynor as Mum
- Philip Stone as Dad
- Aubrey Morris as Deltoid
Directed by Stanley Kubrick.