CULT FILMS
A Clockwork Orange 18
UK/USA | 1971 136 minutes
DIRECTED BY
Stanley Kubrick
STARRINGMalcolm McDowell | Patrick Magee | Michael Bates
A Clockwork Orange (1971) remains one of the most controversial and influential films of the 20th century. Based on Anthony Burgess’s 1962 novel of the same name, the film is a dark exploration of free will, violence and state control, told through Kubrick’s unmistakable visual and stylistic lens.
The story follows Alex DeLarge, played by Malcolm McDowell, a charismatic yet sociopathic young man who leads a small gang of “droogs.” Together they engage in acts of extreme violence, theft and assault, all narrated in Alex’s distinctive slang, a hybrid of English, Russian, and invented words. After being arrested for murder, Alex is subjected to an experimental state-sponsored rehabilitation programme called the Ludovico Technique. This form of aversion therapy conditions him to associate feelings of sickness with violent or sexual impulses, stripping him of his ability to choose freely between good and evil.
Kubrick’s adaptation sparked enormous debate upon release. Its graphic depictions of sexual violence and stylised brutality shocked both audiences and critics. The film was both praised and condemned - hailed as a visionary satire on authoritarianism and youth culture, while also accused of glamorising violence. In the UK, Kubrick himself withdrew the film from circulation after alleged copycat crimes and mounting controversy, keeping it unavailable for nearly three decades.
Kubrick employs symmetrical compositions, wide-angle lenses, and bold uses of colour to create a surreal, almost theatrical world. Classical music, juxtaposed against disturbing acts of violence, enhances the unsettling effect. Beyond its shock value, the film endures because of its deeper themes. Burgess’s novel and Kubrick’s adaptation both suggest that true humanity lies in the ability to make choices, rather than in being artificially conditioned to behave 'correctly'.
20 October 2025 MONDAY 19:30
AUDITORIUM
Tickets £3.00!