53 years ago (already…) Stanley Kubrick threw a grenade of shocking and paralyzing violence in the audience’s face: A Clockwork Orange. The story of Alex and his gang, sex, ultra-violence and Beethoven fans in a still futuristic and terrifyingly angst-inducing world, petrified the public.
The film was banned in several countries. Spain is still under the yoke of the dictator Franco. As in Italy, from 1971 to 2000; It means time spent in purgatory. In the UK, the film ran for two years before being pulled from release at Kubrick’s direct request and released in the country only after the filmmaker’s death.
“The film was a huge success there, but it also had a lot of problems” Jean Harlan, the filmmaker’s brother, told us in 2011. “A lot of people found their morals and their base instincts with this movie. They attacked Stanley a lot and at one point he had enough. Then he asked Warner to pull the movie from distribution, which the studio did.”
In Alex’s cover, Malcolm McDowell found the role of his life thanks to the film; Even if the person concerned was not unworthy in his career.
Among the film’s most shocking scenes is one where, in the middle of an ultraviolent session with a couple of his druggies, Alex begins to recover. A song in the rainLet’s sing the flagship song from the movie in the rain while dancing.
Here’s the sequence again…
Stanley Kubrick, known for his meticulousness, not to mention obsessive meticulousness, left very little room for improvisation. So this scene was well planned.
Except that after shooting seven times, the director was still not satisfied with the result. He then suggested that Malcolm McDowell do whatever he wanted. The hilarious Kubrick behind the camera was in a hurry to buy the rights to the famous song to use it in the film. A usage that horrified the song’s original artist, Gene Kelly, when he found the result on screen…
Source: Allocine

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.