A Clockwork Orange

Got a set of movie CDs from a friend of mine. The pack include quite a few movies that I've been waiting to watch for quite a while. A couple of days ago we decided to check out the first movie in the pack which happened to be Stanley Kubrick's adaption of Anthony Burgess's cult novel. The movie has the unique distinction of being the only X-rated movie to be nominated for the Oscars. In fact the Church has even given it a C rating (for condemned) for its rather explicit scenes, which obviously went against the norms of the Catholic faith.

I had initially thought of reading the novel first, but then decided against it. (It happens so often when you read a book and are disappointed with the movie). Anyway the movie itself proved to be quite weird, so to say. I could clearly understand why it caused quite some consternation for the Cathloic Church, being nowhere short of lurid and graphic scenes, best left undescribed here. But then Kubrick is probably one of the best directors that Hollywood has ever seen and his class is quite evident. I'd initially heard about the Glasgow subway being nick-named Clockwork Orange, so I was expecting maybe a bloody scene on a crowded subway train. But then there was none of that, atleast the train bit. In fact, throughout the entire length of the movie, there happens to be no reference whatsoever to the term Clockwork Orange. The term itself was borrowed by Burgess from old Cockney-speak to describe a state where a human being is conditioned to do only good or evil, which happens to be the case with the protagonist of the story.

All said and done, a pretty interesting movie, but not for the faint-hearted mind you.