“The most skilful movie I’ve made”: the film Stanley Kubrick called perfect
When Stanley Kubrick made his first feature, Fear and Desire, it failed to make a dent in the industry. Very few critics could’ve predicted what would become of the director, who would enjoy his first proper taste of success with Spartacus eight years later. It scooped up several Academy Awards (although none for Kubrick) and received plenty of critical and box-office success.
The subsequent decade was an incredibly successful one, with Kubrick earning high acclaim for his satirical anti-war comedy Dr Strangelove, the darkly comic interpretation of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita and his epic, pioneering sci-fi movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. The latter was revolutionary, with its realistic space scenes, incredible use of lighting, and captivating retro-futuristic set design. It remains one of the most significant science fiction movies ever made and one of the greatest films of all time, a powerful meditation on technology and humanity.
Kubrick only released brilliant movies from then on, most of which we can consider masterpieces. From the expansive period drama Barry Lyndon to his horror classic The Shining, the auteur covered all bases with his filmography, demonstrating that he was truly capable of mastering any genre. Yet, there was one movie that he considered his finest work: A Clockwork Orange.
Released in 1971, a few years after 2001: A Space Odyssey, the movie is an adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ novel, which was published in 1962. It was made on a budget of $1.3million, ten times less than its predecessor. It was much more minimal compared to Space Odyssey, instead focusing on the exploits of a young man named Alex DeLarge, who loves committing crimes, especially violent ones. Leading his gang of droogs through the miserable streets of London, they wear all-white outfits, including a codpiece worn on the outside of their trousers, alongside a black top hat, boots, and, at least on Alex, fake eyelashes glued to one eye.
Alex and his droogs break into a couple’s house and rape the unsuspecting woman while performing ‘Singin’ in the Rain’, and in another scene, the leader breaks into another woman’s house and kills her with one of her sculptures of a giant penis. The film is unsettling due to the strange nature of Alex’s crimes, and if you didn’t know that he was a psychopathic criminal, you might be swayed by his odd charm.
Eventually, he is sent to be rehabilitated and used as a guinea pig in a new method of treating criminals – the Ludovico Technique. He is forced to watch videos of atrocities and sex, things he usually loves, but while his eyes are clamped open. Meanwhile, his favourite music, the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, is played over the clips, creating an oppressive and inescapable atmosphere in an attempt to make him ‘good’.
The movie’s preoccupation with good and evil is the central theme of the movie, which is the perfect blend of humour and horror. Kubrick makes Alex a witty, smart and attractive young man so that audiences still want to stick with him throughout the film, even after everything he does. Kubrick forces us to consider behaviour. Can we become good? Are we born good, only to be corrupted? Or are we born corrupted, with most of us learning to be good as children through the teachings of morality and societal expectations?
Kubrick was impressed by his work on the film, telling the New York Times, “I’m very pleased with A Clockwork Orange. I think it’s the most skilful movie I’ve made. I can see almost nothing wrong with it.”
