Why Malcolm McDowell refuses to call Stanley Kubrick a genius: “Extraordinary, yes”
‘Genius’ is a word which gets banded around with increasing regularity in the world of cinema, particularly when it comes to directors like Stanley Kubrick.
The New York filmmaker did, after all, craft an incredible filmography which ranged from the enduring black comedy of Dr Strangelove to the life-changing sci-fi mastery of 2001: A Space Odyssey. His attention to detail and unwavering dedication to cinema has made Kubrick an idol for so many filmmakers and audiences, but those who worked with the man himself often have a different view of his unconventional methods.
To call Kubrick an intense director would be an incredible understatement. The filmmaker was willing to go to any lengths to get the perfect shot or to get a scene as close to perfect as humanly possible. Even the simplest of scenes might demand an exhaustive number of different takes before Kubrick was even close to being satisfied with the final product. On one hand, it was this intensity and dedication to the craft that allowed Kubrick to construct masterpieces like The Shining, 2001, or A Clockwork Orange, to name only a few.
Nevertheless, his methods certainly took their toll on the actors who Kubrick worked with over the years. Famously, his intense psychological torment of Shelley Duvall caused the actor a considerable amount of mental anguish and turmoil throughout the filming of The Shining, all in the name of perfectionism. His earlier work, A Clockwork Orange, might not have been as mentally traumatic as his adaptation of Stephen King, but the starring actor, Malcolm McDowell, also struggled to cope with the director’s methods.
Seeing the Yorkshire-born actor take on the role of Alex DeLarge, a young gang leader in a dystopian world of brainwashing, brutalist architecture, and milk bars, the production of A Clockwork Orange was less than harmonious. Not only was the film hounded due to its violent content, which eventually saw it banned from cinemas for a period, but McDowell had to endure a lot of hardships along the way.
Namely, the infamous scene where his character is strapped to a chair with his eye clamped open to reprogram his brain, McDowell actually had to wear that ghastly contraption. As a result, the actor suffered a scratched cornea and temporary blindness, along with the broken ribs he had endured during the filming of a different scene in the film. As you can imagine, therefore, McDowell finds it difficult to look back on the filming process with any kind of nostalgia.
What’s more, the filming process for A Clockwork Orange, in addition to the subsequent falling out between McDowell and Kubrick, meant that the actor could never really get on board with the idea of Kubrick being considered a genius. During one interview, decades after the pair worked together, McDowell declared, “Genius? No.”
Explaining further, he added, “I think what stops him from being a genius, for me, is his lack of humanity. It’s this withdrawing.”
At the same time, McDowell could clearly appreciate the director’s quality as a filmmaker, sharing, “Brilliant, yes. Extraordinary, yes. I mean, one of the greats, yes. All that.”
Nevertheless, he shared, “I think at the end of the day, they say ‘Well, what was he like as a man, what was he like as a human being?’ That’s probably the test that he doesn’t do well at.”
While Kubrick might not be a genius in the eyes of Malcolm McDowell, he is certainly the only filmmaker who could have made A Clockwork Orange. Indeed, he was the only one who could have done real justice to Anthony Burgess’ novel. Whether that makes him a true genius or not depends on your interpretation of the word, but it is difficult to argue against Kubrick’s lack of humanity, as McDowell pointed out.
