Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee and Michael Bates in the Stanley Kubrick movie ‘A Clockwork Orange’

To say that we review a dystopian crime film feels like understatement. The Stanley Kubrick film adaptation of the 1962 Anthony Burgess book A Clockwork Orange shrinks not from the book; that the movie, titled A Clockwork Orange (1971), comments on an aversion experiment also understates the movie presented for your consideration.

(From left, James Marcus as Georgie, Michael Tarn as Pete, Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge and Warren Clarke as Dim in the Stanley Kubrick movie A Clockwork Orange).

To ask if this movie as presented was necessary misses much. The film focuses extensively on Alex DeLarge, an antisocial yet charismatic delinquent with wildly inappropriate interests in committing outrageously excessive acts of violence, rape and theft. Malcolm McDowell portrayed DeLarge, curiously enjoys classical music with a fixation on the music of Ludwig van Beethoven.

(From left, Patrick Magee as Frank Alexander and Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge in the Stanley Kubrick movie A Clockwork Orange).

The film uses disturbing, violent imagery to comment of psychiatry, juvenile delinquency, youth gangs as led by Alex DeLarge with mates Dim, Pete and Georgie at the forefront of it with DeLarge. Writer Frank Alexander and his wife, as portrayed by Patrick Magee and Adrienne Corri, were victims of crime by Alex’s gang. Warren Clarke, Michael Tarn and James Marcus portrayed Dim, Pete and Georgie, respectively. The vulgar and graphically depicted crime spree of this group, with narration before and after by Alex, is followed by Alex’s capture. The heinous and visceral emotions evoked by this make the film difficult to recommend.

(From left, Barrie Cookson as Dr. Alcott, Ludovico Center check-in, Michael Bates as Chief Guard Barnes and Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge in the Stanley Kubrick movie A Clockwork Orange).

The period leading to Alex’s capture and subsequent processing into custody were as jarring and dehumanizing, eliciting conflicting feelings that contest those of crimes Alex committed. The motivation P.R. Deltoid, who was aware of the lewd and depraved behavior of Alex and his gang, makes him just as complicit. The permission to participate in DeLarge’s eventual intake into custody through the police inspector and a pair detectives was just as reprehensible. Aubrey Morris, Lindsay Campbell, John J. Carney and Steven Berkoff portrayed Deltoid, the police inspector, and the detectives, respectively.

(From left, John J. Carney as Detective Sergeant, Aubrey Morris as P.R. Deltoid, Lindsay Campbell as Police Inspector and Steven Berkoff as Detective Constable Tom in the Stanley Kubrick movie A Clockwork Orange).

With Alex in custody, British Minister of the Interior Frederick, as portrayed by Anthony Sharp, sets about experimental psychological conditioning on Alex. The experiment aims, in lieu of prolonged jail time, to rehabilitate Alex in a manner that redirects the offender in what will be declared a well-adjusted, healthy and safely functioning member of society. The dark psychological uses of Beethoven‘s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 (Ninth Symphony) and Gene Kelly‘s Singin’ in the Rain, with the systemic responses before and subsequent with these points, reflect trauma like the original crimes, including what follows with Georgie and Dim as police officers.

(From left, Anthony Sharp as Frederick, Minister of the Interior and Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge in the Stanley Kubrick movie A Clockwork Orange).

The circular absurdity of the story with powerful cultural references to make distinct commentary into the distasteful law enforcement and criminal segments of society. Controversy surrounded and surrounds this movie to this day. While A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick remains a powerful film exemplifying the director’s skills as a storyteller, I give the movie 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, July 15, 2023

Ben Cross, Ian Charleson and Nicholas Farrell in the 4-time Academy Award winning film ‘Chariots of Fire’

Having taken a swing at the American sport of baseball on Saturday, we turn our sporting attention to the cinematic treatment of the 1924 Paris Olympics with the Hugh Hudson directed film Chariots of Fire (1981). Winning Academy Awards for best picture (David Puttnam), screen writing (Colin Welland), music (Vangelis) and costume design (Milena Canonero), the catchy theme song sets an emotional page for a British historical drama some 40-years old.

(From left (running), Ben Cross as Harold Abrahams, a Jewish student at University of Cambridge and Nigel Havers as Lord Andrew Lindsay, a Cambridge student runner in the David Putnam produced movie Chariots of Fire).

At the center of the Chariots of Fire movie are the stories of runners Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, both facing religious based strictures of different characters in their eventual journey to competing in Paris, France in the summer of 1924. Ben Cross portrayed Harold Abrahams, a Jewish student at University of Cambridge maligned for Anti-Semitic reasons in his running pursuits at the academy. Ian Charleson portrayed Eric Liddell, the son of Scottish missionaries to China, with a family structure that reinforces the glorification of God and Christianity.

(From left, Ian Charleson as Eric Liddell and Ben Cross as Harold Abrahams in the David Putnam produced movie Chariots of Fire).

The men face personal challenges and biographies over a period years before the Paris Olympics. Abrahams‘ story includes institutional obstacles based on heritage coupled with his romantic attraction to Sybil, a soprano and eventual fiancée as portrayed by Alice Krige. The choice for Harold Abrahams through the movie is his pursuit of a relationship with Sybil versus the focus on running at a world class, Olympic level.

(From left, Cheryl Campbell as Jennie Liddell, Eric‘s devout sister and Alice Krige as Sybil Gordon, Abrahams‘ fiancée in the David Putnam produced movie Chariots of Fire).

A similar confrontation is told for Eric Liddell through his sister Jennie Liddell, as portrayed by Cheryl Campbell. Jennie‘s character was criticized for inaccuracies of an assertive nature that belied the girl’s being significantly younger and not in a position to emphasize a religious focus that simply isn’t practical or likely. So, a poetic license of sorts within the cinematic story seemingly departed from this evident storyline. Several instances of this regarding historical accuracy occurred, though Eric Liddell‘s religious fervor was seemingly true.

(From left, Struan Rodger as Sandy McGrath, Eric Liddell‘s friend, Ian Charleson as Liddell, and Ian Holm as Sam Mussabini, Harold Abrahams‘ running coach in the David Putnam produced movie Chariots of Fire).

When Eric Liddell first races Harold Abrahams, Liddell beats Abrahams. In a step to address an underlying sense of anti-Semitism among University of Cambridge advisors that this incident partly ends up revealing, Eric Liddell‘s coach Sam Mussabini agrees to begin coaching Abrahams with Abrahams full willingness. In revealing this hear, you can sense some of the larger obstacles the movie Chariots of Fire aims to share as part of the larger message of self-sacrifice for the sake of achievement. Ian Holm portrays Mussabini in the movie.

(Nicholas Farrell as Aubrey Montague, a runner and friend of Harold Abrahams in the David Putnam produced movie Chariots of Fire).

Liddell and Abrahams attend the Paris Olympics as members of the British team with Aubrey Montague, Lord Andrew Lindsay and Henry Stallard, portrayed by Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers and Daniel Gerroll, respectively. The thrills and agonies of victory and defeat, befitting an Olympic year as this is in the aftermath and presence of COVID-19, draws me to appreciate Chariots of Fire for the drama, the sport, and the critical success of the film. I give Chariots of Fire as directed by Hugh Hudson 4-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, July 14, 2021