A Clockwork Orange

In Sweden, viewers must be tethered when watching the film in case they are incited to attack people around them.

Whoops! Maybe you were looking for A Clockwork Orange (book)?

“My God, it's full of stars!”

~ Stanley Kubrick on another movie, while on the set of this one

A Clockwork Orange or How to become a Serial Rapist is a film by Stanley Kubrick based on the only book Anthony Burgess ever wrote. Famously, it was based on the American version of the book, which left out the last chapter. While the penultimate chapter entailed Alex's meeting of his other former droog and a sudden realization of the cyclical and erroneous patterns of teenage violence he was now growing out of, the last episode began with the phrase "It was all a dream", depicting Alex awakening to his normal life at a kitten sanctuary – with hilarious consequences.

Media hysteria

The movie was one of Kubrick's most shocking works – due to the fact that he hadn't done much lately and found himself extremely bored all the time – so he got "creative" and pulled it from commercial release after death threats were sent to him, mostly from teenagers who felt they might be desensitized by the lurid, almost pornographic violence and sex. This was much to the dismay of the establishment, who thought younger viewers might respond to a role model – who wouldn't want to be Alex? He's being closely watched by Pamela Anderson and her PETA friends so he won't be milking any more cows than necessary.

Pinocchio in the act of "the old in out"

Many British tabloids came out vociferously (literally screaming loudly) against the film, boosting its box office ratings. The Sun, a British left leaning tabloid publication, claimed the language used in the film (a mix of English and Slav) was disrespectful to its Soviet heroes, famously renouncing it with the front page article "Stalin Wouldn't Have Stood For It!!" [sic]. Right wing papers also blasted it, saying it made white people look like "violent sociopaths", and that the central character "seemed a bit gay".

The movie eventually saw the light of day under the name A Lovely Walk in the Countryside to avoid negative attention (the idea being that critics of its first outing would not watch a film with this new title), but was finally re-released with its working title A Chocolate Orange in 2001, managing to stave off legal interventions from British confectionist giant, Terry. The author of the original book publicly campaigned against it, saying it was "a bit too long", and there was "not enough swearing". He withdrew his comments after being promised a bigger cut of the royalties.

Plot

Despite being made in olden times, A Clockwork Orange vividly predicted future crimes such as cash point muggings, identity theft and cross-dressing.

The first reel of the film begins in a korova (Russian "cow") moloko ("milk") bar. The main character, Alex DeLarge (played by Malcolm McDowell), and his gang of "droogs" are enjoying glasses of "Milk-Plus" (melted Milky Way candy bars "plus" Oreo powder and M&Ms). Alex is some sort of lobster-like creature. The droogs, as they are referred to, are gay lovers who like to meet for milk-based drinks and ultraviolence.

Alex and his droogs then continue on to a journey, by means of horse and carriage, to a house out in the futuristic English countryside. They proceed to break into the house by tricking the woman there into opening the door with promises of candy, penny-knives and hot dickings, tying down a man and forcing him to watch as Alex, to the tune of "Bodies" by the Sex Pistols, rapes his wife using a pair of scissors, a Q-tip, a brand new Motorola Razr and his huge penis which he sticks in her poopa. Oh, and the other gang members raped her too (because kids, Sharing is Caring).

Alex's droogs (named Keith, Jorge, and Tim) begin to dislike Alex and his false sense of authority. They feel as though Alex is taking too much "money and cunt". Thus, Keith, Jorge, and Tim compose a plan of vengeance. Vengeance most foul.

After Alex murders, robs, and eats an old lady with dozens of pet dinosaurs in her room (with hilarious consequences), he exits the house to find Tim waiting outside. Tim shoots Alex in the head and then blows his load in Alex's face. With hilarious consequences.

Controversy

To this day, A Clockwork Orange remains one of the most controversial movies of all time. It contains depictions of such deplorable acts as murder, mugging, rape, buggery, theft, kitten huffing, hitting people with sticks, hitting people with slightly larger sticks, hitting people with giant over-sized dildos, and yelling at people. Detractors say the film glorifies violence and might convince people that violence is a good thing.

Trivia sections are fooey!

The article could be improved by reading it upside-down, or something, I dunno. Did you know it's impossible to lick your own elbow? Unless you're some kind of freak.

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The original concept was scrapped but the title made more sense.

• The word "droogs" was a skewed prediction of the modern slang "dawgs" that Burgess made after using a faulty time-telescope. He lost a fifty-dollar bet over the matter and subsequently applauded the time-telescope maker before bludgeoning him in an alleyway. This turned out to be a really BAD idea down the road.
• Anthony Burgess got the inspiration for the evilness of the lead character Alex Delarge from the villain who had sexually abused his hamsters for twenty years. He claimed writing this book was a release for the repressed anguish he had experienced.
• Stanley Kubrick originally withdrew the film because he was worried by the escalating attacks by mechanical oranges who were outraged with his film portrayal as their species as a "bit of a soft touch".
• The film contains scenes filmed on location in Oscar Wilde's outhouse.
• The film was originally meant to be shot and set in Africa, but the casting crew failed to find any Caucasian males over the age of 11.
• Nobody, including author Anthony Burgess, knows what the title means.
• The special ingredients in Milkplus are horse, smegma and oven cleaner.
• Kubrick was nominated for a knighthood by Tory MP Snobbus Cuntus Maximus for A Clockwork Orange's influence on the 139435-fold increase in attacks on vagrants.
• When Alex talks about "a bit of the old in-out in-out", he actually refers to his hobby of knitting his long-suffering mother a woolly jumper to match her fetching purple hair.
• When Alex kills a rich woman in one of the scenes it is believed he did it with a sculpture of a penis. It is in fact a bust of Ashton Kutcher, who can also be referred to by most of the same cultural slang. (He was born three years after the movie was released.)
• Malcolm McDowell came down with a case of the wailing blowfelds during production, and was able to film only three scenes. Kubrick used clever camera angles and a sound-alike voiceover to make it appear he is playing Alex is every scene for the first half of the film. This is also why Kubrick changed the plot so that instead of the Ludovico technique giving Alex an aversion to violence, it turns him into a 6'3" black man.
• The Korova Milk Bar is based on a real bar. Located in downtown Heaven.
• The Ludovico Technique apparatus scene was suggested to play the song "Le Freak" as Nazi footage was played for Alex. This was an idea by Adolph Hitler, but it was rejected due to Kubrick's distaste for disco music, not to mention "I already have a couple guys running around in cock slings, I don't need any more gay shit."
• The milk bottle smashed on Alex's head left Malcolm McDowell with permanent brain damage. For example, he cannot walk without clicking his heels and jerking his arm.
• The hyperactive sex scene was shot in real time. The whole cast were each given six shots of adrenaline and one Viagra pill before filming.
• The film was released in the U.K with an X rating. It was also fifteen hours long and contained subliminal messages to the Illuminati.