1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.
In class we watched a part of a documentary about Stanley
Kubricks’s life in the film industry. Kubrick without a doubt will go down as
one of the greatest film makers of all time. Kubrick is not only one of the
greatest directors but also wrote, produced and shot most of his own films. Because
Kubrick had so much control when making his movies, each of his films has a
look and feeling that would not be able to be reproduced if touched by any
other director or film maker. Another thing that contributed to Kubrick’s
success was his certainty and madness behind the camera. He had a background in
photography before making movies which gave him a great knowledge of exposure
and lenses before even starting to work on movies. Kubrick was very precise in
the way he shot films and it was made apparent to other people that worked with
him on the set. Shots needed to be executed in a certain way with certain
lenses otherwise they would not be done. This slight madness demonstrated by
Kubrick is what made him into one of the greatest film makers of all time.
2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio,
actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content. You may use
the library or the internet.
The article “How ‘A Clockwork Orange’ Author Anthony Burgess
Soured on Stanley Kubrick (Book Excerpt)” by Robert Hofler gives insight to Anthony
Burgess’s (the writer of ‘A Clockwork Orange’ novel) thoughts on the film.
Anthony Burgess was initially worried about how the film would turn out under
the control of Stanley Kubrick. Burgess originally said that he liked the film
but we would later come to find out that he was more or less indifferent about
the film. Burgess and Kubrick however did not get to meet which may have had
some kind of influence over how Burgess felt about the film. Kubrick made it
apparent that he had no interest in meeting with Burgess during the film making
process because he, “probably didn’t know the first thing about making a movie,”
said Malcolm McDowell quoting Kubrick.
The article also makes mention of how heavily criticized the film was for its graphic violence. Even though the novel was also heavily criticized, the film received even more scrutiny. The film supposedly sparked many copy cat crimes, where people would dress up as the droogs and go around town causing havoc and violence. The article concludes by making mention of how Burgess eventually came to hate the film as well as Kubrick because of how he thought it falsely portrayed the novel.
3) Apply the article
to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way
you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?
As a fan of both the film and the novel it was very
interesting to see Burgess’s thoughts on the film. I first saw the film then
after read the book and honestly thought that they were nearly identical in how
the story, characters and time period were portrayed. In my opinion Stanley
Kubrick did a near perfect job of adapting the book to the big screen. It is possible
that Burgess would not have been happy with any version of the film.
One part of the article however did reinforce one of my
opinions of the film and films in general. Barbara Walters commented on the
film saying it was the cause for crimes throughout New York but the specific
crimes she was talking about actually had no relation to the film or book. One
of my favorite parts of the article is when the writer makes the comparison to
Hamlet and The Bible. Hamlet and The Bible are both pieces of literature much
like “A Clockwork Orange” is. Film makers and writers should not be punished
for making powerful pieces of literature. It is simply the problem of society if viewers and readers cannot differentiate reality from literature.
4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal
opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material
and the article. I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked a film,
(although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding of its
place in film history or the contributions of the director.
“A Clockwork Orange” can definitely be looked at as one of
the best films of all time. It is truly a deep insight to society and human
nature that no other film has really captured the way "A Clockwork Orange" has. The story of the film which came
from the novel by Anthony Burgess was perfectly adapted in my opinion. The film
captures the futuristic society that our main character Alex lives in. Stanley
Kubrick does an excellent job of portraying this world through the use of
different lenses and extravagant costumes. Because of the time period it is
shot in and the large comment on human nature, the film has and will stand the
test of time. The theme of human morals has been explored in many other aspects
of literature but I feel as though “A Clockwork Orange” was the first great
film to explore the deep emotions of human morals and free will. The film shows
that conditioning people to make them act well is not a just, or ethical way to
run society. This theme is apparent throughout the film and clearly
demonstrates what can happen to a person if they are forced to do things against
their own will; they go insane.
