Starring Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Adrienne Corri, Miriam Karlin

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Warner Bros., back in cinemas now

In the near-future, ultra-violent thug Alex is apprehended by the authorities, who offer an extreme form of aversion therapy in lieu of prison time, but at what cost to his free will?

Stanley Kubrick’s Hugo-winning 1971 adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ classic tale of a dystopian future is a bona fide masterpiece, and essentially review proof. Tying in to a season of the director’s work at the BFI, the movie has been rereleased in cinemas, giving a new generation of movie-goers the opportunity to experience it on the first screen, and it doesn’t disappoint.

While it’s difficult to imagine the immediate impact that such a violent film made at the time of release, the visceral emotions it engenders have not been lessened by time. Yes, it’s still shocking on many different levels, from the appalling behaviour of Alex and his fellow ‘droogs’, dressed in bowler hats and kicking and raping to Singin’ in the Rain, to the nature of the punishment that’s meted out to our protagonist – Malcolm McDowell has never been better.

Stanley Kubrick requested that the film be withdrawn in the UK after its theatrical run was completed as a result of alleged copycat crimes, and the Scala Cinema in London went into receivership in 1993 following an illegal screening. It wasn’t until after the director’s death that the movie was released for public viewing again in early 2000. This gives the movie a certain notoriety, particularly around the mistaken belief that it was banned by the BBFC or a victim of the ‘Video Nasties’ witch-hunt. Could any director have the clout nowadays to demand their film be withdrawn in a certain territory? I imagine not.

From Wendy Carlos’ electro-classic score to the location shooting in brutalist Thamesmead and squalid underpasses in Wandsworth, this is a unique, unsettling experience that sits alongside 1984 and Brave New World in its grim depiction of an awful future.

Verdict: A Clockwork Orange hasn’t been forbidden fruit for 19 years, meaning that it’s now assessed on its actual merits rather than against its perceived notoriety. It’s a chilling examination of extreme society and the ethics of crime and punishment, and Kubrick’s attention to detail means that it hasn’t dated on a technical level. As his follow-up to 2001: A Space Odyssey it feels like the most unlikely choice, but then who’d have thought he’d later move on to Stephen King’s The Shining? An auteur, his fingerprints are all over every aspect of this movie, and it’s all the better for it. Viddy well done. Viddy well. 10/10

Nick Joy