FORMAT: 4K UHD
Wow, I can’t believe I’ve been reviewing movies online for seventeen years and haven’t reviewed one of my all-time favorites, A Clockwork Orange. Then again, what can you say about it that hasn’t already been said? I mean, you don’t need me to tell you how great it is. It’s without a doubt one of the best films ever made, and arguably Stanley Kubrick’s best. (Although I might give The Shining the edge.)
Rarely, if ever, do films hold the power to shock five decades after their release, but A Clockwork Orange is one such film. Even today, the film remains outrageous, ballsy, hilarious, and invigorating. Kubrick somehow was able to top 2001: A Space Odyssey with a totally unique and wonderfully warped vision of the future.
Malcolm McDowell amazing as Alex, the psycho gang leader with a penchant for Beethoven. He plays it to the hilt with a nearly operatic sense of performance. What’s so amazing is that he actually makes you care about him, even when he's doing completely despicable things. When he experiences “the tortures of the damned”, you can’t help but feel for the bugger.
Even after all these years, the film remains visually stunning. Kubrick was some kind of mad genius alchemist to blend an absurd sense of pop art futurism with jet-bleak nihilism. The Ludovico treatment scenes still have a kick them and still have the power to make any jaded movie fan squirm in their seat (especially if you have an aversion to eye trauma like me).
4K UHD NOTES:
As for 4K transfer, it looks gorgeous. The primary colors of the title sequence really pop, and the darks run a deep, deep black throughout, providing a nice contrast during the scenes of Alex and his Droogs engaging in a bit of the old ultraviolence. One small background detail I did pick on this viewing occurred during Alex’s arrest. If you look closely, you can see a police recruitment flyer in the police station, which foreshadows Georgie and Dim’s appearance as policemen later in the film. Now I’m not sure whether that was due to the sharpness of the 4K transfer and the crispness of the backgrounds or if it was just because Kubrick’s films are naturally filled with tiny details that lend themselves to rewatches. Either way, if you were sitting on the fence about picking it up, I’d say it’s definitely worth the upgrade.
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