Cult Vs Porno

_OR a tribute to Stanley Kubric's "A Clockwork Orange" film!

Even today, the films of the ‘70s have remarkable dynamics and astonishing potency, due to their “new” truthfulness and, of course, because of their commercial impact. The «New Hollywood», as many have characterized that decade, was the best response to a period (1960’s) described by Hans C. Bluemenberg as «the most dismal and boring decade» in the history of the cinema. Moreover, the ‘70s present great interest in more than one fields. In social terms it was a time of unprecedented freedoms, as many felt they lived through a kind of revolution and looked for a way to escape reality. Politically, the War in Vietnam, the Watergate Scandal and the Flower Power Movement with its protests led cinema to look into the causes and the effects of this situation in a series of incomparable films. Regarding fashion it can be best defined by the phrase: “Free your mind and the clothes will follow”. At a quick glance, obviously the 1970’s is an interesting and promising period, in more than one ways. However, in this post i would like to look at how the sexual revolution affected the film industry, in relation to the fashion details and messages passed through its costume and decorative detail. Moreover, i will try to express my point of view on how thin the line between art and pornography can be and why movies with that kind of content are controversial and extremely rare even today. 

Still from A Clockwork Orange (1971): "The Jesus can-can"

The ‘70s were the decade of “scandal films”. Movies like Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salo, Stanley Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange, Nagisha Oshima’s L’Empire des Sens” and others with less sex scenes but still with sexual identity theme like La Cage aux Falles, Fellini’s Roma, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, etc. are the most distinctive ones. Of course, we also have to consider and evaluate these films under the political, the social-economic and the fashion perspectives, in order to be in place to express a complete review. Subsequently, comes the hardest part: the distinction between art filmmaking and pornographic context movies. Last of all, it sounds interesting to compare those classic movies with equivalent modern ones. Movies like Requiem for a dream, Irreversible, Eyes Wide Shut, Almodovar’s Bad Education and All About my Mother are only a few that could approach ‘70s classic movies, not only for they content and script, but also for their direction and deliberate execution.

"A Clockwork Orange" (1962) book cover

As you may already understood, i am not going to do a comprehensive analysis on all the movies mentioned above. I would like to focus my post on the "A Clockwork Orange" movie, as -apart from my favorite film- is also one of the key-cult movies of the '70s and certainly the most controversial. 

First of all, i have to mention that it is a novella written by Anthony Burgess in 1962. "A Clockwork Orange" book featured futuristic street gangs based on the Teddy Boys, the Mods and the Rockers who where fighting on the beaches of England during the late 1950s and the early 1960s: Burgess had observed that between the ages of 10 and 23 youths indulge their desires for fornication, violence, stealing, drugs and other vices.

"A Clockwork Orange" (1971) movie poster

When Kubrick first read the book, he rejected it as a film project because he thought that “it would be too difficult for people to understand it”. When he finally decided to adapt the book (the American edition - missing the last chapter) he followed the book very closely, word-by-word. According to Kubrick book's and, of course, film's message is that: “It is necessary for man to have choice to be good or evil, even if he chooses evil. To deprive him of this choice is to make him something less than human – a clockwork orange”. 

Unfortunately, when the movie initially released, the result was there were copycat incidents of ultra-violence, where people said: “the film had made them do awful things”. Of course, this is nonsense, because every person has free will, which was the point of the film, but the press did their best to exploit the story. Kubrick tried to defend himself: “ To try to fasten any responsibility on art as the cause of life seems to me to put the case the wrong way around. Art consists on reshaping life but it does not create life, nor cause life. […] even after deep hypnosis, in a posthypnotic state, people cannot be made to do things which are at odds with their natures”. However, his arguments had no effect and this is the reason why he decided to stop the film by preventing it from being shown in the UK. "A Clockwork Orange" film was not available for public viewing in the UK from 1974 until 2000, after Kubrick’s death. As a result, Kubrick maximized film’s return by creating a database and only showing the film in cinemas where that type of film generated large grosses. A strategy that earned the film $ 40 million on a $ 2 million investment!

“Moloko Vellocet”: Alex and his friends prepare for some ultra-violence.

For me, "A Clockwork Orange" it is not just a movie; it is an art masterpiece, carefully made from all aspects; direction, adaptation, acting, photography, lighting, art direction, costume design & styling. It is not a rambling film and it doesn’t contain unnecessary scenes. Actually,  Kubrick’s word-by-word adaptation offers as a complete film, without discontinuities or inconsistencies from the original book. In this particular movie, its element is there for a reason; for example Alex’s cufflinks are a set of artificial eyeballs – every criminal act committed by his hands is witnessed by these symbolic onlookers.

Still from "A Clockwork Orange" (1971) film

Alex's cufflinks

Kubrick uses all cinematic means available to give us an authentic representation of Alex’s world. He is attempting not only to show us, but also to make us feel what violence looks like from inside. In a shocking way it makes us all share the responsibility for all the things it shows.

Alex and his friends attack writer Frank Alexander. 

Moreover, it is hard to think of another film that assigns us the role of voyeur so effectively. On the above scene, Alex and his friends attack writer Frank Alexander and force him to watch as Alex beats and rapes his wife, while singing “Singin’ in the Rain”. This scene is  based on a tragic incident during the World War 2, when Burgess’ first wife was attacked by four American deserters, which caused her to miscarry. Her resulting depression led to a suicide attempt. Writing the book was Burgess’ way of getting rid of all the hate.

“The cat lady & The giant phallus” 

Alex uses a giant stone phallus, a sculpture which is actually "life petrified into art", to kill a woman and he is abandoned by his friends, who leave him for the police.  

"The Ludovico Treatment"

To shorten his prison sentence Alex agrees to undergo the "Ludovico Treatment" (a method based on Ivan Pavlov's famous experiments) where he is forced to watch horrible images accompanied by beautiful music – actually, his favorite music of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. In this point i have to add that the film is also about the power of music and the ecstasy of a human being whose individuality dissolves in the experience of music. For Alex, Beethoven is an ideal representation of a creative genius. Then Alex is publicly tested in front of the press and the government minister and released into the world.

"Funny Games" (2007) movie poster

Undoubtedly, "A Clockwork Orange" film left a huge legacy in more that one ways. Apart from a diachronic film, which can be arguably competing with a large number of relevant contemporary films, it is also a film far ahead from its period! 

"Funny Games" (2007) is a contemporary movie with clear references to Kubrick's movie. Not only the costumes, which are obviously affected by the "Clockwork Orange", but also the whole way or direction. Once again, movie's purpose is to make us feel what violence looks like from inside and, also, to make us all share the responsibility for all the things it shows. 

(note: In this point i have to thank Drue Bisley for her really relevant observation!)

Last of all, we cannot ignore the affect that the "Clockwork Orange's" style had and how people copied Alex's unique style. In this point, it also crucial to mention the film's Costume Designer; Milena Canonero not only introduced to the world of cinema through this movie (which was her first one!), but also managed to establish herself! Just for the record, i would like to add that Canonero is also the Costume Designer in a series of other important films such as: "Barry Lyndon" (1975), "Midnight Express" (1978), "The Shining" (1980), "The Cotton Club" (1984), "Marie Antoinette" (2006), etc.

L' UOMO VOGUE Editorial: "A Clockwork Orange", by Max Vandukul 

Christina Aguilera channels her inner "Clockwork Orange"

Mischa Burton in a total "Clockwork Orange" look

"Viddy well, little brother, viddy well."