Violence, rape and torture: there are few works that are so uncompromising in their content and have been received so controversially as A Clockwork Orange. The Stanley Kubrick film is considered a masterpiece that is as unpleasant as it is brilliant and has even been banned in some countries.
Today on TV: This is what Stanley Kubrick’s controversial classic A Clockwork Orange is about
In a dystopian, dark but very near future, the sadistic teenager Alex (Malcolm McDowell) and his gang are up to mischief. They roam the streets, attack homeless people, beat them, rape them and they simply delight in violence. They use it to pass the time because they are evil and have nothing better to do.
Until one day Alex falls into the clutches of the fascist government, which sends him to brutal brainwashing experiment After that, he is “cured” and conditioned to no longer be able to give free rein to his violence. Just thinking about it causes him physical pain, and the same goes for listening to his favorite music, Beethoven – an unwanted side effect of the treatment. Completely defenseless, he meets old acquaintances as a free man and fate takes its course.
Warner Bros.
A Clockwork Orange is on TV tonight and constantly goes where it really hurts.
Scandalous success and censorship: A Clockwork Orange caused a sensation in the 1970s
What we see in A Clockwork Orange is stomach-turning. Brilliantly staged, but ultimately disturbingwe as the audience first long for punishment, rehabilitation and redemption. All of this comes more or less in the second half of the film, but not as hoped. The nagging question of whether the end really justifies the means is a constant reverberation.
Because the bitter social criticism comes across in such an unbelievably unpleasant way, Kubrick’s uncomfortable masterpiece was not only well received. Cinema called the film a “classic of ice-cold malice”, in the USA the Catholic Church to its members from the very topto watch A Clockwork Orange.
In the UK, the film was pulled from cinemas at the insistence of Kubrick himself, probably because the director and his family received death threats, according to ScreenRant. It was banned in Ireland for 29 years, in Singapore for 40 years and in Franco’s Spain as well, just as it was in South Africa during the apartheid era..
TV or stream: When and where is A Clockwork Orange shown?
A Clockwork Orange is on arte at 22:05 broadcast today, July 1, 2024. The film lasts until 0:29 a.m. and there will be no repeat. If you want, you can also stream the Stanley Kubrick film online. You can do so on Apple TV, MagentaTV, Amazon, Maxdome or Google.
In the arte media library you can also find the corresponding documentary Clockwork Orange.
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