A Clockwork Orange A Film Analysis In 1962, Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange was published for the first time. This novel was an anti-utopian fable about the near future, where gangs of teenagers routinely terrorize the inhabitants of a squalid metropolis. The novel addresses the main point that man is a sinner but not sinful enough to deserve the calamities heaped upon him. It is a comic novel about the tragic fate of a man. (Bergonzi 152). In 1971, Stanley Kubrick turned Burgess' novel into a 136-minute color film produced by Warner Brothers. The film starred Malcolm McDowell as the young gangster guilty of rape and murder. Kubrick was both writer and director. Stanley Kubrick was born on July 26, 1928 in the Bronx, New York. He is an experienced filmmaker with other groundbreaking films under his belt, such as The Shining, Paths of Glory, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. His films have a common theme: the dehumanization of humanity. He is also known for his symmetrical image composition and long "zoom out" and/or "zoom in" sequences. Kubrick constructs three-way conflicts and uses the technique of extreme close-ups of intensely emotional faces. An interesting note is that Kubrick often uses the number 114 in his films. In A Clockwork Orange, Alex is given "Serum 114" when he undergoes treatment with Ludovico. (Internet Movie Database 1) Some critics argue that the success of A Clockwork Orange is due to Kubrick's genius. In his book The Science Fiction and Fantasy Handbook, Alan Frank writes: "If the film had been the work of a lesser director, it is unlikely that it would have had the reception it received; as it is, [Kubrick's] brutalization by Burgess ... middle of paper ... created a controversial film that brought Anthony Burgess' novel to life Violence and rape were forced upon the viewer and the sinful nature of humanity was pushed into the minds of those who attended the 136-minute film. Bibliography A Clockwork Orange .Beck, Michael and Thomas Waites 1979. Received by America Online on April 18, 1997. Bergonzi, Bernard, Contemporary Novelists.1976. Cohen, Alexander J. ., A Clockwork Orange and the aestheticization of violence. Accessed 28 April 1997 from the A Clockwork Orange homepage. Gottlieb, Sidney, Masterplots II.1987. Accessed on April 25, 1997 from the home page of A Clockwork Orange.