STANLEY KUBRICK’S A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971) (WBHE 4K UHD Review)

STANLEY KUBRICK’S 

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971) 

Label: WBHE

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: R 

Duration: 136 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital Mono 1.0 with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 2160p UHD Widescreen (1.66:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)

Director: Stanley Kubrick 

Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, James Marcus,  Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates

I'm pretty sure I saw A Clockwork Orange on late-night cable TV as a kid  when I was definitely way too young to be seeing it, but too young tends to be the age that movies make the biggest impression on you, and it certainly did. From early on ans still today I count it as one of my most beloved films, sitting alongside

Ghostbusters and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. This here tale of youthful mayhem is set in a near-future dystopian England and follows the exploits of a charismatic and intelligent teen psychopath named Alex (Malcolm McDowell, If...) and his fellow "Droogs" who spend their nights at the Korova Milkbar getting buzzed on Milk++ before heading out into the city for a little of the old ultraviolence, indulging their wildest whims with fighting, theft, rape and murder. 

I remember when I first saw it I thought it was absolutely terrorizing, what I was seeing was something I'd never even thought of before, these were scary nihilistic teens embarking on theretofore unheard of destruction and law-breaking. At the time I was a pretty good kid, well, at least good within normal adolescence anyway. I couldn't make sense of why it was also steeped in black humor, the blackest, as the Droogs go about their violent business. Was it meant to be a comedy, and if so, why?  At that age I hadn't quite grasped onto the concepts of satire and parody, so it seemed to me the movie was celebrating the horror-show of it all, and It can still be argued that it is, but I think of it more as the film surrendering to the violence of Alex and the worl he lives in, more so than condoning it. Years later in my teens the movie felt like a rally cry for teen rebellion left unchecked and taken to comedic heights, it was just a kick-ass anti-hero flick, it never made me think that crime and violence were cool, but as a teen and beyond I appreciated the aggressive elements of it. 

The lines are not too well-defined to be honest, which is why the film is still rather provocational, even today in some circles When I was watching this UHD for the third time this week my wife was less than thrilled by it. She always seemed to walk-in during that scene of Alex giddily spouting "Singing in the Rain" during the rape scene - isn't that always the case - and would get irate about it, "WTF are you watching!?!". 

As the film progresses we see Alex break into a dance studio looking for some action, he ends up bludgeoning a dance instructor, the "Cat Lady", to death with a phallic sculpture, after which his own droogs, tired of his tyrannical leadership, turning on him by smashing a milk bottle across his face, which allows for the cops to apprehend him and charge him with murder. Afterward he is given a trial and sentenced to prison, where he eventually submits to a government sponsored behavior modification technique that will earn him his freedom. Returned to the world, now conditioned to abhor violence and sex after a torturous conditioning process, Alex becomes a defenseless victim of his prior victims, the tables have now turned, the teen is now the victim, as Kubrick toys with your sympathies. 

Kubrick's adaptation of Burgess's same-titled novel is an orgy of eye-popping dark delicacies, decorated with porcelain statues of naked women that dispense milk++ from their titties, there's tons of  phallic symbolism on dispay, including the sculpture used as a weapon of blunt-force murder, and music absolutely overwhelms the movie, whether it's the pulsing electronic score from  composer Wendy Carlos (The Shining) or the subverted  classical tunes from Ludwig van, and double-speed orgy set to Rossini's "William Tell Overture". It's made for shocking stuff when I was a kid, and it still packs a punch today. What's changed about for me is that I see it more for the comedy now and the violence and rape, its less shocking to me. Perhaps because after seeing Last House on the Left, Salo, Irreversible, and I Spit On Your Grave there's not much that actually shocks me these days. Now, what's the meaning of it all? Fuck if I know, I don't think that Kubrick set out or succeeds in making any sort of grand statement here, he just made a fucking cool slice of subversive cinema, and that's all I need. Now that we're in the age where turkey-baster rapists can be good daddy anti-heroes (Don't Breathe 2) I think we can enjoy this without needing a message shoved down out throats, so come viddy the ultra-violence guilt-free. 

Audio/Video: A Clockwork Orange arrives on 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in glorious 2160p UHD framed in 1.66:1 widescreen. This is a 4K restoration performed by Warner Bros.’ Motion Picture Imaging (MPI) with the invaluable aid of Kubrick’s former right-hand man Leon Vitali. The UHD offers a more lush and refined grain field with finer detail and textures. It also benefits from a new more natural looking HDR10 enhanced color-grading that is cooler and a not as warm or bright as the previous HD releases. The ugliness of the ultra-violence has never looked better mE brothers, you can now viddy this sinny like never before with a bit of the shiny new Ultra-HD-violence.

Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround with optional English subtitles, as well as the original mono, sadly presented in compressed Dolby Digital. The 5.1 option does have it's moments, it opens up the electronic score from  Wendy Carlos (The Shining) and Ludwig van  but it can sound forced to me in my opinio. I still prefer the lossy mono track which is more direct and sounds more authentic. I have to ask, why could we not get a Atmos upgrade or at least an uncompressed mono track for this?  The lossy mono track only appears on the UHD, not on the recycled Blu-ray. 

No new extras but WBHE carry-over all the extras from the last few Blu-ray releases, which is appreciated as they are extensive and quite good. Among them is a very good commentary from Malcolm McDowell and the late Nick Redman of niche label Twilight Time, it's fantastic listen that covers a lot of ground There are also nearly two-hours worth of docs and featurettes, plus a trailer for the film. The UHD only carries the commentary, all other extras can be found on the accompanying Blu-ray disc which is predictably, but regrettably, not the new color-timed restoration, but a port of the previous Blu-ray. I appreciate the gorgeous UHD upgrade but I still feel WBHE are being lazy when they don't give us the Atmos upgrades and then recycle past Blu-rays instead of upgrading them, it just seems lazy to me. 

The 2-disc Blu-ray/UHD release arrives in a black Elite keepcase with a single-sides sleeve of artwork that brought to mind the psychedelic Jim Steranko artwork from thea particular issue of the Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. comic series, which is also featured on the slipcover that also has a 50th Anniversary sticker on it in the shape of the bowler hat/eyelash image I like the new artwork but this is a film with several iconic images associated with the original marketing campaign, and I think it was a mistake not to feature a reversible wrap and/or separate artwork on the slipcover. Inside there's a digital code for a 4K UHD digital copy of the film.  

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by Malcolm McDowell and Nick Redman
- Still Tickin': The Return of Clockwork Orange [2000 Channel 4 Documentary] (44 min) 
- Great Bolshy Yarblockos! Making A Clockwork Orange (28 min) 
- Turning Like Clockwork (26 min) 
- Malcolm McDowell Looks Back (11 min) 

- Trailer (1 min) 

A Clockwork Orange was derided upon its release but has aged quite well, proving to be disturbingly prescient looking back at from these current times. The mash-up of violence and humor stills kicks ya in the yarbles, and the new UHD looks fantastic.