Alex DeLarge is the leader of a gang of ‘ultra-violent’ youths who carry out beatings, r*pes and murders. When the other members of his gang turn against him, he’s caught red-handed after they have brutally attacked a woman who lives on her own. After she dies because of Alex’s actions, he is convicted of murder. Two years into a twelve year sentence, he puts himself forward for a new radical form of aversion therapy known as ‘The Ludovico Technique’ which will hopefully kurb his violent ways and make him into an upstanding member of society.

A Clockwork Orange was the stuff of legend when I was growing up as it’s director, Stanley Kubrick ordered its removal from distribution in the UK on both video and theatrically. It’s ironic, as Kubrick’s ban didn’t extend to other countries and so you could nip over to France to see the film.

Apparently Kubrick was sick of media outlets contacting him whenever there had been a violent crime and asking for his comments, as if him and his film were responsible. Him and his family were also receiving death threats.

And therein lies the prophetic power of A Clockwork Orange. It has significant things to say about youth culture and the moral panic surrounding it, the police, the media, the role of psychiatry, the state, criminality…the list is endless. It also predicts what would be said during the Video Nasties debate- that violent images could make people do violent things. It’s no wonder the film was seen as severely problematic when it was released. There were also criminal cases that referenced the film as if it had caused crimes to be undertaken.

Masterful direction, a pop art look, uniformly brilliant performances (special props to Malcolm McDowell), locales that featured all of the gorgeous brutalist architecture of the time, a wardrobe that encapsulated the past, present and future, a soundtrack courtesy of Walter (soon to be Wendy) Carlos that sounded like nothing ever heard before…

I kept thinking of The Smiths song Sweet and Tender Hooligan when I watched the film this time with Alex never committing another crime, ‘not until the next time’.

Just imagine seeing A Clockwork Orange when it first came out. It must have been like going to the first performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring- revolutionary.

The film will always be relevant. It will also always be a masterpiece that people will be invigorated by for decades to come.

5 out of 5 stars