A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

  • 89% of critics liked it
    (46 reviews)

  • 92% of users liked it
    (384,188 ratings)

Stanley Kubrick dissects the nature of violence in this darkly ironic, near-future satire, adapted from Anthony Burgess's novel, complete with "Nadsat" slang. Classical music-loving proto-punk Alex (Malcolm McDowell) and his "Droogs" spend their nights getting high at the… More

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In Theaters
Dec 19, 1971 Wide
Warner Bros.

Critic Reviews

  • Andrew Sarris, Village Voice

    A painless, bloodless, and ultimately pointless futuristic fantasy.

  • Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune

    Kubrick's contributions are his wit and his eye. The wit, too much at times, is as biting as in Dr. Strangelove, and the production, while of another order, is as spectacular as in 2001.

  • , TIME Magazine

    A merciless, demoniac satire in the future imperfect.

  • A.D. Murphy, Variety

    Stanley Kubrick's latest film takes the heavy realities of the 'do-your-thing' and 'law-and-order' syndromes, runs them through a cinematic centrifuge, and spews forth the commingled comic horrors of a regulated society.

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    A very bad film -- snide, barely competent, and overdrawn -- that enjoys a perennial popularity, perhaps because its confused moral position appeals to the secret Nietzscheans within us.

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Featured Audience Ratings

  • Daniel L


    A Clockwork Orange is a strange and disturbing film, but its performances and themes make it a very memorable and cerebral movie.

  • Paulo G


    Often brutal and inhuman, A Clockwork Orange is a powerful entry in the dystopian film genre. Its use of humor is both disturbing yet enticing, and as it may be too much for a normal person to all in all stomach at first, its message nonetheless is too unforgettable for anyone to set… More

  • c0up  


    'A Clockwork Orange'. Dystopia done right through the unapologetic, searing vision of Stanley Kubrick and Malcolm McDowell's eccentric, ultra-violent, in and out, Beethoven-loving portrayal of Alex. A cure for violence in two weeks sure sounds like a good idea. The… More

  • Matthew Samuel M


    As brilliant and as artistic as a film can get. It is a marvelous experience that is thrilling to watch. From the eye candy the modern art direction provides to the haunting performance of McDowell, Clockwork Orange is a masterpiece through and through with no flaws.

  • Jonathan H


    Few films are as sensational or infamous as A Clockwork Orange. It's impossible to sit through this film and not have a reaction -- whether it be shock, disgust or amazement. The savage tale of a brutal young droog and his subsequent "reformation" by the government is… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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