[atlantaprog] Re: A Clockwork Orange

Beth,
Since you seem much more bibliophile than cinemaphile, that's probably wise.  
Reading the book is much safer, but the film is a classic.  The Wendy Carlos 
soundtrack seems to be in print still.  You can listen to that without having 
your perception of the music contaminated by remembered associations with the 
film's emotional impact.  FWIW, I didn't like that album very much and haven't 
thought about it in years, probably because parts of it evoked memories of the 
movie too vividly.  Do *not* let your kids see this film.

Having read the book makes the film less shocking as far as the plot goes, but 
it still doesn't prepare one for the visceral impact of the film.  It really 
was a masterpiece of cinematography.  Somehow Kubrick can make the sight and 
sound go straight to viewers' emotions, bypassing rational comprehension along 
the way.  A Clockwork Orange is scarey.  It is likely to trigger a 
fight-or-flight reaction including a full adrenalin dump and the resulting 
clumsiness, tunnel-vision, racing heartbeat and elevated blood pressure.  It is 
likely to make you temporarily antisocial.  It *will* give you nightmares.

It is also likely to forever warp your appreciation of certain pieces of music. 
 Imagine the incomprehensible surreal beauty of Kubrick's 2001, plus the dark 
feel of the first Batman film, plus the psychotic unreality of One Flew Over 
The Coocoo's Next and Psycho and Brazil, plus the violence of the most twisted 
slasher and gangster films (emphasis on twisted), plus a big dose of Big 
Brother.  With most Kubrick films, the gestalt is much more than the sum of its 
parts, and this is probably his most powerful.

Just my $0.02
Nick            rambling way too late

P.S, according to Amazon, people who bought this book also bought
SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey 
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Animal Farm by George Orwell

and people who bought this movie also bought
2001 - A Space Odyssey
The Shining
Full Metal Jacket
Requiem for a Dream
(all but the last were by Kubrick)
and people who bought this CD also bought other Wendy Carlos CDs.

Beth wrote:
>   I'd rather have a good book  ANYDAY over a movie..so yeah..thats a great
>idea Allen!  :-)     yuck!   PEACE Beth

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