55 Years Later, Stanley Kubrick’s Gritty Sci-Fi Masterpiece Is Officially Back on Streaming

Stanley Kubrick marks a before-and-after in the history of cinema. Few directors have received as much acclaim in life and death, admired by peers and audiences alike. Kubrick might be the ultimate gateway filmmaker for cinephiles, a step beyond the delightful and accessible thrills of Quentin Tarantino but not as far removed and cerebral as Andrei Tarkovsky. Kubrick always managed to make entertainment that was undoubtedly high art, adding an implicating twist to all of his films. They never leave you off the hook.

One of his boldest and most uncomfortable movies in a career known for pushing audiences to their limits was A Clockwork Orange. It’s now available on HBO Max.

Making a model citizen

Based on Anthony Burgess’ novel of the same name, A Clockwork Orange is set in a dystopian near-future Britain, trailing Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell), a terrible young man. As a charming hoodlum speaking in a slang created by Burgess, Alex is instantly memorable, parading through the streets of London with his “droogs” while on the hunt for robbery and rape. Together, they bond as they get drunk, beat up homeless people, and break into strangers’ homes. By day, Alex sleeps in his parents’ apartment, skipping school and finding girls to sleep with while the house is empty — rinse and repeat. He’s fully satisfied with his life, feeling no remorse or showing the inklings of a conscience.

One night, after pushing his luck too far, he kills a woman and is abandoned by his friends. Alex is arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Looking for an easy way out, he volunteers for an experiment that promises to cure criminals of their evil impulses. Alex is subjected to a radical treatment where scientists pry his eyes open and force him to watch an endless stream of violent imagery, conditioning him to associate any form of violence and aggression with feeling sick. Now, whenever he feels the urge to hurt anyone, his body shuts down. The treatment grants him an early release as he’s no longer deemed a threat to society.

Entertainment with a guilty conscience

Upon its release, A Clockwork Orange was immensely controversial, inspiring now-rote commentary on the perils of depicting violence and evil acts in media (“I am tired of people smashing other people in the name of self-expression,” wrote The Village Voice at the time). Despite its status as a pop culture relic, the movie remains a very unpleasant experience while paradoxically being incredibly entertaining. You feel terrible, but you keep watching, taking in the memorable white outfits and masks of the droogs, the beautiful ’70s-era homes with their retro-futuristic and phallic decorations, and the precise balance of every shot. One of the film’s most emblematic sequences depicts Alex and his droogs breaking into a writer’s home. While the man is tied down and tortured, Alex sets his sights on his wife, performing a skilled rendition of Singin’ in the Rain as he cuts her clothes off. It’s a moment where performance, cruelty, and framing align, making for an unforgettable cinematic experience. The song was a detail added by Kubrick and a wonderful example of his skills beyond visual instincts. Kubrick was also an intelligent screenwriter with a sharp ear for finding the perfect needle drop (which sometimes got him in trouble).

“This was one of the more important ideas which arose during rehearsal,” Kubrick told Sight & Sound in 1972. “This scene, in fact, was rehearsed longer than any other scene in the film and appeared to be going nowhere. We spent three days trying to work out just what was going to happen, and somehow it all seemed a bit inadequate. Then suddenly the idea popped into my head — I don’t know where it came from or what triggered it off.”

A Clockwork Orange is a film you might encounter when young and impressionable, after it’s recommended to you by a wise, cooler friend, or while scrolling through a “best of” list on Letterboxd. Years later, when you revisit it, you might find it a harder watch, with the story and craft showcasing just how disturbing it is. Sure, it’s packed with perfect images and stands at the root of many fanboys’ origin stories, like most of Kubrick’s best-known films – but that’s its trap. That same craft that lets you marvel at a stunningly composed shot also makes you complicit in it, laughing along to Alex’s gall when performing Singin’ in the Rain despite the awfulness. The magic of Kubrick lies in his understanding of our worst impulses, and A Clockwork Orange is his best example. He never lets you walk away clean.

A Clockwork Orange is streaming on HBO Max.