14 hours agoAuthor: Efat Qureshi
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It was March 1972. In the US, a 14-year-old boy committed a murder. He brutally killed his classmate. When the investigation of the case began, the boy made a shocking revelation. According to his confession, he committed the murder inspired by a Hollywood film. The name of that film was A Clockwork Orange. This was not the only case when the name of this film was used in a murder.
Some time later, an old man was murdered, in which the 16-year-old murderer said that he too had decided to commit the murder after watching the film A Clockwork Orange. The song from this film was also sung during the brutal rape.
The cult classic film A Clockwork Orange, released in 1971, was already in the news for its horrific violent scenes, rape and nudity. In many countries, the film was given an X rating and in some, a C rating. Murder cases kept increasing and the famous director Stanley Kubrick started receiving threats. This was a unique case of its kind, when the director of the film himself wrote a letter to Warner Bros. to stop the film from being released in Britain. However, 27 years later, after the director's death, the ban on the film was lifted. Similarly, the film remained banned for years in many countries including Spain, Singapore, South Africa, Ireland, Malta. The surprising thing is that despite the controversies, the film collected around 114 million dollars i.e. 954 crores rupees in the 70s.
Today in the 2nd chapter of unheard tales, read the story of the making of this film which is responsible for many murders and has received 4 Oscar award nominations and the controversies related to it.
In 1962, famous writer Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange was published. This novel depicts the story of a violent youth. This satirical, black comedy and tension-creating novel was quite popular and even today it has been included in the list of 20 best novels of all time by Times Magazine.
Immediately after the novel's publication in 1962, writer Anthony Burgess sold the film rights for $500, which is currently valued at $5000 or Rs. 4,18,000. Initially, the famous rock band The Rolling Stones were to be cast in the film. The band's lead singer Mick Jagger had shown interest in playing the lead role of Alex in the film. Famous filmmaker Ken Russell became the director of the film. However, with time, with the help of BBFC (British Board of Film Classification), the rights of the film were acquired by Stanley Kubrick.
Initially, novel writer Terry Southern had sent the novel A Clockwork Orange to Stanley Kubrick. Stanley was busy with another film at that time, so he ignored the novel. After some time, his wife read the novel. She liked the story so much that she advised her husband Stanley to read it. When Stanley read the story, he also liked it very much. He himself prepared the screenplay of the film with a few changes and started making the film.
Photo of director Stanley Kubrick and actor Malcolm taken during the shooting of the film.
The film began production in 1968. Director Stanley Kubrick was looking for an actor to play the intense lead role in this film. Meanwhile, he saw the British satirical drama film 'If' released in 1968. He liked the work of the lead actor of this film Malcolm McDowell so much that he cast him in the role of Alex in the film A Clockwork Orange. Malcolm McDowell, who worked as a side actor, made his debut as a lead actor with the film 'If'. After this, he appeared in 2 more films, although he had not received any special recognition till then. On casting Malcolm McDowell, director Stanley Kubrick had said that he would bring intelligence to the screen.
How was the actors' look prepared?
Actor Malcolm McDowell played an important role in creating the look of the criminal gang in the film. He showed director Stanley the cricket dress he had with him. He also suggested that in order to portray the character of crazy criminals well, the waistbands like jockstraps worn inside the cricket dress should be worn outside the pants instead of inside them. Director Stanley liked Malcolm's idea a lot and decided the dress of the criminal gang in the film as per his suggestion.
Lead actor became blind during the shooting of the film, real doctors were kept on the set
Within a few days of the film's shooting, lead actor Malcolm scratched his cornea, which caused him trouble seeing. Over time, his blindness increased, causing trouble in shooting.
Due to the deterioration in the condition of actor Malcolm, real doctors were used in a scene of the film. According to the script, after coming out of jail, a medical experiment is done with Alex, in which the doctors keep Alex's eyes open with the help of some equipment and put saline in his eyes while showing him a film. During the shooting of this scene, real saline was put in the eyes of actor Malcolm, for which real doctors were used. During this, Malcolm McDowell lost his eyesight.
Actor's ribs broken on set
In the film, Alex was shown being brutalized on stage. To make it look real, Alex's co-actor beat him so hard that several of his ribs were broken.
When the film was first made in the 60s, there was a lack of special effects. In such a situation, the filmmaker actually threw the camera to show Alex falling from a height to the ground and to get a view point. The surprising thing was that the camera did not break for 6 takes.
After being passed by the BBFC, the film was first released in New York on 19 December 1971, where the film received mixed reviews from critics. After this, the film was released in the UK and the US at an interval of one month each. When the film was to be released in the United States in 1972, it was given an X rating (only for adults) due to the sexual content of the film. However, director Stanley Kubrick was unhappy with this due to the audience limit. To get the film an R rating, he removed 30 seconds of sexual scenes from two scenes shown in the film and got the film re-released.
The film was released, but the controversy did not end. The National Catholic Office for Motion Picture gave the film a C rating (condemned). According to this rating, Roman Catholics are advised not to see this film. In 1982, the office gave the film an O rating, according to which the film is offensive.
The film A Clockwork Orange became the inspiration for several murders
The film was to be released in Britain, but before that, it became associated with several murders. In March 1972, a 14-year-old boy confessed to killing his classmate after watching the film A Clockwork Orange. Investigations found that the murders depicted in the film had many similarities with that case.
After some time, another such case came to light. A 16-year-old boy brutally murdered an old man after being inspired by the opening scene of the film A Clockwork Orange. His friend had told him about the film, after watching which he committed the murder in the same way. In the court, the defense proved that the film had a direct connection with these murders. Along with the murders, it came to light that a man raped while singing the song Singing in the Rain from the film. He sang that song while raping just like in the film.
Director Stanley Kubrick received threats
Amidst the controversies, director Stanley Kubrick's wife Christina Kubrick said that she was constantly receiving threats. Protests were held outside her house several times.
Director Stanley Kubrick on the set of the film A Clockwork Orange.
The director himself stopped the release of the film; it was banned in many countries for years
After the controversy grew, director Stanley Kubrick himself requested Warner Bros. to ban the release of the film in Britain. As a result, the film was banned from being shown in the UK for about 27 years. However, after the death of director Stanley Kubrick in 1999, the film was released in theaters.
The film was also banned in Ireland on 10 April 1973. However, the film was passed on 13 December 1999 and was re-released on 17 March 2000. When the film was about to be released, the head of the censor board, Seamus Smith, objected to the film's poster, which used words like ultra-violence and rape. Later, changes were also made in the film's poster.
This film was banned in Singapore for 30 years. An attempt was made to lift the ban on the film in 2006, however, this attempt failed. Years later, on 28 October 2011, the ban on the film was lifted with an R21 rating.
The film was also banned in South Africa for 13 years. An uncut version of the film was released in 1984. However, people under the age of 21 were prohibited from watching the film.
The film was also banned in South Korea for many years. However, years later, the ban on the film has been lifted with an R rating.
The film was also banned in Brazil until 1978. However, when the film was released, the private parts of the actors were hidden with black dots.
The film was also banned in Spain until 1975. In 1975, during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, the film was released at the Valladolid International Film Festival. A screening of the film was scheduled to take place at the University of Valladolid, but it could not happen due to student protests. The university was closed for 2 months due to the protests. The film was also banned in Malta until 2000.
The film received 4 nominations at the Oscar ceremony
Even though the film was mired in controversies over its association with murders, it received nominations in four categories at the 44th Oscar ceremony. These include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Editing.
The film is included in the world's best violent films
The film A Clockwork Orange is a milestone for violent films. In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked this film at number 70 in the list of top 100 films. At the same time, the negative role Alex played by the lead actor of the film Malcolm is at number 12 in the list of 100 best villains of this institute.
In a 2012 poll by the British Film Institute, the film was ranked 75th. In 2010, Time magazine ranked the film 7th on their list of the 10 most violent films. The Guardian ranked A Clockwork Orange 11th on their list of the 25 best arthouse films.
Next Saturday, June 29, read the story of Golden Globe nominee Sharyn Marie Mete, who was brutally murdered at 8 months pregnant.
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