This is why Stanley Kubrick banned “A Clockwork Orange” from theaters

He is widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Stanley Kubrick was famously uncompromising and enigmatic in executing his unique vision of cinematic storytelling. The Bronx native was praised for challenging his audience and pushing the boundaries of the medium, but was also known for stirring up controversy. And while several of his films sparked backlash, that was nothing compared to the uproar that arose in the 1971s A Clockwork Orange.

Adapted from Anthony Burgess' novel of the same name from 1962, A Clockwork Orange caused quite a stir in the UK after several brutal violent crimes were said to have been inspired by the film. Although Kubrick did solid business for months after release, his film was withdrawn from British cinemas for decades in an unprecedented show of individual authority. But was it an act of self-censorship, or did the legendary filmmaker succumb to the pressure of an overly critical media and moral panic?

Stanley Kubrick was dealing with controversy long before A Clockwork Orange

As an artist of such rare conviction and vision, it is perhaps no surprise that Stanley Kubrick has had his fair share of turmoil throughout his iconic career. The first of these controversies arose in 1957, when his groundbreaking anti-war film Paths of Glory, is coming to cinemas. A World War I story about a French officer (Kirk Douglas), tasked with leading his troops on a suicidal mission, the film was devastating in its portrayal of military elites and the corrupt nature of power dynamics. At first, the depiction of high-ranking officers was met with disapproval by the French censors. Paths of Glory would not be released in the country until 1975. It would also be banned in Switzerland and Spain until 1978 and 1986 respectively.

The year 1962 would also be a controversial time for Stanley Kubrick, as he set his sights on conquering the world Vladimir Nabokovnovel from 1955, Lolita, on the screen. After the exploits of a middle-aged man (James Mason) Man and his infatuation with a 14 year old girl (Sue Lyons), the film was well received by audiences, but divided critics over its subject matter. Kubrick's film, released during the Hays Code era and drawing the ire of the Roman Catholic League of Decency, once again put him in the crosshairs of controversy. Looking back Lolita a decade later he admitted it Newsweek that he “probably wouldn't have made the film” if he had known it would cause such a stir.

“A Clockwork Orange” took Kubrick to new heights of fame

Despite navigating through choppy waters with Paths of Glory And Lolitanothing could have prepared Stanley Kubrick for the level of vitriol and vitriol that would greet him upon release A Clockwork Orange. His film, which premiered in December 1971, about the shocking exploits of Alex (Malcolm McDowell), a young and violent person who follows the path of rehabilitation in a dystopian society, was a box office success. However, critics and the wider media were polarized on the left. While some appreciated the film's fearlessness and Kubrick's unwavering ability to put disturbing human behavior directly under the cinematic microscope, others were repulsed, in some cases directing their criticism directly at the filmmaker himself.

Write for The New Yorkerrenowned critic Pauline Kael was particularly scathing when he asked, “Is there anything sadder – and ultimately more repulsive – than a clean pornographer?” In a similar assessment Roger Ebert proclaimed: “Alex was turned into a sadistic rapist not by society, not by his parents, not by the police state, not by centralization and not by creeping fascism – but by this film's producer, director and writer, Stanley Kubrick.” The critics of the film united the view that Kubrick had fetishized the film's shocking violence and sexual assault and sacrificed the humanity and dignity of Alex's victims by making the audience a little too subjectively in tune with his horrific perspective.

Although Kubrick had already earned a reputation as a provocateur, his exploration of the themes surrounding society's influence on the individual, the human tendency toward abhorrent behavior, and the complications associated with state control shocked some to the core. And how A Clockwork Orange continued to rake in the box office, Several heinous crimes led to the impression that Kubrick's film incited violence. As a result, the filmmaker faced unrelenting pressure from the media and society at large, and he eventually resorted to extreme measures to regain some semblance of peace and normality.

Stanley Kubrick has withdrawn “A Clockwork Orange” from British cinemas

During efforts to link several brutal crimes A Clockwork Orange Two particular incidents received significant attention in the local media. According to Luxury London, a 16-year-old male who committed murder was said to have exhibited behavior similar to Alex's in the film, although it was later revealed that the teenager had not even seen this A Clockwork Orange. Additionally, the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl by a group of teenagers was linked to the film because, as Alex does in the film, they were supposedly singing To singin the rain as they commit their terrible crime.

While local media, prosecutors, judges and politicians searched for a sacrificial lamb with which to provide the public with a simple explanation for complex societal ills, Kubrick firmly rejected the idea that his film was responsible for this behavior. He said Michel Ciment from positive:

“
I know there are well-meaning people who sincerely believe that movies and television contribute to violence, but almost all official studies on the question conclude that there is no evidence to support that view. At the same time, I think the media tends to exploit the issue because it allows them to portray and discuss the so-called harmful things from a lofty position of moral superiority.”

But despite Kubrick's steadfast stance on the idea of ​​causal connections between violence in films and violence in the real world, the damage was done. According to The Guardian, Kubrick's wife Christiane confirmed that the media firestorm around him had erupted A Clockwork Orange led to death threats against her husband. Feeling enormous pressure and fearing for the safety of himself and his family, he ultimately decided to withdraw his film from British cinemas.

A Clockwork Orange was effectively banned in the UK for 27 years

Many influential filmmakers have come and gone since the early days of cinema, but hardly Stanley Kubrick's withdrawal of his film from theaters demonstrated a level of unparalleled individual power that remains unparalleled to this day. On his authority, from 1973 A Clockwork Orange was withdrawn from circulation in the United Kingdom and achieved near-mythical status as audiences were forbidden from seeing a film. So determined was Kubrick to take the film out of circulation that, with the support of Warner Bros., he led the charge against the Scala Cinema in north London for illegally showing the film there.

For 27 years A Clockwork Orange was something of an underground sensation, and British citizens could only experience it via VHS copies and prints of varying quality purchased on international markets. It wasn't until spring 2000, a year after Kubrick's death at the age of 70, that restrictions on the controversial film were lifted. Unsurprisingly, the film's resurgence in Britain saw not sudden outbreaks of violence or riots, but rather hordes of filmgoers eager to witness a powerful piece of cinema that had for so long been burdened with stigma.

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Regarding the relationship between art and reality, Stanley Kubrick surmised: “The attempt to attribute any responsibility to art as the cause of life seems to me to be a false statement. Art consists in transforming lives, but it does not create life nor produce life. With this thought in mind, he withdrew A Clockwork Orange from British cinemas an example of toleration of social pressure or a form of self-censorship? One could argue that it was a bit of both. Considering Kubrick's reputation as a visionary with seemingly unshakable artistic conviction, such an action could be seen as a peace offering to give in to outside pressure. At the same time, who can blame the man for wanting to do everything he could to alleviate the very kind of societal insanity and cynicism his film was originally intended to comment on?

A Clockwork Orange is currently available to stream on Apple TV+ in the US

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