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I read about two pages of it today, (not my book, a friend's) and I have to say its quite interesting. And once you figure out the majority of the language, quite enjoyable.

It's a tremendous and disturbing book. Persevere with it.

Yeah, it's a pretty good book.

Well worth the effort in learning Nadsat.

Never read the book, but I absolutely love the movie. Definitely in my top 10.

Just imagine how you will feel when you've read four pages.

Been a long time but if I remember correctly the point of the movie was "You can overcome conditioning and be a violent fether" but the point of the book was you can mature past the point where being a violent fether is a good thing and instead be a contributing member of society.

The movie ended a chapter or two before the book does I think.

But I have not read the book nor seen the movie since the early 90s...

It is probably one of the best books you will ever read.

The movie's point was a lot different from that. Alex is not able to overcome his conditioning and gets the gak beaten out of him because of it. It's more about the idea of being good or bad with and without the existence of free will, and a harsh criticism to apathetic role-models.

Never read the book.

Saw the movie when I was 5 or 6.

Thought it was the worst movie ever made.


Watched it again in high school.


it was fahkin awesome.

Piston Honda wrote:Never read the book.

Saw the movie when I was 5 or 6.

Thought it was the worst movie ever made.


Watched it again in high school.


it was fahkin awesome.

5 or 6? Wow pretty young to have been watching that film isn't it?
Great film, want to read the book but its behind a few others in my list.

CptJake wrote:Been a long time but if I remember correctly the point of the movie was "You can overcome conditioning and be a violent fether" but the point of the book was you can mature past the point where being a violent fether is a good thing and instead be a contributing member of society.

The movie ended a chapter or two before the book does I think.

But I have not read the book nor seen the movie since the early 90s...

The movie ended at the same point as the American version of the book.

When Burgess brought the book to an American publisher, they argued that the final chapter was simply too unrealistic for an American audience. So, until the 1986 printing of the book, the American version didn't have the final chapter.

Well, my version bought here in the USA did have the final chapter (admittedly in the early 90s), and I suspect Kubrick had access to the final chapter too.

One of my favorite books, although the movie portrayed the scenes even better than I had imagined. Disturbing, to a point. The book is great though. Explains a lot that the movie didn't at all, and offers a nice introspective.

I also read the last chapter part, although for the life of me, I can't remember it, because I just blazed through it

Ahtman wrote:Just imagine how you will feel when you've read four pages.

Yeah, it's real horrorshow!

CptJake wrote:Well, my version bought here in the USA did have the final chapter (admittedly in the early 90s), and I suspect Kubrick had access to the final chapter too.

Here's an interview with Kubrick about the last chapter:

Interviewer: The end of A Clockwork Orange is different from the one in the Burgess book.
Kubrick: There are two different versions of the novel. One has an extra chapter. I had not read this version until I had virtually finished the screenplay. This extra chapter depicts the rehabilitation of Alex. But it is, as far as I am concerned, unconvincing and inconsistent with the style and intent of the book. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the publisher had somehow prevailed upon Burgess to tack on the extra chapter against his better judgment, so the book would end on a more positive note. I certainly never gave any serious consideration to using it.


So, he was aware of it, but only after he had almost completed the screenplay. And, he wasn't a fan of it.

My copy was complete with the script and songs for Clockwork Orange: The musical (Highlight: The tolchocking song).

Read it about 20 years ago for the first time. Saw the movie about 3 years earlier. Watched it again on dvd about 6-7 years ago. The commentary made certain elements clearer (for the movie).

The movie does handle certain things differently. The threesome Alex has with the schoolgirls, for example. They are ALL underage (something not apparent in the movie). Alex is 13.

Grakmar wrote:

CptJake wrote:Well, my version bought here in the USA did have the final chapter (admittedly in the early 90s), and I suspect Kubrick had access to the final chapter too.

Here's an interview with Kubrick about the last chapter:

Interviewer: The end of A Clockwork Orange is different from the one in the Burgess book.
Kubrick: There are two different versions of the novel. One has an extra chapter. I had not read this version until I had virtually finished the screenplay. This extra chapter depicts the rehabilitation of Alex. But it is, as far as I am concerned, unconvincing and inconsistent with the style and intent of the book. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the publisher had somehow prevailed upon Burgess to tack on the extra chapter against his better judgment, so the book would end on a more positive note. I certainly never gave any serious consideration to using it.


So, he was aware of it, but only after he had almost completed the screenplay. And, he wasn't a fan of it.

Of course he wasn't a fan of it. It was an ending with a positive lesson where the main character realizes senseless violence is wrong.

I liked much about the book, but felt the overall message was contrived. I think it depends on whether Alex's progress from violent brute to fully realised human being mirrored the reader's.

I love the movie. The music and set design is about as good as it's ever been, and the conclusion, with Alex remaining a violent brute, helped the film focus on the social failings surrounding it.

I think that the book is definitely in my top 5 or 10 books that I have ever read (for point of reference, Fight Club is the number 1 book I have read). I had read somewhere, a small excerpt or interview or some such, on Burgess' "formula" for creating his iconic language of Clockwork Orange, and I think that, to basically create a whole new language takes some serious smarts to do. I haven't read much of his other stuff, but Clockwork definitely stands out there.

I think that the movie, by and large captured much of the essence of the book, and the soundtrack was real horrorshow. Using the Funeral March of Queen Mary as its theme was sheer genius.

Albatross wrote:It's a tremendous and disturbing book. Persevere with it.

so is the necronomicon.

Big fan of the book when I was in high school.

One of the best book I've ever read too!
The movie is good (thanks to the aesthethic and the music), but the book is so much better.

It's amazing to see how past the first 30 pages you start to read it naturaly. I've read it about 17 years ago and the slang is still anchored in my memory, am I the only one here?

the greatest film ever made

Its probably the most random movie I have ever seen

Hyenajoe wrote:One of the best book I've ever read too!
The movie is good (thanks to the aesthethic and the music), but the book is so much better.

It's amazing to see how past the first 30 pages you start to read it naturaly. I've read it about 17 years ago and the slang is still anchored in my memory, am I the only one here?

Nope. I grew up with Russian neighbours.
I was hearing words that sounded like nadsat for many years. A lot of Nadsat words are based off Russian words, afterall.

I liked it. I prefer the book having the good ending, even if it is a bit hack-kneed. Optimism is nice once in a while.

Honest question for those who say this was the best movie ever:

Why?

Plenty of movies with violence and rape out there, from a technical perspective this wasn't great even by early 70's standards. What makes this movie the best movie ever?

Because it's SO EDGY.

I found it interesting but it's hardly the best film ever.

Plenty of 'edgy' films out there, heck you had Peckinpah's Wild Bunch out a little before this flick.

Honestly, this was an average flick in my opinion.

I watched about 30 minutes of it a few years ago.

One of the few movies I didn't finish. Tasteless.

I'm sure the book is actually good though.