CLOCKWORK ORANGE OPENING ANALYSIS

BY ALEX WARNER

CLOCKWORK ORANGE OPENING Stanley Kubrick's 1971 Clockwork orange starts with bright coloured titles with white text over the top and then a scene in which the camera slowly tracks away from Alex’s face and reveals the environment and room he’s In with his ‘3 droogs’ in the the korova milk bar set in dystopian future.

OPENING TITLES

The opening titles show the 3 different coloured screens with creepy synthesisers playing over the top. I think that Kubrick used this different colour sequence to allow the different themes within the movie to stand out to his audience as soon as they start watching the film. As the first thing the audience see is a red screen this could be used to represent the colour of blood to show the theme of ultra violence within the film. However the blue titles with Kubrick name on might have been as a contrast from the bright red to engage the audience.

ALEX MID SHOT

The start of the scene starts with a slow zoom out/tracking shot of the camera moving away from Alex’s face. As you can see, Alex is

looking directly into the camera which gives off a creepy uncomfortable feeling towards the audience as the music also

gives off the same ambiance

ALEX AND HIS 3 DROOGS

This shot within the scene shows Alex’s ‘3 droogs’ which are seen within the scene as by his side, relaxed, with there feet up on the erotic furniture

and drinking milk. This scene engages the audience as it slowly introduces new characters within the film

ALEX’S NARRATIVE

The use of non diegetic sound over the top of the slow zoom out gives a creepy futuristic effect due to the movement of the camera. Alex’s

narrative over the soundtrack gives the audience an idea of what the film is about and tells them about the situation there in and where they are. Alex’s cockney accent lets the audience understand the regional

identity of the film and the characters

“There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie and Dim and we sat in the Korova milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. The Korova Milk Bar sold milkplus, milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence. Our pockets were full of money so there was no need on that score, but, as they say, money isn't everything.”

SLOW ZOOM OUT

The slow zoom out of Alex’s face allows the audience to see the progression of the room and to learn about the environment of the Korova milk bar. The zoom out allows the audience to depict the weirdness in the dystopian future that the film is set in. The mise en scene and aesthetics in this scene is very ambiguous, explicit and weird which relates to the creepiness and weirdness of the

movie