A Clockwork Orange

One of the most controversial films ever made, Stanley Kubrick’s surreal dystopian satire endures as a scathing commentary on free will versus totalitarian rule. Set in a near-future Britain, it follows teenage hoodlum Alex and his three droogs as they embark on a drug-fuelled rampage of sex and ultra-violence, resulting in his subjugation to experimental, mindaltering treatments. Based on Anthony Burgess’ eponymous darkly comic novel, but notably omitting its redemptive final chapter, Kubrick and McDowell created a pop culture icon in the Beethoven-loving, Nasdat-spewing delinquent, who becomes a pawn in a political campaign for subservience and control.

Venice Film Festival: Best Foreign Film