THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 18, 1995 TAG: 9507180042
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Craig Shapiro
LENGTH: Long : 130 lines
YOU CAN HARDLY tell by the widgets Hollywood cranks out today, but sometimes - when story, technique and performance are perfectly realized - movies reach a higher place and become art.
Relax, Videomatic isn't getting soft. It's just that the staff was watching ``Star Trek Generations'' the other day and got to talking about ``A Clockwork Orange.''
The connection? Malcolm McDowell.
In the new video, he plays a mad doctor willing to destroy stars and planets to reach his Shangri La. Twenty-four years ago, the Brit gave the performance of his career in the most revolutionary film of its time.
Based on the Anthony Burgess novel, ``A Clockwork Orange'' is set in a futuristic England terrorized by gangs. One night, after ``a bit of the old ultraviolence,'' Alex (McDowell) beats one of his droogies for insulting a woman who's singing Beethoven's ``Ode to Joy.'' The next day, he violently reasserts himself as the gang's leader but is later betrayed during a burglary.
In prison, he volunteers for an experimental treatment to reduce his time. But it exacts a high price: He's programmed so that he is nauseated by the thought of violence. Released into a violent society, unable to protect himself, he becomes the prey, attacked by his former victims and members of his old gang, who are now policemen.
Alex soon becomes a cause celebre, embraced first by the opposition and, after a suicide attempt, by the government itself. In the end, he undergoes an operation that reverses the treatment.
Writer-director Stanley Kubrick's adaptation is flawless. Technically, the imagery is the most striking of his career. Somehow, McDowell manages to make Alex sympathetic.
The final measure is the music. Alex is a Beethoven devotee; when he cripples a writer and attacks his wife, he does it to ``Singin' in the Rain.'' Because most rational people also have some passion for music, the ethical questions raised by the film are impossible to dismiss.
When ``A Clockwork Orange'' turns 25 next year, here's hoping Warner Bros. gives it the same treatment - restored and reissued in wide screen - that the studio did recently with ``The Wild Bunch.''
Still disturbing and brutally uncompromising, Kubrick's masterpiece is just as relevant as it was in 1971.
PULP QUIZ: 1) How many Oscar nominations did ``Pulp Fiction'' get? 2) In which category did it win? 3) Will Quentin Tarantino's crime trilogy ever come out on video? Answers: Seven. Original screenplay. Yes, Sept. 12.
TOP TAPES (in Billboard):
Sales: ``Forrest Gump,'' ``Playboy: The Best of Pamela Anderson,'' ``The Crow,'' ``Michael Jackson: Video Greatest Hits-HIStory,'' ``Pink Floyd: Pulse''
Rentals: ``Disclosure,'' ``Interview With the Vampire,'' ``Dumb and Dumber,'' ``Legends of the Fall,'' ``Junior''
The Couch Report
``Star Trek Generations'' (Paramount, 1994). No sense preaching to the choir. All Trekkies may warp ahead; all others should know the alliance of Enterprise captains is great fun. Picard must stop a madman who will destroy anything to reach Nexus, a kind of 24th century Eden. To do so, he recruits Kirk, who was swept off to the same place during a Klingon attack 78 years before. The twisty plot ties up neatly and even says something about how we live our lives. The FX are superb, too. As these yarns go, ``Generations'' rates with ``The Wrath of Kahn.'' Videomatic says: B
(CAST: William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Malcolm McDowell, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner. RATED: PG for mild language and violence; 117 mins.)
``Red'' (Miramax, 1994). The final chapter of Krzysztof Kieslowski's ``Three Colors'' trilogy is a fascinating exercise in fate and destiny. Where ``Blue'' stood for liberty and ``White'' equality, ``Red,'' a three-time Oscar nominee, symbolizes fraternity. A young model is drawn to a retired judge. Their stories, and one other, cross and connect in a way that keeps the viewer guessing. Cameos by the stars of the earlier films underscore the role of chance in our lives. (French with English subtitles) Videomatic says: A
(CAST: Irene Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintgnant. RATED: R for brief nudity, adult themes; 99 mins.)
``Before Sunrise'' (Columbia TriStar, 1994). An American knocking around Europe and a student on her way to Paris meet on a train, start talking and continue their conversation on a 14-hour stroll through Vienna. Not much going on? Wrong. Like he did with ``Dazed and Confused,'' writer-director Richard Linklater has crafted the best kind of movie, one that relies on crisp writing and the chemistry of its cast. This lush, wonderfully subtle story is romantic, revealing and timeless in its observations. Videomatic says: A
(CAST: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy. RATED: R for language; 101 mins.)
``Boys on the Side'' (Warner, 1994). Herbert Ross revisits the territory he did with ``Steel Magnolias,'' and gets similar results. Three women of disparate backgrounds embark on a cross-country journey that becomes one of self-discovery. While Ross hits the right buttons and his leads create an unlikely chemistry, it gets a bit overwrought. Whoopi Goldberg gives one her better performances. Videomatic says: C+
(CAST: Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louis Parker, Drew Barrymore. RATED: R for language, violence, brief nudity; 117 mins.)
``Houseguest'' (Hollywood, 1994). Sinbad's one-joke comedy makes a case for tight editing. Trim 25 minutes and it would click, but at nearly two hours, it's spotty at best. A well-meaning hustler on the lam from loan sharks, he finagles his way into the dysfunctional home of well-to-do Phil Hartman. There are some funny bits, and Sinbad handles the pathos just fine. Neither fill the loooong dead spaces. Videomatic says: C
(CAST: Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Jeffrey Jones. RATED: PG for mild language and violence; 119 mins.)
Also: Jon Voight in ``The Tin Soldier,'' based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale (PG); Mary Steenburgen and Charles Grodin in ``My Summer Story,'' a sequel to ``A Christmas Story'' (PG); ``Zooman,'' the Showtime inner-city drama starring Louis Gossett Jr. and Charles Dutton (R); two thrillers: ``Boulevard'' with Lou Diamond Phillips and Rae Dawn Chong (R) and ``The Crew'' with Viggo Mortensen (R); ``Outside the Law,'' a murder-mystery with David Bradley (unrated); and ``Witchcraft 7: Judgement Hour,'' the last chapter in the black-magic series (R, unrated)
NEXT TUESDAY: ``The Brady Bunch Movie,'' ``Miami Rhapsody,'' ``Shallow Grave,'' ``In the Mouth of Madness,'' ``Vanya on 42nd Street,'' ``Tales From the Crypt Presents Demon Knight,'' ``Born to Be Wild,'' ``3 Ninjas Knuckle Up'' ILLUSTRATION: ELLIOTT MARKS \ Parmount Pictures
Patrick Stewart is Capt. Picard in ``Star Trek Generations.''
Color illustration
[video cover]
Malcom McDowell starred in "A Clockwork Orange"
On the Shelf
This week's videos
[for list, see microfilm]
by CNB