Warner, McDowell Celebrate 40th Anniversary of ‘Clockwork Orange’

27 May, 2011 By: Chris Tribbey

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BURBANK, Calif. — It hardly seems like it’s been 40 years since A Clockwork Orange first shocked audiences, at least not to Malcolm McDowell.

“It’s shocking,” the 68-year-old actor said of how well the violent film has held up. “It’s a damn good movie. It’s survived the test of time. Stanley Kubrick, the actors, the script, the music. Sometimes it all comes together, and in this case it did.”

For the 40th anniversary of the film, Warner Home Video is going all out, releasing on May 31 A Clockwork Orange 40th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray ($34.99), with a slew of bonuses carried over from previous home video releases, a 40-page Blu-ray book with photos and production notes, two documentaries (O Lucky Malcolm and Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures) and two new features: “Turning Like Clockwork,” which looks at the cultural impact of the film, and a lengthy interview with McDowell where he talks about Kubrick and his memories of the film.

“They should expect to hear things they haven’t heard before,” McDowell said of what viewers can expect, adding he can easily forget where he left his wallet or glasses, but never forgets a single detail about making A Clockwork Orange. “Stuff from 40 years ago I remember as clear as an unmuddied lake, as clear as an azure sky.”

May 31 also will see Stanley Kubrick: Limited Edition Collection on Blu-ray ($148.95), a nine-film, 10-disc collection featuring every film by Kubrick from 1960 on, including A Clockwork Orange.

McDowell said he also was excited to see Never Apologize, a documentary tribute to British director Lindsay Anderson, out on DVD in the United States for the first time (May 31, $19.97). McDowell leads viewers through his experience working with the director, who gave him his first big break with the lead role in the 1968 film If....

“It’s very crisp, very beautiful,” McDowell said of the documentary. “It’s my tribute to my friend Lindsay Anderson, who I believe is one of the greatest directors I ever worked with. He took me from obscurity and put me to star in If…. It’s the film Kubrick saw me in and said, ‘I want him for [A Clockwork Orange’s] Alex.”
 

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