The controversy: So controversial it was banned by its own director, A Clockwork Orange tells of a group of young men terrorising a future Britain, beating up the homeless, partaking in gang fights and, most shockingly, sexually assaulting housewives in their own homes. There were reports of copycat attacks and director Stanley Kubrick received death threats, so the filmmaker asked for the movie to withdraw the film from distribution in Britain. The reality: As with most films deemed controversial in their time, A Clockwork Orange doesn't seem nearly as bad now as its reputation suggests (the film was banned in Britain for 27 years, FYI). What violence and sexual violence there is seen in the first half of the film pales in comparison to any video nasty that it's sometimes associated with, and that's not just because the content is relatively tame. Again, A Clockwork Orange is an instance where the director's intentions, while coming across clearly to those who've watched the film, are not so easily interpreted by someone who's merely read the synopsis. While newspapers at the time leapt all over the film's violence, what the media failed to grasp was that Kubrick had made a film that wanted to make violence - including violence in cinema - appear horrible, not glamorous. Which other 'controversial' films don't warrant the hype? Let us know in the comments below.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
