Dreadfully Boring

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Great Bolshy Yarblockos! Making 'A Clockwork Orange' (2007) *** (out of 4) Nice, 28-minute documentary on the making of Stanley Kubrick's A CLOCKWORK ORANGE features interviews with various Kubrick experts and other directors. In the short running time we learn why Kubrick originally turned the story down only to change his mind and (as usual) go through several different screenplays before finally getting one he likes. The production of the film also gets some good stories including how Kubrick got "Singin' in the Rain" to be in the film and the eventually falling out between him and star McDowell. Speaking of McDowell, he's not interviewed here, which is a real shame and it's an even bigger shame that none of the actors were either. I'm not sure if they simply weren't available or what but with the lack of those involved in the film it does take away some entertainment. With that said, it's always fun to see other great directors talk about another one and a great film like A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and we get Steven Spielberg (in a clip taken from the EYES WIDE SHUT extra features), Ernest Dickerson, William Friedkin, Sydney Pollack and George Lucas. The documentary does a good job at letting them explain their love and thoughts on the film and we also get to hear them discuss all the controversy surrounding the film and it's eventual pulling from Britian by Kubrick himself.