Gaffer Tape said:
Although the original book does end with Alex being reformed... but Kubrick didn't know that because the American version cut out the last chapter.
I take it you read the book? If so, most impressive, not an easy feat thanks to Burgess' ingenious, yet extremely detrimental, made up slang language Nadsat. But definitely worth the effort.
I do however feel the need to correct you, the second to last chapter in the original novel, last chapter in the earlier American editions ended much on the same note as the movie and delivered the same message, attempts at forcing Alex to reform failed and he goes back to his old ways. The final chapter is a bit of an epiloge and flashes forward many years to a point where Alex has matured and grown out of his old ways. So untilmately the whole theme about not being able to force the nature of something remains, but it was originally followed up with the idea that that very same nature can be changed over time under its own power.
captainsolo said:
Gaffer Tape said:
Although the original book does end with Alex being reformed... but Kubrick didn't know that because the American version cut out the last chapter.
Does anybody agree with that last chapter? I remember reading the book and being very confused why it was suddenly there.
I can see it being really confusing to someone who saw the Kubrick film first, or who had once read the edited American text, and returned to it years later to discover the last chapter. I think the last chapter was a pretty important detail in what the author was trying to say with the book and should have never been removed. However, I think the movie ends absolutely perfectly and am glad that part of the story is absent from Kubrik's film.
Has anybody seen the other film adaption of Burgess' A Clockwork Orange called Vinyl? It was directed by Andy Warhol, I've always wanted to check it out for curiousity's sake, but never managed to get my hands on a copy.
