Synopsis

In a dystopian near-future Britain, Alex DeLarge leads his gang in a spree of violence, theft, and sexual assault while indulging his love of Beethoven. After he is imprisoned, the authorities subject him to an experimental conditioning program intended to eliminate his criminal impulses. The treatment leaves Alex unable to choose violence, raising disturbing questions about free will, punishment, and social control.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film adapts Anthony Burgess' 1962 novel, but its story follows the shortened American edition, which omitted the book's final chapter.

• Principal photography took place in England between September 1970 and February 1971, combining London-area locations with studio work at Pinewood and EMI-MGM Studios.

• The use of "Singin' in the Rain" during the home-invasion sequence was developed on set. Malcolm McDowell suggested the song because it was the only one he could remember well enough to sing and dance to.

• Wendy Carlos created the film's electronic sound world by combining original material with synthesizer arrangements of works by Henry Purcell, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Gioachino Rossini. The opening theme is based on Purcell's "Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary."

• During the Ludovico treatment scenes, McDowell's eyes were anesthetized so he could keep them open. The metal restraints nevertheless scratched one of his corneas, and a real doctor was present to monitor his eyes.

• The film was withdrawn from British distribution in 1973 amid controversy, media accusations of copycat violence, and threats directed at the filmmaker and his family. It was not formally banned by the BBFC and returned uncut with an 18 certificate in 1999.

• The film received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and was added to the U.S. National Film Registry in 2020 for its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.