EXCLUSIVE: Malcolm McDowell Talks A Clockwork Orange

May 20, 2011 by Brian Gallagher

Stanley Kubrick is among the handful who come to mind when discussing the greatest directors of all time. Although his career spanned nearly 50 years, he only directed 13 feature films, all of which are considered classics to this day, with titles such as Spartacus, Lolita, Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, The Shining, and Full Metal Jacket. This year, his unforgettable adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange celebrates its 40th anniversary, and Warner Home Video is honoring this occasion by debuting A Clockwork Orange on Blu-ray for the very first time May 31. The studio is also releasing Stanley Kubrick: Limited Edition Collection on Blu-ray and DVD May 31, a nine-movie, 10-disc collection featuring the director's finest work, a 40-page collectible booklet, and numerous other special features.

I recently had the chance to speak with two men whose work lies at the heart of A Clockwork Orange and this momentous Blu-ray release: Malcolm McDowell and Leon Vitali. Malcolm McDowell, of course, starred in A Clockwork Orange in a breakthrough performance as Alex DeLarge, a charming young droog whose tendencies for the ultra-violence lands him in an experimental British program run by the government, where they try to eliminate the violent tendencies in younger men. Leon Vitali first met Stanley Kubrick as an actor in Barry Lyndon, which lead to a long-term friendship with the filmmaker up until his death in 1999. Now he supervises the restorations of all Stanley Kubrick's movies, including this A Clockwork Orange Blu-ray two-disc set.

Click on the video players below for my interviews with Malcolm McDowell and Leon Vitali to delve deeper inside A Clockwork Orange.

A Clockwork Orange will be released in a 40th Anniversary two-disc Blu-ray set on May 31. Warner Home video will also release the 10-disc Stanley Kubrick: Limited Edition Collection set on Blu-ray and DVD on May 31.

A Clockwork Orange was released December 20th, 1971 and stars Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke, John Clive, Adrienne Corri, Carl Duering, Paul Farrell. The film is directed by Stanley Kubrick.

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