A Clockwork Orange 40th Anniversary Edition was recently released on Blu-ray, and actor Malcolm McDowell, who plays the Beethoven loving criminal Alex in the feature, sat down with Hollywood Outbreak to talk about the Stanley Kubrick masterpiece (which was based on the Anthony Burgess novel).

“Everything it has said has come true, in terms of gangs, drugs, violence,” said McDowell.  “In the book, there is nobody on the streets at night because they’re all watching TV.  Hello!!  Just go to Downtown L.A. when it’s American Idol night.  You don’t see anybody on the street, and all that is true.  The great thing about Burgess’s work is really the dichotomy of making the hero, or the anti-hero an immoral man, and that’s what makes it interesting because you are sucked in to kind of like this guy.  It’s infectious.  I mean anyone who loves life, you’ve got to sort of go along with.  The fact is - he’s a murderer.  But what’s so brilliant about the book and the film is (it asks us) what’s worse?  The government taking away our freedoms?  If you boil it down to one sentence, the movie is about the freedom of man to choose.”

Click on the media bar and listen to McDowell discuss what made Stanley Kubrick a unique filmmaker:

The Blu-ray comes with two new features:  Turning like Clockwork is a 25-minute documentary which spotlights the movie’s cultural impact, and Malcolm McDowell Looks Back has the actor discussing his working relationship with Stanley Kubrick.

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posted by Greg Srisavasdi