Another classic that our dear Ebert didn't like. Kubrick's masterpiece really doesn't need an introduction, so I'll assume we've all met.
This wasn't Malcom McDowell's first movie, but it was the first movie in which most of the world saw him. And what an introduction! Alex stares directly into the camera. His shoulders rise and fall as he breathes. He does not blink once throughout the entire sequence. There's evil behind those eyes.
Alex takes a drink from a glass of milk. The camera pulls out ever so slowly, showing us progressively more and more of his surroundings. A voiceover delivers the opening monologue that is now so famous. Here we see two of Alex's "droogs," which may simply mean "friends" but feels like a more sinister word.
We see the third droog and some of the decorations of the Korova Milk Bar. Statues of naked women, bright lights, pop-art text.
We see even more. Sexually explicit, obscene even, and so very grand. People sit lost in throught. Bearded men in white jump suits appear vigilant. Are they bodyguards? The whole thing gives the impression of a king and his court.
We pull out more. We see more and more of the room. Though Alex is farther away, he remains in the center of the frame.
And this is the fullest extent of the pull-out. Such beautiful symmetry!
