Malcolm in Los Angeles 1/12/02

Notes

In January, the American Cinematheque in Hollywood presented "Grand Master: The Films of Stanley Kubrick," which comes on the heels of the Cinematheque's special engagement of "2001," screening with a brand-new 70mm print. "2001" screens from Dec. 20-31, and the retrospective will take place Jan. 11-19. Kubrick's longtime friend, producer and brother-in-law, Jan Harlan, will introduce and discuss his documentary portrait "Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures," and will also join director-actor Sydney Pollack for an introduction to "Eyes Wide Shut," Kubrick's final movie.

Saturday, Jan. 12 - 5:00 pm
A Clockwork Orange, 1971, Warner Bros. Edited by Bill Butler (Oscar nominee, 1972). This benchmark cinematic prophecy proved to be more foresighted than anyone dreamed, as the punk explosion and skinhead-fomented race riots demonstrated in the later '70s.

Review / Summary

    A diverse crowd attended the ACO screening at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles, as there was plenty of young fans. Audience energy for the film was high, especially when Malcolm McDowell and Aubrey Morris (Mr. Deltoid) spoke afterwards. ACO truly is a big movie, meant to be seen large and with hundreds of other people. I've never experienced anything like it.
    Malcolm McDowell and Aubrey Morris took questions from the audience, but didn't really say anything new. In other words, you probably already know what they discussed. For instance, Malcolm explained scratching his eyeball, holding his breath underwater for a long time, the fact that 'Singing in the Rain' was his idea, etc. He did say he improvised a lot in the scene towards the end of the film when the nurse is showing Alex the cartoons. At first, the scene wasn't working and Malcolm thought it needed a punch, so he played up his humorous responses. He said he didn't truly appreciate 'A Clockwork Orange' until a recent viewing of the new print. He is now more impressed with Kubrick's use of colors and overall design of the film. He pointed out that people are still talking about this film thirty years after its release. In addition, he considers Kubrick as one of the best directors of our time. Malcolm also stated that he bonded with Kubrick through their mutual appreciation of black humor.
    Aubrey Morris was eccentric and a bit hard to understand at times, but very entertaining. He talked about the bedroom scene, and how McDowell had a "black spot" after multiple takes of hitting him on his genitalia. He also said Kubrick liked his idea of putting his arm around Alex (encouraging him to explore the homosexual theme).
    Someone asked McDowell if the Queen has ever seen ACO, and he said no....but she did see Caligula. - Magic7Ball