1) A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Low and behold, our number one contender, and another in the ranks of most controversial films ever made, is Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece A Clockwork Orange. Based on Anthony Burgess’ novel of the same name, the film is set in future Britain where juvenile delinquency runs rampant and rape and ultra violence is the order of the day.
Young Alex De Large (played flawlessly by Malcolm McDowell) narrates the film as he and his droogs terrorize as many unknowing innocent people as possible, before ending the day with a bit of Ludwig van Beethoven. Once captured and forced to face the consequences for his actions, the government places Alex in an experimental trial program in an attempt to rehabilitate him by forcing him to view extreme violence until he can no longer handle it.
A Clockwork Orange is a difficult movie to talk about, because it’s one of those ‘you have to see it for yourself’ kind of films. While the violence depicted is certainly tame by today’s standards, it doesn’t detract from the psychological ramifications that come with viewing it. The whole film is just one big social commentary, and one that stimulates much discussion about the fine line that we tread between punishment and inhumane treatment.
The entire movie has quite a perplexed atmosphere too, as the tone teeters on the theatrical whilst delving into brutal violence, and this is where it works brilliantly. It probably didn’t help that I tried to watch it when I was sixteen (what was with me at this age?), but I again had to turn it off halfway because I found it far too disturbing at the time. It was two years later that I finally finished the film and vowed never to watch it again.
There are countless movies out there that are much more disturbing than any on this list, but again, one can only draw on personal experience and these ones did get the job done. Do leave a comment below though and let me know if there’s a movie you thought was more deserving than these.
