Film Analysis: A Clockwork Orange

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The arrangement of scenery that appears in a frame has a crucial impact on our perception of the film. Everything observable exists to help establish the director’s vision. The lighting, set, and costume all come together to create a powerful technique called mise-en-scene. The director employs the technique to gravitate our attention towards important details, while using other details to support the frames focal point. A scene that shows elements for mise-en-scene is the ‘’the old ultraviolence on a tramp’’ scene from the cult classic A Clockwork Orange. The director of the film Stanley Kubrick employs the use of mise-en-scene to push the boundaries of his film. His use of props, lighting, and costume set the tone for the movies brutal depiction of sex and violence in a dystopian future.

The scene begins with a close-up of a man’s lower abdomen, with his left hand resting on top of a bottle of alcohol causing it to sway gently back and forth. With the audio off, you begin to realize the vision of Stanley Kubrick as you focus on …show more content…

He employs props to foreshadow the fate of the drunk man, lighting to highlight impending violence, and costume to reveal the organization of Alex and his crew. The elements cohesively work together to progress the narrative of the story. It echoes the gang’s mentality by utilizing light to appropriately conceal and reveal character. Because of the lighting, we could only identify the group approaching primarily by what they wore and wielded. Although we couldn’t identify we the individuals were based on their faces, their props and costume were important in answering questions. By incorporating the lighting as part of the set, Kubrick allows the props and costume to be personified. With the lack of light, the need to identify everything visible becomes endearing as we become immersed into the dystopian future presented by

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