A Clockwork Orange poster

A Clockwork Orange

1971136 minutesR
6.3
Arcplot Score
📊 Solid
Unverified
⭐ 8.2IMDb
🍅 86%Rotten Tomatoes
Ⓜ️ 77/100Metacritic
🎬 8.2TMDb
📊 7.4Popularity
🏆Nominated for 4 Oscars. 12 wins & 26 nominations total
Genre: Crime, Sci-Fi
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Protagonist Alex DeLarge is an "ultraviolent" youth in futuristic Britain. As with all luck, his eventually runs out and he's arrested and convicted of murder. While in prison, Alex learns of an experimental program in which convicts are programmed to detest violence. If he goes through the program, his sentence will be reduced and he will be back on the streets sooner than expected. But Alex's ordeals are far from over once he hits the streets of Britain..

Box Office

Budget:$2.2M
Revenue:$27.0M
Profit:$24.8M

Arcplot Score Breakdown

Beat Timing Precision3.3/10
Emotional Arc Impact5.5/10
Thematic Consistency10/10
Overall Score6.3/10

Beat Sheet

15 plot points

A Clockwork Orange Arcplot
1
Opening Image
1 min
2
Theme Stated
10 min
3
Set-Up
25 min
4
Catalyst
50 min
5
Debate
60 min
6
Break Into Two
70 min
7
B Story
75 min
8
Fun and Games
85 min
9
Midpoint
95 min
10
Bad Guys Close In
105 min
11
All Is Lost
115 min
12
Dark Night of the Soul
125 min
13
Break Into Three
130 min
14
Finale
134 min
15
Final Image
136 min

Emotional Arc

+100-10

Plot Points

#1

Opening Image

1 min

Alex and his droogs committing acts of ultraviolence at night. Energetic classical music juxtaposed with brutality. Introduces dystopian, anarchic world.

#2

Theme Stated

10 min

Alex narrates: "What’s it going to be then, eh?" Theme of free will vs. societal control, morality, and human nature established.

#3

Set-Up

25 min

Daily life of Alex: violence, rape, friendship, music. Home life with parents. School scenes. Society in decline. Establish character’s charm, intelligence, sociopathy.

#4

Catalyst

50 min

Betrayal by droogs and arrest after murder of a woman. Alex’s freedom taken. Conflict escalates. Stakes: survival, loss of autonomy.

#5

Debate

60 min

Alex faces imprisonment. Moral debate implied: can he be "cured"? Ethical dilemma of free will vs. societal control. Alex’s violent nature vs. imposed rehabilitation.

#6

Break Into Two

70 min

Undergoes Ludovico Technique. Conditioned to feel nausea at violence. Physically cured, but stripped of free will. Enter world of forced morality.

#7

B Story

75 min

Alex’s relationship with society changes. Victims from past revenge plot seek him. Authority figures manipulate him. Exploration of consequences and empathy.

#8

Fun and Games

85 min

Humiliations, abuse, betrayal. Alex powerless, alienated. Irony and dark comedy of failed rehabilitation. Society’s moral stance questioned.

#9

Midpoint

95 min

Alex attempts suicide. Near death experience. Realization of limitations of conditioning. Emotional nadir, stakes at lowest.

#10

Bad Guys Close In

105 min

Manipulation continues. Former victims and authorities converge. Alex’s autonomy and dignity under siege. Pressure mounting.

#11

All Is Lost

115 min

Alex broken. Stripped of agency. Society’s moral victory seems complete. Emotional despair, no hope.

#12

Dark Night of the Soul

125 min

Alex reflects in hospital. Isolation, forced helplessness. Dark meditation on morality, human nature, and freedom.

#13

Break Into Three

130 min

Ludovico conditioning reversed (government change). Alex regains free will. World opens up again. New possibilities. Hope returns.

#14

Finale

134 min

Alex imagines a future of normal life, love, and family. Personal growth implied. Society and individual balance restored. Contemplation of free will.

#15

Final Image

136 min

Alex smiles, singing to classical music. Full autonomy regained. Juxtaposition: human capacity for violence remains, but choice restored. Ends ambiguously but powerfully.