The final documentary on the "A Clockwork Orange" Blu-ray was this one "O Lucky Malcolm" a career retrospective on Malcolm McDowell, that takes the form of a one-on-one interview with McDowell, highlights from a Q&A session and interviews with his friends, family and colleagues.
Having been born in Horsforth, Malcolm McDowell applies to join the Royal Shakespeare company where he has some small roles. He does though meet Lindsay Anderson, who casts him as the lead in "If..." The success of that movie encourages Stanley Kubrick to cast him as the career defining role of Alex in "A Clockwork Orange" from there a career of edgy and often villainous roles followed for the prolific and memorable actor.
This documentary was probably the pick of the three that featured on that particular blu ray. McDowell is a great raconteur and his candour about this life and some of the films he's made is refreshingly honest. He probably tells the best stories about the production of "A Clockwork Orange" in this documentary and gives insights into what Kubrick was like. He talks about his relationship with Lindsey Anderson and the films they made together, plus some of his more recent work (at the time of the interview) like "Gangster Number One" or "Evilenko". There are interviews with the stars of some of these films, like Max Beesley, who talks about his time on set with him.
Most of those interviews are good, occasionally there's some wasted time, like a rambling story with his friend Mike Kaplan, which is very much a "you had to be there" effort. It's also getting on a bit now having been produced in 2006 and doesn't include much that McDowell has done in the last twenty years.
But overall, it's a pretty great and enjoyable watch.
Having been born in Horsforth, Malcolm McDowell applies to join the Royal Shakespeare company where he has some small roles. He does though meet Lindsay Anderson, who casts him as the lead in "If..." The success of that movie encourages Stanley Kubrick to cast him as the career defining role of Alex in "A Clockwork Orange" from there a career of edgy and often villainous roles followed for the prolific and memorable actor.
This documentary was probably the pick of the three that featured on that particular blu ray. McDowell is a great raconteur and his candour about this life and some of the films he's made is refreshingly honest. He probably tells the best stories about the production of "A Clockwork Orange" in this documentary and gives insights into what Kubrick was like. He talks about his relationship with Lindsey Anderson and the films they made together, plus some of his more recent work (at the time of the interview) like "Gangster Number One" or "Evilenko". There are interviews with the stars of some of these films, like Max Beesley, who talks about his time on set with him.
Most of those interviews are good, occasionally there's some wasted time, like a rambling story with his friend Mike Kaplan, which is very much a "you had to be there" effort. It's also getting on a bit now having been produced in 2006 and doesn't include much that McDowell has done in the last twenty years.
But overall, it's a pretty great and enjoyable watch.