A Clockwork Orange begins with a short title sequence which is followed by a 15 second close up of the protagonist. This immediately establishes a protagonist and suggests that we will be following this character closely throughout the film and that it will be about him and his actions. A synthesiser plays an ominous score which gives the film a dark tone but also suggests that it is not a contemporary setting. This becomes more obvious when the camera slowly zooms out and reveals that the protagonist, Alex, is in a milk bar with he and his friends all dressed in white with black hats. The nude mannequins dotted around the milk bar in provocative positions suggest the film will have a sexual tone. We hear Alex doing a voiceover in which he suggests that they are drinking spiked milk and will proceed to go and be violent towards people. We can see that the film is dealing with mature themes and that violence and sex may be important parts of the film. There is a lot of white and black colouring in the milk bar which matches with the dress of Alex’s group and makes them seem at home there. It also makes us focus on those characters.
Suddenly we cut to a close up of a homeless man’s hand holding a bottle of whisky. An empty bottle of whisky beside him and some scraps of food suggest he is an alcoholic and living a squalid life. Once again, the camera zooms out to show that the homeless man is in a dark underpass lit only by what seems to be light from streetlights streaming into it. This makes the homeless man seem very isolated. We then hear footsteps and long shadows appear, half covering the homeless man. This is very ominous and suggests that these people are going to confront the man and he seems even more isolated.
We then cut to a reverse shot in which we see Alex’s and his “droogs” approaching the man with a cocky swagger, holding weapons. This long shot carries on showing the long shadows projected by the gang, prolonging the ominous tone. The scene is still only lit by harsh, blue-ish lighting from behind Alex and his droogs.
As the homeless man finishes singing his drunken song, we cut to a closer wide shot of the gang and the homeless man as they sarcastically clap him. The editing remains very slow paced, adding to the ominous tone. The homeless man is lying on the ground while the gang stand in front of him in a very weighted frame, making him seem defenceless and vulnerable. He asks for some change to which Alex prods him forcefully with his cane.
We switch to a more intimate, high-angled mid shot as the homeless man tells him Alex should just kill him as he doesn’t want to live in a world where the young attack the old like they are doing. As Alex questions him, there is a sideways close up on Alex’s face as he looks down at the old homeless man. We see his breath illuminated by the blue light which is almost scary as this ominous tone seems to emanate from him. We cut back to the old man as he laments about how there is no more law and order before cutting back to the close up on Alex as a maniacal look comes across him. We then cut back to the reverse long shot as the gang shout as they beat up the old man with canes and chains, illuminated from behind by the harsh blue light. We stay on one shot for the beating up of the old man which suggests that this is a normal thing for Alex and his droogs and is not a panicked frenzy worthy of fast paced portrayal.
Overall, all the elements of the opening create a dark and ominous tone that suggest that themes of sex and violence will run throughout the film. Just before we reach 5 minutes in, we see the beginning of another gang raping a young girl which obviously adds to this. The strange costumes, music and dark colours and tones suggest a dystopian setting. The gang, dressed in white, stand out against this but it’s more as a tool for us to focus on them more than to make them seem positive in comparison. They appear to revel in the darkness, almost enjoying the dark irony of their dress.
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