A Clockwork Orange star Malcolm McDowell says Stanley Kubrick was ‘brutal’ to work with

Actor said the movie was ‘overbearing’

Malcolm McDowell has reflected on his time working with Stanley Kubrick on the iconic 1971 film A Clockwork Orange.

The crime movie starred McDowell as a charismatic but sadistic gang leader and earned Kubrick three Oscar nominations.

“The Kubrick movie was overbearing,” McDowell told The Guardian, while promoting his new film The Big Ugly. “Everything was measured against A Clockwork Orange, which gets a little old. But that’s what happens when you work with giants.”

According to The Guardian, McDowell – who is also known for his roles in Caligula (1979), if.... (1968) and O Lucky Man! (1973) – added that Kubrick was “too brutal” to properly bond with compared with other directors.

Kubrick is known for pushing cinematic boundaries. It has been claimed that he endangered the life of stuntman Bill Weston on the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The director allegedly refused to stop filming even when he was told Weston was in “grave danger” and losing consciousness from oxygen and carbon dioxide deprivation.

A Clockwork Orange is based on Anthony Burgess’s 1962 novel of the same name. Set in a dystopian near-future Britain, it contains scenes of extreme sexual violence and is intended as a commentary on mental health and juvenile delinquency in the UK.

Released in Britain only after vetting from the Home Secretary, Reginald Maudling, A Clockwork Orange was attacked by moral watchdogs, and repeatedly alleged to be an influence on violence in Britain.

Kubrick withdrew the film in 1974 after threats to his family.

The Big Ugly is released on 24 July.