Malcolm McDowell endured significant physical suffering during one of the most unsettling and memorable scenes in cinematic history.
“A Clockwork Orange,” released in 1971, remains a staple for cinema enthusiasts. Although its shock value might be diminished by today’s standards, it was highly controversial at the time of release.
The film, crafted by the iconic Stanley Kubrick, unfolds in a dystopian England. It tells the story of Alex, a gang leader, and his band of miscreants who engage in nightly sprees of violence and chaos.
After a particularly heinous night involving the rape and murder of a woman, Alex consents to undergo a behavior modification experiment to secure his release from prison.
The experiment forces audiences to witness a profoundly disturbing scene.
In “A Clockwork Orange,” Alex is strapped to a chair, his eyes forcibly kept open, as he is made to watch violent images intended to recondition his behavior.
Anthony Burgess, author of the book from which the film is adapted, describes the ordeal using a futuristic slang: “I had truly done my best, morning and afternoon, to play it their way and sit like a horrorshow cooperative malchik in the chair of torture, while they flashed nasty bits of ultraviolence on the screen.”
To achieve a high level of realism, the production used actual lid-locks typically used in eye surgeries. Malcolm McDowell, clad in a straitjacket, had his eyes anesthetized for the harrowing scene.
Warning: Graphic content
While the scene is challenging for viewers, McDowell himself faced real physical injuries. He briefly lost his sight after the filming.
In a 2019 interview, he recounted: “During our preparation, Stanley showed me a picture of an eye-operation patient with lid-locks on and asked me if I could have that done to me: ‘Hell, no!’ I said.
“So he brought in a doctor to anaesthetise my eyes. But most eye operations are done with the patient lying on their back, not sitting up watching videos.”
In the film, the person in a lab coat next to Alex was an actual doctor, tasked with administering eye drops every 15 seconds to McDowell.
The temporary blindness McDowell suffered added a layer of authenticity to the discomfort portrayed in the film. His struggle was exacerbated as the clamps on his eyes often slipped, causing corneal scratches.
This pain led him to repeatedly bang his head against a wall. Nevertheless, McDowell revealed: “Stanley was mainly concerned about when he would be able to get his next shot.”