Clockwork Orange

Artist: Philip Castle
Format: UK Quad (30"x 40")
Condition: Excellent
Year: 1971

Description
A scarce original 1st release Quad poster. This was a highly controversial film, coming at a time when a slew of "envelope" pushing films like Ken Russell's "The Devils" (1971) & "Straw Dogs" (1971) were causing ructions. The British Board of Film Censor's passed "Clockwork Orange" with an X-rating but various Local Authorities had qualms about showing the film (at this time, Local Authorities could rule whether or not films could be shown within their jurisdiction irrespective of a certificate from the BBFC) & even the Home Secretary Reginald Maudling requested a private viewing. John Trevelyan, the outgoing Secretary of the BBFC (his successor was to grant the "X" rating) comments in his book "What the Censor Saw" (1973), that Kubrick was "trying to shock us out of our complacency & acceptance of violence; yet, although the violence in the film is horrifying, it is stylised, so it presents an intellectual argument rather than a sadistic spectacle". In spite of the positive inclination of the Censor's, however, "Clockwork Orange" became infamous & after several "copy-cat" violent assaults shortly after opening, British resident Stanley Kubrick started receiving death threats & so at his insistence, Warner Bros withdrew the film from circulation in the UK (for more information, please also see the excellent article in "Cinema Retro" Vol 7 Issue #21 2011). Thus "Clockwork Orange" was shown at a limited number of cinemas only & consequently, the print run was relatively small making originals difficult to find.  Kubrick's film was certainly shocking with several graphic scenes of violence, yet ironically the message of the film was strongly anti-violent. Artist Philip Castle was a pioneer in the art of air-brush painting, a style he employed to good effect here. This is a Quad poster which has been reproduced so care is required when sourcing this title. The poster has been cleaned, de-acidified & linen-backed.