Withdrawn from release by director Stanley Kubrick in 1974 and officially unseen until 1999 (after his death), A Clockwork Orange suffers from an artificially inflated degree of mythology. Adapted from the 1962 Anthony Burgess novel about anarchic, slang-spouting yobs ("droogs") in a grey, divided, dystopian future, it was shocking then and still is today, particularly the rape and sadistic "ultraviolence" in the first half. But such unpleasant excesses make important points about the dangers of a two-tier totalitarian society, and the scenes in which ringleader Alex (Malcolm McDowell) is relentlessly brainwashed into submission by the state send an ambiguous message. Kubrick's vision is a thing to behold; whether or not it's an actual masterpiece is still up for debate. What it is, however, is prescient, visceral, compelling and hard to forget.

In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenile crime, gives an incarcerated Alex the option to undergo an invasive procedure that'll rob him of all personal agency. In a time when conscience is a commodity, can Alex change his tune?