Anna Zippel, Italy 4/2/05
His blue eyes are open wide to you from the screen and
continue to shock. Watching him on the screen he just seems to be the monster,
from the ultraviolent Alex of 'A Clockwork Orange' to the recent 'Evilenko', the
Russian cannibal of children in the debut film of David Grieco. In reality
Malcolm McDowell - a star of some 100 films is a cordial English gentleman with
a passion for Italy, where he has turned in a new film and where he often comes
for vacation.
In an exchange of love, the Italian press has awarded him the
Nastro Eeuropeo (Golden Globe) 2005 during the evening premiere of the silver
Tapes. An acknowledgment gone in the past to authors like Polanski and Kusturica,
and McDowell receives with enthusiasm, as he told us hours before the official
ceremony.
Awards
"It's pleasantly strange the way in which the Italians in a general
manner have always responded to my work and me. Also they ask why I've never
gotten much favor in Italy. I must say as an example that awards in general
don't move me, such as the popular ones, like the 'Golden Globe'. To me they
seem simply popularity contests. I prefer the appreciation of my job with an
award of this type. Therefore all and you will have to do is fill an envelope
with 100 dollars in order to get me to show up!"
A Clockwork Orange
"It is very beautiful that one of my old films can be revisited through
home video and DVD, and can be revived by a new generation. Otherwise, without
it, in time you will have been forgotten. I am much more fierce in my first
films, like 'Clockwork Orange, ' and 'if'... Often when I go to the American
Universities, where I find young student and I discovered that all of them know
'A Clockwork Orange' from when they were 14 years old. It's a film that's
considered a ritual of passage, it's true and just a phenomenon. Very few films
have had this sort of fate and therefore I consider myself very fortunate."
The Cult of Alex and Ulta-Violence
"Alex was one of the great roles that an actor can interpret, but first
of all comes the written text. We received a script, a scenario, I am not an
artist, to me the true artist is the scriptwriter. I am a simple craftsman, they
are not my ideas even if I interpret them. The task for 'A Clockwork Orange' was
Anthony Burgess writing the book, then Kubrick cleverly acquired the rights, but
above all he knew realized it would work. When I read the book I had no idea of
what to make of it. My job is to make the character visible. When we made the
film, I saw it as a dark-comedy and I remain astonished from the outrage over
the violence. But on television, especially in the USA, every day one sees
violence worse in how much freedom and satisfaction we have. 'A Clockwork
Orange' deals with the problem in an intelligent way in that the state or the
government can get hold of the person and make their choices for them. Even if
the choices they make are immoral, like the ones Alex make, in killing and
raping, it's important that they remain choices."
Mother Made Them, Kubrick Opened Them Wide
Who is it you get your blue eyes from? "They come from my mother. In the
beginning of my career they compared me to Steve McQueen, a lot that came from
the roles I turned in those films. What I can say? Once Paul Newman said in an
interview to wake up the devil himself, you need to watch yourself in the mirror
until you discover that your eyes are not blue. It's the same for me. Everyone
likes to play the monster. If I had to interpret President Bush I would not
interpret him as a monster. I would make him a faithful husband and devout
person, a good Christian and I would argue that who writes the script showed the
irony of the situation. I have some interpreted several monsters, the last one
was Evilenko, but in everyone there needs to be at least an element of humanity
to renders him to accessible the public. If you make to a person so horrendous
that has does nothing to which the public can relate, the story will not
work."
Translation © 2005-08 by Alex D. Thrawn for www.MalcolmMcDowell.net