Stanley Kubrick’s film version of A Clockwork Orange opened in the US on 1 December, and would open in the UK in January 1972. Burgess admired Kubrick’s work, though worried that the presentation of violence went too far (even while the content of the book itself is in many ways more shocking). ‘I realised, not for the first time, how little impact even a shocking book can make in comparison with a film. Kubrick’s achievement swallowed mine whole, and yes I was responsible for what some called its malign influence on the young.’ (You’ve Had Your Time, 1990)