“Stanley Kubrick required the actor to actually keep his eyes open during takes, and the doctor in the scene is a real pro, responsible for pouring Malcom McDowell with saline solution to moisturize his eyes.
The scene caused the actor to suffer temporary blindness and corneal injury from the metal pliers: “ One of the electricians said to me: ‘He’s trying to kill you, Malc, he’s trying to kill you. [Kubrick] was a control freak, without a doubt, about everything. He showed me a picture of the operation and I was like, ‘Oh yeah? Wow’. “
The director then ordered the actor to have eye surgery, to which McDowell was obviously resistant. Anticipating the fear that this could arouse in the latter, Kubrick therefore brought in an ophthalmologist from Moorfields, a hospital in London. Feeling cornered, Alex’s interpreter agreed to the operation.”
(Re-taken from a blog on cinema: 3 colors), a rather damning blog regarding the practices of Stanley Kubrick as a director.