Movie Info
Movie Name: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Studio: United Artists
Genre(s): Drama
Release Date(s): November 19, 1975
MPAA Rating: R
It’s a madhouse…a madhouse I say!!!!
One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest. Randle Patrick “Mac” McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) has an idea…pretend to be crazy to get a shortened sentence on a statutory rape. McMurphy has met his match however in the ruler of the ward Nurse Mildred Ratchet (Louise Fletcher). Now Mac is going head to head with Nurse Ratchet, but Ratchet has the upper hand because Mac is the one who’s trapped in her ward.
Directed by Milos Forman and produced by Michael Douglas, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest adapts the classic 1962 novel by Ken Kesey. The movie was praised by critics and is now considered a classic. The movie swept the Academy Awards by winning all the major awards Best Picture, Best Actor (Nicholson), Best Actress (Fletcher), Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also received nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Brad Dourif), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score.
Put it in the basket chief!!!
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was one of those movies that really got me when I first saw it. It is almost an intro art film because of its style, acting, and script, yet still attainable for almost all viewers. Once I saw the movie, I almost O.D.ed on it by watching it multiple times.
The story of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is great and Ken Kesey came up with the idea for the novel as working as an overnight orderly at a mental hospital. Kesey allegedly didn’t like the film, but it is such a smart portrayal of a power struggle between two “leaders”and how they use the people around them to get what they want.
You know what you’ve done Billy
The acting in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is top notch. I love this period of Jack Nicholson. He wasn’t just “Jack”, but this feels like the start of the Jack Nicholson persona he created for himself (plus his portrayal in The Shining). I can’t imagine the movie with James Caan who was originally wanted for the role. Louise Fletcher isn’t the best actress, but she works perfectly as the almost robotically cold Nurse Ratchet which is one of films greatest villains (Lily Tomlin was considered for this role). The movie also has tons of great supporting actors in the memorable institutionalized men which include Brad Dourif as Billy Bibbit, Will Sampson as “Chief” Bromden, Sydney Lassick as Charlie Cheswick, Christopher Lloyd as Max Taber, Vincent Schiavelli as Frederickson, Michael Berryman as Ellis, and Danny DeVito as Martini. Plus, Scatman Crothers plays one of the attending nurses and the extras were actual patients.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a great coming together of a lot of factors. The movie is strong and since it was set at an earlier time when it was released in 1975, it doesn’t feel dated. With a solid script, great actors, and with great direction, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a deserving classic.
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