One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Movie Review 1975

Touching, hilarious, dramatic, and completely effective adaptation of Ken Kesey's novel. Nicholson is two-bit crook Randle Patrick McMurphy, who, facing a jail sentence, feigns insanity to be sentenced to a cushy mental hospital. The hospital is anything but cushy, with tyrannical head nurse Ratched (Fletcher) out to squash any vestige of the patients' independence. Nicholson proves to be a crazed messiah and catalyst for these mentally troubled patients and a worthy adversary for the head nurse. Classic performs superbly on numerous levels.

Distribution

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Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 129 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Comedy Drama, Sanity Check, Hospitals & Medicine, Ethics & Morals, Shrinks, Lovable Loonies, Top Grossing Films of 1975, Doctors & Nurses, Suicide, 4 Bones

Screenplay

Ken Kesey, Bo Goldman

Cast

Jack Nicholson, Brad Dourif, Louise Fletcher, Will Sampson, William Redfield, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Vincent Schiavelli, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco, Louisa Moritz

Cinematography

Haskell Wexler, Bill Butler, William A. Fraker

Director

Milos Forman

Music

Jack Nitzsche

Producer

United Artists, Fantasy Films, Saul Zaentz, Michael Douglas

Awards

Oscars 1975: Actor (Nicholson), Actress (Fletcher), Adapt. Screenplay, Director (Forman), Picture; AFI 1998: Top 100; British Acad. 1976: Actor (Nicholson), Actress (Fletcher), Director (Forman), Film, Support. Actor (Dourif); Directors Guild 1975: Director (Forman); Golden Globes 1976: Actor--Drama (Nicholson), Actress--Drama (Fletcher), Director (Forman), Film--Drama, Screenplay; Natl. Bd. of Review 1975: Actor (Nicholson), Natl. Film Reg. 1993;; N.Y. Film Critics 1975: Actor (Nicholson); Natl. Soc. Film Critics 1975: Actor (Nicholson); Writers Guild 1975: Adapt. Screenplay.