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As the first film to win top five Academy Awards in nearly 40 years, Milos Forman’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is one of the finest dark comedies to ever come out of Hollywood. Jack Nicholson gives a truly captivating performance as R.P. McMurphy, a con artist who dodges authority left and center, is transferred to an Oregon state hospital in order to escape manual labor. The vibrant joker finds himself facing against the soft-spoken, inhibited Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), a reasonable, if strict authoritarian with an agenda to overpower the patients’ psychotic surges, and their morale. In the balance McMurphy decides to reach out to his fellow inmates by bringing some much needed existence into a depressing asylum atmosphere. There is no denying the fact that Jack deserved his first Oscar for pulling off such complexities into a character as rebellious as McMurphy. However, I cannot see any other established actress to play the cold-hearted Nurse Ratched because the audience can accept a lesser-known actress in the role. But Louise Fletcher certainly has the presence to bring humanity into Ratched who was originally a brutal villainous as described in Ken Kesey’s novel. The supporting cast that includes Brad Dourif, Christopher Lloyd and Danny DeVito is probably the best ensemble that managed to stay in character throughout the duration of the shoot. And last but not least Will Sampson truly shines as the silent, laconic Chief who would later become pop-culture icon thanks to the ending scene. If you haven’t seen “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” yet, check it out immediately and don’t forget to bring a pack of cigarettes while you’re at it.Read full review
An affecting criticism of institutionalization has Jack and "Chief" acting in powerful portrayals of psychiatric inpatients. The over-controlling head nurse has ice instead of blood flowing in her veins. Jack, the rebel, upsets her hospital routine, causing dangerous conflict. He audaciously breathes life into stifling protocol. Fighting the head nurse's fascistic, clinical "city hall" is life and mind threatening for the patient, Jack. During the sunset of the USA's mass psychiatric institutionalization approach, this movie was shocking, and well-acted. This landmark movie still has an important, yet very entertaining, message to share. Fully recommended for middle adolescent to adult audiences.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Well, the christmas season is over and so maybe that equals more free time for me? Yes and no. After all, now I'm incredibly behind seeing as how during all the time I've been gone, I've been watching lots of movies. Also Dan and I are currently trying to keep up with new episodes of The Office, Law & Order, 24, and now American Idol too. We're trying to catch up on a season and a half of House to attempt to catch up in time to join the second half of their new season and there are only so many hours in the day.....and we both have jobs. So I watched this gem of a two-disc special edition last night and loved it more than the first time I viewed it probably five years ago. Apparently it managed to sweep all five major Academy Awards in 1975 (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay) and was very well deserved. A crook manages to get off a work farm and sent to a mental institution for evaluation. R.P. McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson endeavors to shake things up around the ward and show the men there that they aren't nearly as crazy as they think they are. Some of his shananigans include gambling, watching a fake world series game, hi-jacking a bus with inmates on it to go fishing, and sneaking girls and booze into the ward at night. When he discovers that antagonizing Nurse Ratched, played by Louise Fletcher, could get him committed and only permit him to leave on her time instead of his own, he decides to plan an escape. The constant battle for control on the ward is very entertaining and at times heart breaking. Jack Nicholson's energy and improvised antics never fail to entertain and engage your attention throughout. When he isn't performing for the others, he manages to be quite an sympathetic fellow trying to better the lives of people around him through his crude techniques. The Nurse is amazingly calm, strict, and has a never-ending tact for digging to the core of the patients' defenses to maintain control and keep them miserably docile. She rarely raises her voice and yet it's obvious she doesn't need to in order to get people to listen to her. The supporting cast is also amazing featuring Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd among others. They deviate back and forth from being vacant, hysterical, and occasionally have sane moments that make them very human. In particular, the Chief (Will Sampson) who has convinced everyone that he is deaf and dumb goes on a journey back to communication and the real world with McMurphy's help. The ending is happy and tragic all at the same time, but I won't say why for those of you who haven't gotten to view it yet. Let's just say this movie gets an A from me. Also the extras on the DVD are great. I liked watching the documentaries and finding out how much of an impact Michael Douglas (who is not generally one of my favorites) actually had on this movie. Definately go see it.Read full review
This movie is really good although alcohol is not allowed in mental institutions. And visitors are allowed to visit for a short time during the day. And mental hospitals always have someone watching the patients. I do not understand why McMurphy snapped when Billy killed himself, and Miss Ratchet told everyone to go on like nothing happened. I think that would be the best thing to do, unless everybody would take turns crying over Billy. Why could not the Indian wait for McMurphy to rehabilitate before breaking out, unless he figured he was too far gone. At any rate why was it necessary for the Indian to kill McMurphy? The Indian probably would not have made it to Canada before being caught and accused of first degree murder. The fish they caught did not have eyes. And why did McMurphy give up a good chance to escape by giving Billy a date with Candy? At the very beginning who were those women laughing a top of the stairs. And who was that guy looking out the door window when they were taking the cuffs off McMurphy? And what did Manchini do when the gaurds beat him up in the hall? He just said he was tired. He was an old sick man. Anyway, it was realistic acting of mentally ill people. It is another one of three DVDs I have where Jack Nicholson dies near the end. And two of my DVDs starring Jack Nicholson featured Scatman Crouthers and Danny De Vito.Read full review
For those who purchased the previously released 1997 disc of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the good news is that this brand new, two-disc Special Edition set is definitely worthy of the new purchase. After going back and comparing the two film transfers, there's really no comparison: 2002 wins without hesitation. It's quite obvious that the 1997 single-disc suffered from both a lack of technological finesse and tender loving care, as the original was so dirty with artifacting that it was nearly unwatchable.However, in this digitally remastered version we find a presentation that is not quite perfect, but light-years beyond the original release. Some flickery dirt still pops up from time to time, most notably in the opening and closing sequences. But once the disc starts spinning, the clarity and sharpness of the imagery will help you to overlook any such minor defects. Color balancing has also taken place, as the original release was entirely over-saturated to the point of white uniforms looking yellow throughout the hospital ward interior shots.Read full review
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