One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

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Summary: CuCkOo... CuCkOo... CuCkOo...
Review: One flew over the Cuckoo's nest, is a brilliant piece of film making, directed by Milos Forman and starring Jack Nicholson in a league of his own.
The 1975 film centres around Randall P. McMurphy as a volunteer mental patient with a hyperactive attitude. After tangling with the strict nurse (played by Louise Fletcher) and being degraded by her in front of all the other loonies he decides to bend the rules and create an even bigger rift between them. He at one point even escapes and takes the motley crue of comatose and whacked out people on a fishing trip, claiming " Cheer up Martini, we're not loonies, we're not loonies we're fishermen" but this creates more tension and after raising the roof a bit more he ends up forming a strange friendship with the chief and as it ends he is punished severely, he is electrocuted and when that doesn't stop him they decide to lobotomize and therefore ends up being killed in his peril by the chief to save him from the agony that would be the rest of his life.
The film raises the question " are institutes really this grim and dependant on routine? Do people have to eat through straws, are the frontal lobotomies necessary? I think this film gives a message and a whole load of entertainment with it.
The film is one of the most original things I have ever seen it was adapted from a Ken Casey novel but doesn't steal it outright, it adds atmosphere and joy. The scenes are long but memorable, the mood comedic, sad and tense it makes for an impressive spectacle beyond almost anything I have ever seen.

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Summary: Nicholson Shines (Again)
Review: This film has a special place in my heart because it was the first film I saw starring Jack Nicholson. When he first appears on screen here after being uncuffed by the guards, you can feel the whole screen just light up with Jack's burning charisma. I was determined to seek out after this anything I could with Nicholson because Jack was the man("Goin South", anyone?). When "Cuckoo's Nest" came out in 1975 Nicholson had already established himself as a star in films. The only thing that he needed was that shiny gold statuette to validate him as a legend. Anyone who read Ken Kesey's book on which this was based would agree that Nicholson was born to play R.P. McMurphy. A rebel stuck in a psychiatric ward would afford Nicholson the opportunity to chew the scenery. Watching this film again recently I was struck how subdued his performance is here. Not to be overlooked is Louise Fletcher's performance as the controlling Nurse Ratched. Her work here is very much the equal of Nicholson's. The temptation to play this part broadly may have been there, but Fletcher plays her in an understated manner that not so much imbues sympathy for her character but pathos. The strong supporting cast here includes Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, and most effectively Brad Dourif as Billy, an introverted patient who Ratched probably exhibits the most control over. One weakness of the film is the casting of Chief
Bromden, a large deaf and dumb Indian played by Will Sampson. In Kesey's book, Bromden is the narrator of the story. The only thing Sampson brings to the part is that he is a big Indian. Praise also must be given to director Milos Forman, a recent emigre to this country from Czechoslavakia for translating this American story to big screen and to Bo Goldman for adapting Kesey's novel, even though at the time Kesey wasted little time in trashing the film. On a final note, a few years ago I was fortunate to have seen the stage adaptation of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in New York with Gary Sinise playing McMurphy. Expecting a re-enactment of the film, I was pleasantly surprised to see that this production had their own unique interpretation of the material. As far as Sinise's portrayal, let's just say you would not confuse his interpretation of McMurphy with Jack Nicholson's.

Rating:
Summary: Faulty Memory?
Review: Am I nuts, or do I recall a scene missing from this DVD release that I remember from seeing it years ago in a theatre; the scene occurs during Murphy and the gang's fishing trip and involves his girlfriend's nude breast interacting with the fishing reel. As an adolescent male, this scene left a lasting impression. Any one else recall this comic bit?