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Summary: Nicholson superb in one of the best films of the 1970s
Review: Jack Nicholson shines in this superior adaptation of Ken Kesey's modern masterpiece One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Film acting really doesn't get much better than this. Jack's performance is so strong, it even makes Louise Fletcher's performance as Big Nurse (called Nurse Ratched in the film) seem much better than it really is. (That Fletcher won the Oscar for this film is testimony to the film's narrative potency since she is not that talented an actress, as her subsequent career has revealed. One wonders how much better the film would have been with a real actress of the caliber of Geraldine Paige or Collen Dewhurst, who incidentally turned the role down, playing Big Nurse.)The supporting cast is particulary memorable in this film. A truly seminal film of the 1970s.
Rating:
Summary: a masterpiece
Review: Having read the book by ken Kesey I would have thought it too complex and difficult a task to produce a film that did this story justice. However Milos Foreman has achieved a beautifully crafted adaptation of this text. The casting is superb and there isn't one actor or character that 'jars' or feels out of place. Jack Nicholson is the embodiment of Randall P McMurphey and richly deserved his oscar as did Louise Fletcher as the sadistic and controlling Nurse Ratched.
This film has humour and pathos and you will find your emotions veering between rage (at the system), pity and empathy whilst laughing aloud at some of the antics of the inmates being led by an anarchic McMurphy.
The ending is both tragic and exhilarating. This is an essential addition to any movie lovers collection.
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Summary: Classic movie
Review: Great movie. Nicholson is great. Nurse ratchet is evil. The story ends sadly however.
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Summary: A masterpiece, a classic; you know the rest...
Review: Jack Nicholson's Oscar winning performance as Randle Patrick McMurphy is one of many highlights of this 1975 adaptation of the Ken Kesey novel. Nicholson's McMurphy is a new inmate in a psychiatric ward who quickly rebels against the oppressive staff (which is personified by Nurse Ratched; played by Louise Fletcher in her Oscar winning role) while making quite an impact on his fellow inmates. Director Milos Forman populates the film with memorable sequences while the screenplay offers many memorable, and in some cases unforgettable, characters; but none can steal the thunder of Jack Nicholson in the role he was born to play. The rest of the cast includes Brad Dourif (in his film debut), Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, William Refield, Scatman Crothers, and an unforgettable Will Sampson as people you won't soon forget; and all of whom give superb performances. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest went on to sweep the Oscar's for all the major award categories (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay) while it solidified itself as a true masterpiece of film. The film itself hasn't aged a day, and is still as much of a classic today as it was when first released almost thirty years ago. The DVD itself is worth noting as well: including a commentary by Forman and producers Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz; plus an interesting documentary and some deleted scenes as well.
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Summary: Classic film that is one of Nicholson's best.
Review: Over the years, Jack Nicholson has played many great roles throughout his entire career, and this one is no different. In this movie he plays the rebellious criminal Randall Patrick McMurphy, who is sent to a mental hospital to see if he is insane or just faking it. He makes friends with some of the patients there (Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd among them) and clashes with Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). McMurphy rebels by taking some of the patients out fishing and then later throws a party in the asylum in the middle of the night. Ratched and the rest of the faculty try to calm him down but to no avail. I'd tell you more , but it would probably spoil the movie for you. This 2-disc Special Edition is definitley worth buying. It contains a documentary, deleted scenes, and a theatrical trailer. Overall, a classic and one that took home all 5 major Oscars (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay) and deserved all of them. If you like classic films and have not seen this one, then I suggest you buy it now. It is worth all of your hard-earned money.
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Summary: Lunatic asylums produce some good films
Review: This is such a good film i could buy it twice but then that would be quite disturbing. Jack Nicholson is one of my favourite actors and lets out one of his best performances in "one flew over the cuckoos nest" so buy this film and you wont regret it i could state the obvious and say how good the film is but then i would be mad. This film is definatley worth whatever cash you currently have on you.
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Summary: Best Drama Filmed in the 1970s!
Review: I remember first viewing this superb movie on a wide-screen in 1975 while living in Utah, and the electrifying effect of the final few scenes on everyone in the theater audience. Many people were openly sobbing, including my better half, and even I have to admit to having a few misty moments myself. Indeed, the final few frames made us all want to stand up and shout in exclamation, so powerful was the series of images on the screen. My wife and I talked about it for weeks, and finally went back to see it again. There is no way around it folks, this is a fabulous film, a modern classic that no one in Hollywood had the chutzpah to bring to the screen despite the fact that both the original late Ken Kesey novel and the stage play adaptation were both runaway successes. In 1972 we saw Al Pacino play McMurphy in a wonderful stage production of the work, and was amazed both by the material and the acting. The play had opened on Broadway to rave reviews, with Kirk Douglas playing the lead part. He stayed long enough to win a Tony as best actor for his performance, and promptly bought the movie rights and began plans to bring this cautionary allegory of modern society to the screen. For years he attempted to gain backing, but despite his box office appeal and hi sown reputation, was unable to convince anyone that he was the man to play McMurphy. Finally, he dropped the script and moved on to other projects, including his work in the tragically ignored performance in Elia's Kazan's "The Arrangement", which also deals with both cultural alienation and mental illness, as does OFOTCN. It wasn't, however, until Kirk's son Michael blew the dust off the manuscript of the screenplay and employed the legendary Milos Foreman to direct it, and also convinced Jack Nicholson to commit to the project that the Douglas family production team were able to bring the project to fruition. Why go through all this history? Simply to show what a wonderful gift this film is for the movie-going public. Randall Patrick McMurphy, malingerer and petty career mal-content, believes he has discovered the perfect way to spend his latest sentence, avoiding the drudgery of prison by feigning mental illness to get assigned for diagnostic workup and possible treatment in a state mental institution, not realizing that the time spent there does not count toward his sentence. Thinking he has the perfect place to hide, he soon begins to realize the institution is in complete control of his time, energy, and consciousness. Given his inability to submit or conform, he is soon locked in the battle of his life for his self-control, his self-hood, and his very sanity. The setting is an allegory of what modern society is like, and how it imposes its priorities, its view of reality, and its demands for how we participate both within it as well as with each other. As we come to care about what happens to McMurphy and the whole zany crew of loveable loonies, we also recognize McMurphy is on a dangerous and unavoidable collision course with Big Nurse Ratched (played magnificently by Louise Fletcher). The movie is supported by a stellar cast, including Danny DeVito, Will Sampson, Scatman Crothers, and Christopher Lloyd. The scenery is gorgeous, as the primitive and open landscape of the Oregon coastline provides a contrasting world of order and beauty to the hellhole the mental ward seems to be. A turning point in the movie comes when McMurphy discovers he is the only involuntary in-patient, the only one who cannot walk out by simply signing some forms and collecting his clothes. Nicholson's amazing facial turns of expression graphically show what he is so desperately feeling, the final glimpse of land by a man going down into the water for the last time! The script is by turns hilarious, literate, plausible, and totally devastating. This is a modern classic, and one you should certainly have in your DVD library. Enjoy!
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Summary: Ah Randle, ah humanity!
Review: If I recall correctly, Kirk Douglas tried for many years to produce a film based on Ken Kesey's novel. He failed but son Michael succeeded and as its producer, accepted the Academy Award for the best film of 1975. Nicholson and Fletcher also received Oscars for best actor and best actress, respectively. The focal point of the film is, of course, Randle P. McMurphy (Nicholson) who may or may not deserve to be confined in an insane asylum ruled (in effect) by nurse Mildred Ratched (Fletcher). When I think about Nurse Ratched, I am reminded of an observation by Thelonious Monk: "You know what's the loudest noise in the world, man? The loudest noise in the world is silence." Given her absolute authority, she almost never says anything whereas McMurphy almost immediately becomes the unofficial (and self-appointed) spokesman for the other inmates. His confrontations with Ratched are inevitable. The resolution of their final conflict is among the most chilling revelations I have ever experienced in a film. Perhaps I should have seen it coming but I didn't. Oddly, much of the narrative involves several activities which are quite entertaining and even hilarious. For example, somehow McMurphy manages to flee the asylum with the other inmates, arranging so that he and they can take a day cruise with some of McMurphy's "friends." Of course the inmates thoroughly enjoy themselves. He also organizes basketball games in which the key player is Chief Bromden (Will Sampson), a Native American who never speaks and who seems to be at least ten feet tall. But there are other moments which are quite serious, indeed tragic. Brad Dourif deserved his nomination for an Academy Award for supporting actor (in the role of Billy Bibbit) and all others in the supporting cast are also first-rate. When I first saw this film, the character Martini caught my eye so I waited for the credits to learn the name of the actor who played him: Danny DeVito. Nicholson and Fletcher are brilliant. I've always thought hers to be the more difficult role because it places more limits on her talents than Nicholson's does on his. Stated another way, the McMurphy part gives Nicholson more opportunities to use those remarkable talents. Also, Nicholson's personality seems comparable with McMurphy's in certain respects (e.g. spontaneous, impish, confrontational, playful, quick-witted) whereas it is inconceivable to me that, other than gender, Fletcher and Ratched have anything in common. Kirk Douglas has never missed an opportunity to say how proud he is of son Michael's career and especially of what he achieved as producer of this film. Yes, those are the sentiments of a father but Kirk Douglas has also had a very distinguished career of his own as a producer, director, and actor. He understands better than does almost anyone else what is required to create a great film such as this.
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Summary: My favorite film of all time
Review: This is my favorite movie of all time. I'm not saying it is the greatest ever made- there are many more titles that could easily vie for that title. Unlike many other classic works of cinematic art, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST doesn't break ground in its camera work or composition. There are very few memorable shots visually or technically speaking. However, director Forman knows what to do: he gets out of the way and lets his actors tell the captivating story filled with sacrifice and rough grace. The story's universal theme of the individual courageously fighting for identity against "the machine" inspires while entertaining. A feat few contemporary movies successfully pull off. CUCKOO'S NEST is an actor's movie. The ensemble work here by Nicholson, Fletcher, Lloyd, Redfield, Lassick, Sampson, Devito and the rest is among the finest ever captured. Not a false note plays in any of the performances. These actors fully inhabit the skins of these characters and therefore, create three dimensional people that connect spiritually and fully to the audience's empathy. The script is air tight as it oscillates between comedy and tragedy. This occurs often not only in the same scene but in the same take. The film compliments the novel nicely (but exist in completely different spheres), although much of the books surreal symbolism is lost in favor of a clear linear narrative. The film also shifts the point of view from Chief's (in the novel) to McMurphy. Many of my favorite lines in film history are in this movie. "Least I tried, G*******t, least I did that!" is a motto that has guided my life. When viewed with its near twin COOL HAND LUKE (my third favorite film of all time), one can see the possibly dated, but no less intriguing subtext of the criminal/prisoner as savior. Many souls are saved as a direct result of McMurphy's (and Luke's) ultimate sacrifice. The film is entertaining, enlightening and reflective without the slightest hint of pretension. A brief note about this special edition two disc DVD: the behind the scenes material only briefly mentions author Ken Kesey. There is no footage of him weighing in with his experiences writing the original novel. This is criminal. I know the late Kesey disowned this film and I don't blame him considering the experience he had. However the producers and screenwriter virtually ignore the brilliant Oregonian who wrote one of America's greatest novels.
With each viewing (I've seen the film probably 30+ times) it appears as fresh and beautiful as the first. A definite 10 out of 10 must own contemporary classic.
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Summary: Better Than The Book!
Review: I saw this movie on cable one night when I was a kid and I liked it a lot and thought Jack Nicholson was amazing as Randall Patrick McMurphy and Louise Fletcher was great as the scary Nurse Ratchid. I liked the movie so much that when I saw the book by Ken Kesey in my big sisters room I read it and thought it was ok but I preferred the movie.
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