One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Movie) Background & Description

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' is a 1975 film directed by Miloš Forman. The film is an adaptation of the novel ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. The movie was the first to win all five major Academy Awards since It Happened One Night in 1934. This accomplishment was not repeated until the early 1990s, with The Silence of the Lambs''.

Plot

Randle Patrick McMurphy, a serial petty criminal who has been sentenced to a fairly short prison term, decides to have himself declared insane so he'll be transferred to a mental institution, where he expects to serve the rest of his time in (comparative) comfort and luxury.

McMurphy's ward in the mental institution is run by an unyielding tyrant, Nurse Ratched, who has cowed the patients—who are mostly there by choice—into dejected institutionalised submission.

McMurphy becomes ensnared in a number of power-games with Nurse Ratched for the hearts and minds of the inmates. All the time, however, the question is in the mind as to just how sane any of the players in this actually are. Eventually McMurphy is lobotomized after he explodes into a violent rage when one of Nurse Ratched's psychological power games results in the death of a patient.

Reception

The film was widely acclaimed and won Academy Awards for Best Actor for Jack Nicholson (who played McMurphy), Best Actress for Louise Fletcher (who played Nurse Ratched), Best Direction for Miloš Forman, as well as Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. It ranked number 20 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 greatest American films, Nurse Ratched was ranked number 5 on the Institute's list of 50 Greatest Villains, and the film consistently ranks in the top 15 on the Internet Movie Database. However, some mental health advocates have criticized the film for having unrealistic portrayals of mental hospitals and mental illness.

Kesey himself also did not hide his dislike of the film, particularly the casting of Nicholson as McMurphy. The characters were based on actual people from the hospital, however in real life the Native American did talk. (Although another source says that Kesey, under the influence of drugs, saw a hallucination of a Native American sweeping the floor.) Kesey also loathed the fact the film was not told through the eyes of Chief Bromden, like the book was, for he saw this as fundamental to the story. For these reasons Kesey never saw the film.

The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Cast

  
Actor   Role 
Jack Nicholson   Randle Patrick McMurphy 
Louise Fletcher   Nurse Mildred Ratched 
William Redfield   Dale Harding 
Dean R. Brooks   Dr. John Spivey 
Scatman Crothers   Orderly Turkle 
Danny DeVito   Martini 
William Duell   Jim Sefelt 
Brad Dourif   Billy Babbit 
Christopher Lloyd   Taber 
Will Sampson   Chief Bromden 
Vincent Schiavelli   Frederickson 
Nathan George   Attendant Washington 
Mwako Cumbuka   Attendant Warren 
Josip Elic   Bancini 
Lan Fendors   Nurse Itsu 
Ken Kenny   Beans Garfield 
Alonzo Brown   Miller 
Michael Berryman   Ellis 
Peter Brocco   Colonel Matterson 


Trivia

* The role of domineering Nurse Ratched was turned down by five actresses - Anne Bancroft, Colleen Dewhurst, Geraldine Page, Ellen Burstyn, and Angela Lansbury - until Louise Fletcher accepted casting (in her debut film) only a week before filming began.

* Actor James Caan was originally offered the lead role of McMurphy, and Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman were considered as well.

* Louise Fletcher was nominated (and ultimately won) the Academy Award for Best Actress. One of the other nominees was Ann-Margret, who was nominated for her role in Tommy. Both of these films feature Jack Nicholson.

* Kirk Douglas originated the role of McMurphy in a stage production, and then bought the film rights, hoping to play McMurphy on film. He passed the production rights to his son, Michael Douglas, who decided his father was too old for the role. Kirk was in fact angry at his son for a time afterwards because of this.

External links

* as "Great Movie"
*Analysis of Nurse Ratched's Communication
* Discussion of characters and themes in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest".
Category:1962 books
Category:1975 films
Category:Cult films
Category:Psychiatrist films
Category:Drama films
Category:Prison films
Category:Best Picture Oscar
Category:Best Actor Oscar (film)
Category:Best Actress Oscar (film)
Category:Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nominee (film)
Category:United States National Film Registry
Category:Comedy-drama films
Category:Films based on fiction books
Category:Films directed by Miloš Forman
ilo:Adda Timmayab iti Rabaw ti Umok ti Cuckoo