Milos Foreman's ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, based on the novel by Ken Kesey and the play by Dale Wasserman, presents a biting and ultimately tragic satire about mental institutions and the human spirit. A disturbing, witty, and electrifying drama, the film won the 1975 Academy Award for Best Picture. R.P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), a misbehaved con who shirks authority, finds himself in an asylum after faking insanity to get out of work detail in prison. The vivacious troublemaker soon finds himself in a worse kind of prison--one presided over by the repressed, terrifyingly quiet Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), whose set of rules and regulations are meant to suppress patients' psychotic outbursts, and their spirits. It's not long before McMurphy is reaching out to his new inmates, trying desperately to bring life to an otherwise dead atmosphere. To Ratched, however, Nicholson's free spirit is as dangerous as a schizophrenic impulse. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST is brilliantly acted by an ensemble that includes Brad Dourif, Christopher Lloyd, Vincent Schiavelli, and Danny DeVito.
Theatrical Release: November 20, 1975.
Filmed on location at the Oregon State Mental Hospital in Salem, Oregon.
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST is number 20 on the American Film Institute's list of America's 100 Greatest Movies.
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1993.
On November 3, 1963, the stage adaptation of Ken Kesey's novel was brought to Broadway, starring Kirk Douglas as McMurphy. (Gene Wilder also appeared in the show.)
The film marked the debut of actor Brad Dourif.
Estimated budget: $4.4 million.
The production was aided by the labor of inmates of the institution where they were filming.
Danny De Vito and Christopher Lloyd, who played two of the patients, later worked closely together on the television show TAXI, which also featured guest appearances by Vincent Schiavelli, another inmate in CUCKOO'S NEST. All three actors also appeared in Forman's MAN ON THE MOON.
Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando, and Burt Reynolds were all considered for the role that ultimately went to Jack Nicholson. Kirk Douglas, producer Michael Douglas's father, had played McMurphy onstage and was interested in the part for the film; Douglas told Newsday in January 2001, "I think my dad was disappointed that I hadn't given him the role."
Anne Bancroft, Colleen Dewhurst, Ellen Burstyn, Angela Lansbury, and Geraldine Page were all offered the role that ultimately went to Louise Fletcher.
The film played in theaters in Sweden for 11 consecutive years.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Snap Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Letterbox - 1.85
Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital Mono - English
Dolby Digital Stereo - English
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Text/Photo Galleries:
Production Notes
Costume Designer
Aggie Guerard Rodgers: Costume Designer
Director of Photography
Bill Butler: Director of Photography, THE PLAGUE (2006)
Director of Photography
Haskell Wexler: Cinematographer/Director/Producer/Screenwriter
Director of Photography
William A. Fraker: Legendary cinematographer/director
Story
Ken Kesey: American Novelist
Production Designer
Paul Sylbert: Art Director/Screenwriter
Review 1:
"Nicholson's manic and slightly corrosive charm motors this study of one roistering inmate's effect on an entire mental institution."
Source: Premiere
p.70 04/01/2004
Review 2:
"Milos Forman's masterpiece."
Source: Total Film
p.5 03/01/2004
Review 3:
"...Nicholson's performance is one of the high points in a long career of enviable rebels..."
Source: Chicago Bulletin
p.5 02/02/2003
Review 4:
"...[A] masterpiece..."
Source: USA Today
p.3D 01/09/1998
Review 5:
"...[Nicholson's] flamboyant performance is balanced perfectly by superb character turns from Brad Dourif, Christopher Lloyd and Danny DeVito..."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.64 12/01/2002
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