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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 film directed by Milo Forman. The film
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is an adaptation of the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. Themovie was the first to win all five major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Actor inLead Role, Actress in Lead Role, Director, Screenplay) since It Happened One Nightin 1934, an accomplishment not repeated until 1991, by The Silence of the Lambs.The movie was filmed at Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Oregon.ContentsPlotSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.Randle Patrick McMurphy (Nicholson), a criminal who has been sentenced to a fairlyshort prison term, decides to have himself declared insane so he'll be transferredto a mental institution, where he expects to serve the rest of his term in(comparative) comfort and luxury.His ward in the mental institution is run by an unyielding tyrant, Nurse Ratched(Fletcher), who has cowed the patientsmost of whom are there by choiceinto
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dejected institutionalized submission. McMurphy becomes ensnared in a number ofpower games with Nurse Ratched for the hearts and minds of the patients. All thetime, however, the question is just how sane any of the players in the wardactually are.Throughout his short stay at the hospital, McMurphy forms deep friendships withtwo of his fellow patients: Billy Bibbitt (Dourif), a suicidal, stutteringmanchild whom Ratched has humiliated and dominated into a quivering mess; and"Chief" Bromden (Sampson), a 6'5 and muscular Native American who hasschizophrenia. Recognized by the patients in the ward as deaf, and unable tospeak, they ignore him but also respect him for his enormous size. In the former,McMurphy sees a younger brother figure whom he wants to teach to have fun, whilethe latter is his only real confidant, as they both understand what it is like tobe treated into submission.McMurphy initially insults Chief when he enters the ward, but attempts to use hissize as an advantage (for example, in playing basketball where his height isnecessary). Later, both are suspended, along with patient Charlie Cheswick(Lassick), for being involved in a fight with the male nurses, and are sent to adetention area. Cheswick is sent first to undergo shock therapy, while McMurphyand Chief wait on the bench. During this time, McMurphy offers Chief a piece ofgum, and Chief verbally thanks him. A surprised McMurphy realizes that Chief canspeak and has actually been faking his situation at the ward the whole time. Thisleads McMurphy to allow Chief in on his escape plan because of his hidden wisdom.Ending this scene, a more defiant McMurphy emerges from the detention area to anawaiting Nurse Ratched.One night, McMurphy sneaks into the nurse's station and calls his girlfriend tobring alcohol and assist in his escape. She brings a friend, and both enter theward by seducing a male nurse. The patients of the ward become intoxicated and gowild, while Billy flirts with McMurphy's girlfriend. McMurphy doesn't mind, andinvites them to a room where they can be in private. McMurphy then waits withChief until they finish. While they wait, they drink untold amounts of spirits,mainly vodka by themselves in a very brief period of time. By mistake, both passout for the night and are unable to escape in the morning because the male nursesand Nurse Ratched have arrived.Nurse Ratched commands the male nurses to clean up the patients and conduct a head
count. When they discover that one patient is missing (Billy), they search for himand find him in a room with McMurphy's girlfriend. Nurse Ratched threatens to tellhis mother and he begs her not to. When she explains that he should have thoughtof the consequences, he breaks down into tears and is dragged away by male nurses.When left alone momentarily, he commits suicide with a broken beer bottle.McMurphy, with an opportunity to escape the ward, goes to see what caused thecommotion. After he sees what the ward has done to his friend, he explodes into aviolent rage, strangling Nurse Ratched until she is near death. She survives, butMcMurphy is taken away yet again for punishment.This time, the punishment is much more severe. The lobotomized McMurphy isreturned to his bed during the night. Chief, unwilling to leave McMurphy behind,suffocates his vegetable-like friend with a pillow. "I'm not goin' without you,Mac. I wouldn't leave you this way. You're coming with me. Let's go," Chief says.He considers the murder of McMurphy an act of mercy, a "liberalization". TheChief, managing an act McMurphy earlier failed to do, lifts a heavy marblehydrotherapy fountain and, hurling it through a barred window, escapes to Canada.CastingLouise Fletcher as Nurse RatchedLouise Fletcher as Nurse RatchedKirk Douglas originated the role of McMurphy in a stage production, and thenbought the film rights, hoping to play McMurphy on the screen. He passed theproduction rights to his son, Michael Douglas, who decided his father was too oldfor the role. Kirk was reportedly angry at his son for a time afterwards becauseof this. Actor James Caan was originally offered the McMurphy role, and MarlonBrando and Gene Hackman were considered as well.The role of domineering Nurse Ratched was turned down by six actresses, AnneBancroft, Colleen Dewhurst, Geraldine Page, Ellen Burstyn, Jane Fonda, and AngelaLansbury, until Louise Fletcher accepted casting only a week before filming began.Actor RoleJack Nicholson Randle Patrick McMurphyLouise Fletcher Nurse Mildred RatchedWilliam Redfield Dale HardingDean R. Brooks Dr. John SpiveyScatman Crothers Orderly TurkleDanny DeVito MartiniWilliam Duell Jim SefeltBrad Dourif Billy BibbitChristopher Lloyd Max TaberWill Sampson Chief BromdenVincent Schiavelli FredericksonNathan George Attendant WashingtonMwako Cumbuka Attendant WarrenJosip Elic Pete BanciniLan Fendors Nurse ItsuKen Kenny Beans GarfieldAlonzo Brown MillerMichael Berryman EllisPeter Brocco Colonel MattersonSydney Lassick Charlie CheswickMimi Sarkisian Nurse PilbowTitle InterpretationThe origin of the title is often disputed, however, it is believed to come from apoem by Louis Untermeyer called "Rainbow in the Sky."[1]
"Wire, briar, limber-lockThree geese in a flockOne flew east, one flew westAnd one flew over the cuckoo's nest."The "one [that] flew east" is McMurphy, and the "one [that] flew west" is NurseRatched, illustrating their opposite directions and rivalry. "And one flew overthe cuckoo's nest" describes Chief who was able to escape the institute ofmentally ill patients.It loses the significance it had in the novel, in which the line is a part of arhyme Chief Bromden remembers from his childhood. This detail was not included inthe film.The film received mixed reviews from critics. Roger Ebert (who would later win aPulitzer Prize that year) claimed that "Milos Forman's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo'sNest" is a film so good in so many of its parts that there's a temptation toforgive it when it goes wrong. But it does go wrong, insisting on making largerpoints than its story really should carry, so that at the end, the human qualitiesof the characters get lost in the significance of it all. And yet there are thosemoments of brilliance".[2] Ebert would later put the film on his "Great Movies"list.[3] A.D. Murphy of Variety Magazine wrote a mixed review as well.[4] The filmwent on to win a total of five Academy Awards, including Best Actor for JackNicholson (who played McMurphy), Best Actress for Louise Fletcher (who playedNurse Ratched), Best Direction for Milo Forman, as well as Best Picture and Best
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Adapted Screenplay. (One of the other nominees for Best Actress that year, Ann-Margret, was also in a film that featured Jack Nicholson, Tommy.)Today, the film is considered to be one of the greatest American films and hasranked as number 20 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 greatest Americanfilms, Nurse Ratched was ranked number 5 on the Institute's list of 50 GreatestVillains, and the film consistently ranks in the top 12 on the Internet MovieDatabase.Kesey himself did not hide his dislike of the film, particularly the casting ofNicholson as McMurphy (the characters were based on actual patients Kesey knewfrom a mental hospital). Kesey also loathed the fact that the film was not toldthrough the eyes of Chief Bromden, as the book was, for he saw this as fundamentalto the story. Kesey claimed to have never seen the film for these reasons.The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress andselected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.In popular culture* The song "Shadows that Move" by metal band Mastodon includes a famous partfrom this film right before McMurphy is subdued towards the end by Nurse Ratched'smind games.* The song "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" by heavy metal band Metallica wasinspired by this movie.* Clips of the movie sometimes appear on The Opie and Anthony Show.* The music video for Green Day's Basket Case contains several references tothe movie.
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