One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Directed by: Milos Forman | 133 minutes | drama | Actors: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, William Redfield, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco, Dean R. Brooks, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Will Sampson, Sydney Lassick, Brad Dourif, Vincent Schiavelli, Scatman Crothers

It’s not often that a film wins all the important awards at the annual Oscar ceremony. Only three movies managed to do that. In 1935, ‘It Happened One Night’ (1934) won the awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Picture. In 1976, ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ (1976) did the same. That feat would later, at the Oscar ceremony in 1992, be repeated by ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (1991). These three films can rightly call themselves classics. ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ should have been Kirk Douglas’ big project. He had owned the rights for years, but by the time the film was finally made, he thought he was too old. Another Douglas eventually took the credit, Kirk’s son Michael – then 33 – earned his first Oscar for this film. Not as an actor, but as a producer.

Czech director Milos Forman made his first American film with ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. He would later make a name for himself with critically acclaimed films such as ‘Amadeus’ (1984) and ‘Man on the Moon’ (1999). One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is based on Ken Kesey’s book of the same name, which he wrote following his experiences as an employee at a California veterans’ hospital. Jack Nicholson plays Randall Patrick McMurphy, a rebellious petty thief convicted of fornication with a minor. Preferring not to go to prison, he poses as a mentally disturbed man after which he is placed in a mental institution for rehabilitation. In the institution, McMurphy not only has to deal with his disturbed fellow patients, but also with the sadistic nurse Ratched, who rules her ward with a stoic and cold self-assurance. It doesn’t take long before rioter McMurphy and his new friends organize a revolt against her.

The film was made in the 1970s, but the story is set in 1963. McMurphy personifies that free sixties. He is a free spirit who goes his own way and doesn’t care about anything and anyone. He certainly has nothing to do with authority, which is why he will be at odds with Ratched in no time. Unaccustomed to resistance, the nurse does not know what to do with the rebellious McMurphy. Her inviolability is affected. At the presentation of the Oscar to Louise Fletcher – of whom we have not seen much more after this film – the necessary question marks are raised. However, the actress does a great job of portraying the cold, hard Ratched. Several top actresses such as Faye Dunaway, Jane Fonda, Ellen Burstyn and Anne Bancroft turned down the role. Fletcher slid in and instantly made her most memorable film ever. The references to director Forman’s own background – he left communist Czechoslovakia because he refused to conform to the socialist system – are obvious. It makes sense that Forman was drawn to Kesey’s book (which, incidentally, is told from the perspective of Chief Bromden (Will Sampson) and not from McMurphy’s point of view).

Forman delivered a groundbreaking, hypnotic and human film full of eccentric characters. Especially the scenes in which Nicholson mixes with his twisted fellow patients are impressive. ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ was a springboard for young, promising actors. For example, a young Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd and an Oscar nominee Brad Dourif can be seen in smaller roles. The striking character actors Vincent Schiavelli and Michael Berryman can also be recognized among the patients. Forman carefully selects the comic moments, in small, everyday scenes. For example, (trying to) place a card together or watching a sports match on TV can cause a lot of hilarity. The characters come to life in those kinds of scenes. ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ is a film that is right from all sides. The script, the acting, the direction, the atmosphere; all elements that reinforce each other’s effect. ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ is extremely entertaining, without compromising director Forman’s message. Those who have not yet seen this classic would do well to do so quickly, because this is a film that you must see!