One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1975, Drama, 2h 13m
81 Reviews 250,000+ RatingsWhat to know
The onscreen battle between Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher serves as a personal microcosm of the culture wars of the 1970s -- and testament to the director's vision that the film retains its power more than three decades later. Read critic reviews
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Photos
Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Randle Patrick McMurphy
Nurse Mildred Ratched
Billy Bibbit
Harding
Ellis, tall bald patient
Col. Matterson
News & Interviews for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Critic Reviews for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
All Critics (81) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (76) | Rotten (5)
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Forman has lost nothing of his skills since the Fireman's Ball, his last film in Czechoslovakia, and Taking Off, his first in the United States.
February 4, 2020 | Full Review… -
What Forman achieves with most consistent success in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest... are the group portraits -- the scenes of inmates embarking on some joint enterprise of liberating madness.
January 27, 2020 | Full Review… -
With One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Forman takes his rightful place as one of our most creative young directors. His casting is inspired, his sense of milieu is assured, and he could probably wring Academy Award performances from a stone.
November 19, 2018 | Full Review… -
The sexual politics have dated, yet conversely, Cuckoo's overlap with Michel Foucault's ideas on the construction and socio-political appropriation of madness remains potent and urgent.
April 26, 2017 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review… -
It's not just Nicholson's performance that makes this film a masterpiece; it's the fact that Forman was able to prevent that performance from capsizing the whole enterprise.
April 17, 2017 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review… -
Watching this again, I am less inclined to regard Nurse Ratched as a simple villain, despite her vindictive humiliation of poor, shy Billy, and more like a professional who refuses to be bullied by a bunch of men.
April 13, 2017 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
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Aug 20, 2017One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is brimming with memorable characters. Films today just don't have that sense of story and character, it's more visual narrative and overacting. There's no overacting here, every performance is understated in their own unique way. Nurse Ratched, played by Louise Fletcher, is cool, calm and collected and yet her mannerisms exude terror. Her authoritative figure and soft spoken voice just adds to this, so much so that the patients in the state mental hospital are petrified of her. Randle McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson, is just a common criminal who to start with plays along with the other patients. However, upon the realisation that he may not ever get out...he starts to find ways in order to escape. I found his performance captivating and clearly he is great and portraying crazy people, just look at The Shining. He is able to control the smaller scenes with his charisma and own the bigger crazier scenes with his excitable energy. His raucous behaviour puts the other patients at risk of certain procedures such as the controversial electro therapy. What really compelled me was the similarities between the mental patients and the outside world, to which McMurphy says that there is no difference. The screenplay for that scene, well every scene actually, brings life to each character. From the first 30 minutes, every character's personality and state of mind is indicated to us. There are no boring characters, each of them have unique qualities and that is something you don't see in every film. Loved the fishing boat scene, adored Chief's and McMurphy's friendship and appreciated the time and effort spent on character interactions. The way they talk to each other in the therapy sessions just felt natural, and to balance the screen time between them all was just genius. You just don't get films like these anymore.Luke A Super Reviewer
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Mar 26, 2016Equal parts uplifting and depressing, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is a darkly humorous look into the flawed psychiatric system of the 1960s - which makes the film even more impressive that it still holds relevance and importance today.Matthew M Super Reviewer
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Aug 04, 2014And this doesn't have a 100% rating on RT because...........?Liam G Super Reviewer
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Mar 30, 2014One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest rests largely on the shoulders of its leading man, but whenever Nicholson is onscreen the film is infectiously fun; its emotional depth ties in well with the comedic shenanigans.Isaac H Super Reviewer
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Quotes
| Dr. John Spivey: | Do you think there's anything wrong with your mind really? |
| Randle McMurphy: | Not a thing, doc. I'm a goddamn marvel of modern science. |
| Randle Patrick McMurphy: | Chief, just jump up, and put it in the basket. Jump and put it in the basket. No, not you Machini. |
| Randle Patrick McMurphy: | I tried, god dammit. At least I did that. |
| Randle Patrick McMurphy: | You guys complain how much you hate it here, and then don't even have the guts to leave! You're all crazy! |
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