Genre: Drama 1975
" One flew East, one flew west
One flew over the cuckoo's nest "
Cast  &  Crew
Director:  Milos Forman
Producers: Saul & MIchael Douglas
Screenplay: Lawrence Hauben &  Bo Golden
Based on the novel by the same name by
Ken Kesey
Cinematography:  Bill Butler & William Fraker
Starring
Jack Nicholson as Randall Patrick Mc Murphy
Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched
William  Redfield as Harding
Will Sampson as Chief Bromden
Brad Douriff as Billy Bibbit
Scatman Crothers as Turkle
Jack Nicholson on the role of Randall .P. Mc Murphy
"  The guy's a scamp who knows he is irresistible to women and in reality he expects  Nurse Ratched to be seduced by him. This is his tragic flaw. This is why he ultimately fails "
The Plot
Randall .P. Mc Murphy is sent to a mental hostpital to be assessed. While there he is shocked by the manner in which the helpless patients are manipulated by the dominant Nurse  Ratched. he takes upon himself to show that they don't have to put up with this and leads them a journey of self discovery, however he dosen't know to the full extent of the powers of Nurse Ratched and his antics lead to him being committed  full  time  and his downfall.
Running  Time: 129 minutes
Trivia
1. This is the only collabouration between Nicholson & director Milos Forman as a actor/director cpacity. They starred together in 1986 in Mike Nichols Heartburn
2. Before shooting began Nicholson disappeared for six weeks. The filming unit arrived at the hostpital only to find he had booked himself in as a patient.
3. This film marks the big screen debuts of  three cult actors Danny De Vito, Christopher Llyod & Brad Dourif.
4. Authentic Mental patients were used as extras. Because of the supporting cast being largely unknown they were mistaken at times  for being actually Mental Patients.
5. Jacks long term partner Angelic Houston can be seen on the pier when the ship is coming back to shore.
6. There is a strong rumour  suggesting  that Nicholson actually had E.C.T treatment for the Shock thearpy  scene.
7. This was the second film ever to win all five  major Oscar Categories. The first was " It happened one night " in  the  1930's.
8. The film won Best Picture (Zanetz & Douglas), Best Director (Forman), Best Actor (Nicholson), Best Actress (Fletcher) & Best screenplay (Hauben & Golden)
9. This Nicholsons first Best Actor Oscar. It was his fifth nomination. He had lost all previous four nominations.
10. Nicholson was never the first choice for the role of Randall .P. Mc Murphy. James Caan was offered the role first.
11. Kirk Douglas originally wanted to play the role of Randall .P. Mc Murphy after playing the role in a broadway show. He bought the rights but never got around to making it until 10 years had past. At this stage he was too old for the role so he gave the project to his son Michael.
My  Review
This film has to be one of the finest films made in the last century. It has everything a great film needs. These comprise of a fine director, strong leading actors, a strong supporting cast, quality cinematography & a great script. This film has these and alot more.  Upon first seeing this film in the early 90's I was astonished by it's light surface but it had extremely dark themes beneath the surface yet they are very visible. I was intrigued by the strong dominant presence of Nurse Ratched & the Jack-the-lad persina of Randall, there clash of personalilites are an example case of " every man & woman  to themselves ".

The supporting cast are excellent and this is one of the very few films where you have an extremely talented suporting cast. Each character is played to perfection, especially Brad Douriff in the role of the timid Billy Bibbit.  Louise Fletcher is note perfect also as the vindictive Nurse Ratched. If you don't leave the room not hating the sight of her there is something  very wrong and the possiblity you have seen a different film.

This brings me to Nicholson. Again a strong performance in the role of Randall .P. Mc Murphy. His energetic performance is at the centre of the film and it caprtures the free spirited nature of Randall  .P. Mc Muprhy. This role was tailor made and it does prove to use how desperate Nicholson was at the time to get the role and prove he was the one. I shudder too think what the film would have been like without him.

All in all this is an excellent film, my review may be biased by the fact the it is my favurite film of all time but don't let that stop you from making your mind up.
Click on the image to see clips from the film
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