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One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest Customer Reviews (37 - 39 of 52 Reviews)

The film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is adapted from a novel of the same name written by Ken Kesey. The movie carries with it symbolism through color, sounds, and images and the casting could not have been more proper. Jack Nicholson is cast in the lead role as Randle Patrick McMurphy, a ne'er-do-well who goes into a mental institution to finish off his jail sentence. He figures it will be more slack than the work farm. His nemesis is Nurse Ratched, cast and played extraordinarily by Louise Fletcher. The movie does well in incorporating feelings and colors that surround the viewer with the mental institution's atmosphere. And the sounds and images put forth by director Milos Forman add to that ambiance. One of the film's biggest successes lies in the cinematography (or lack thereof). Virtually all the scenes, even when the inmates go outside, are bleak and dreary. The lighting in the institution is the fluorescent, white-out type of lighting. Every slippery hospital surface is revealed and the viewer can almost smell the hospital cleaning fluids emanating from the screen. The hospital has no bright happy colors, either. It is filmed in the dim blues and greys of the ward that resemble the patients' despair. The patients are dressed in dim grey as well and the nurse, as always, wears stark white. The nurse's appearance also holds symbolism in it. Her uniform is always perfectly pressed. And her hat is always on straight. She represents order and authority, and her uniform is one symbolic affect of that order. It totally contrasts the patient's mien - always disheveled, wearing demeaning hospital robes. The director uses wonderfully disenchanting sounds to relate to the audience the pain and helplessness of the patients. One patient is constantly remarking how tired he is and other characters are constantly stuttering and "acting weird." Random yells echo throughout the halls. The echo allows for the hospital's feeling of emptiness and loneliness and gives it a cavernous feel. Its halls are never ending and escape from this institution is futile. The echoes bounce off every surface, trapping each patient in their own madness. The use of hospital noises and colors add to the realistic scenery of the film. It is masterfully done, and each audience member is forced to go through the pain and despair of the patients. The subject matter has always been one I like. The ragamuffin character comes in and saves all the horribly despondent people from pure emotional distress. As if those patients didn't have it bad enough, they are constantly being controlled by the Big Nurse. She represents order, authority - the Establishment. And these poor souls are putting their lives in her hands, only for her to take advantage of them. Milos Forman puts this story in perfect visual form, not using too many film techniques to take away from the story at hand. Colors, images, and sounds carried from the novel to the screen are constant and well-done. The feeling one gets from the movie is delicously horrible, as most asylums surely are. A phenomenal story by Kesey and direction by Forman, and an uncanny portrayal of McMurphy by Nicholson, allow the story to live on in visual form.

Awesome ..Just Awe Inspiring plus great "making of.."
This movie is awesome. My teacher recommended it to me and I liked Jack Nicholson so I bought the DVD. It's great and the remaster is awesome. The DVD is well packaged and the "Making of" featurette is great. And hey who could forget about the actual movie. It's thoughtful, strong, captivating and there isn't any scene that's unimportant. Plus the Actors were superb. Historic Movie . Worthy of every Oscar it got. The ending was unexpected too (unless you read the book). Plus it's funny which I like. I've got to read the book someday.Although my only gripe was that they could have interviewed Jack Nicholson in the "Making of..".

Nicholson Flies High!
Starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, William Redfield, Will Sampson, Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito, Vincent Schiavelli, and Brad Dourif.

This was the best Drama ever. It starts with a criminal named Randle Patrick McMurphy(Jack Nicholson) who is transfered to a mental institution because people think he is insane, although he is not. He causes a bit of trouble(he escapes and steals a bus, he steals a charter boat etc.) so Nurse Mildred Ratched(Louise Fletcher) becomes inpatient with McMurphy. McMurphy notices that the patients are being mistreated, so McMurphy teaches them a bit about standing up for themselves.

There were 5 Academy Awards including Best Actor(Jack Nicholson), Best Actress(Louise Fletcher), and Best Director and Picture(Milos Forman). Brad Dourif was nominated Best Supporting Actor for an Acadamy Award and I think that he should have won. Jack Nicholson had his best performance in this movie. With a great story and just about a great everything, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" flys high for being one of the best movies ever made.