One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
96%RT Audience Score: 96%
Awards & Nominations: Won 5 Oscars
38 wins & 16 nominations total
Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher are worthy adversaries in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, with Miloš Forman’s more grounded and morally ambiguous approach to Ken Kesey’s surrealistic novel yielding a film of outsized power.
If you’re looking for a movie that’ll make you feel like you’re not quite sure what’s real and what’s not, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is the one for you. Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher go head-to-head in this flick, and it’s a battle for the ages. Director Miloš Forman takes Ken Kesey’s trippy book and brings it down to earth a bit, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less powerful. This movie will have you on the edge of your seat, wondering who’s really in charge and what’s going to happen next. It’s a wild ride, but it’s definitely worth it.
Production Company(ies)
Fantasy Films, Bryna Productions N.V., Zvaluw
Distributor
Pioneer Entertainment, United Artists, Warner Home Vídeo, Republic Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Oregon State Mental Hospital – 2600 Center Street NE, Salem, Oregon, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1975
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 13m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 19, 1975 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 16, 1997
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Brad Dourif, William Redfield, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco, directed by Milos Forman, written by Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Alexander Walker, Derek Malcolm, John Cashman, Desmond Ryan, G.J Fleming, Joseph Gelmis, Madeleine Harmsworth, Susan Toepfer, Janet Maslin, Michael Marzella, Stanley Eichelbaum, Charles Johnson, R rating, Pioneer Entertainment, United Artists, Warner Home Vídeo, Republic Pictures, Mono sound mix, 35mm aspect ratio, Nurse Ratched, Randle Patrick McMurphy, mental institution, battle of wills, patients, electroconvulsive therapy, Michael Douglas, Saul Zaentz, produced by
Worldwide gross: $109,114,817
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $656,554,340
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 196
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 71,598,074
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $3,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $18,051,288
Production budget ranking: 1,416
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $9,720,619
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $628,782,433
ROI to date (est.): 2,264%
ROI ranking: 43
Louise Fletcher – Nurse Mildred Ratched
Brad Dourif – Billy Bibbit
William Redfield – Harding
Michael Berryman – Ellis, tall bald patient
Peter Brocco – Col. Matterson
Director(s)
Milos Forman
Writer(s)
Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman
Producer(s)
Michael Douglas, Saul Zaentz
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 5 Oscars
38 wins & 16 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Directing Winners, Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Best Writing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (115) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (107) | Rotten (8)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a film I admire as much as I mistrust. And I mistrust it very much indeed.
March 8, 2022
Alexander Walker
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
When it matters the strength is there, together with the feeling that our judgment of who is mad and who is sane, is at best faulty and uncertain and at worst downright disastrous.
March 8, 2022
Derek Malcolm
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest ultimately fails as black humor because it is too real for anyone who wants to think about it not to realize what is causing the laughter. Sick persons are not funny. And McMurphy may be the sickest of them all.
March 7, 2022
John Cashman
Newsday
TOP CRITIC
An all but flawless film. It is a movie of numbing power with a raw humor that induces laughter made shrill by an undercurrent of despair.
March 7, 2022
Desmond Ryan
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Despite its flaws — which include the audience’s ambivalent attitude toward the hero and his world — it is a surprisingly enjoyable, finely acted character study.
March 7, 2022
G.J. Fleming
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
“Cuckoo’s Nest” appeals to audiences’ worst reflexes. It poses as a sort of liberal’s lunatic asylum version of that anti-institutional glorification of criminals, The Dirty Dozen.
March 7, 2022
Joseph Gelmis
Newsday
TOP CRITIC
Every vice and virtue is explored with humour and compassion in this masterly film. Altogether, an unforgettable experience.
March 9, 2022
Madeleine Harmsworth
Sunday Mirror (UK)
Under the skillful direction of Milos Forman, and with Jack Nicholson in the “heroic” lead, “Cuckoo’s Nest” attains its greatest power in the medium of film.
March 9, 2022
Susan Toepfer
Photoplay
Kesey’s story was hardly designed to be naturalistic, and Forman’s streamlining isn’t the way to make it work (there may not be any way). As it stands, Forman has merely reduced the story without successfully revising it.
March 9, 2022
Janet Maslin
Boston Phoenix
It is Jack Nicholson, an actor continually producing profound and stunning performances, who fires a life in McMurphy different from, but not lesser than, Kesey’s character. This is a milestone performance.
March 9, 2022
Michael Marzella
Tampa Bay Times
I found the ending, with its heavily rigged tragedy and trite metaphors, neither believable nor very moving… [But] in its better moments, [One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest] is hilariously and potently effective.
March 9, 2022
Stanley Eichelbaum
San Francisco Examiner
The problem with stripping away the dramatics is, as I see it, that Forman was not able to replace them with the ingredients of a more truly thoughtful film.
March 8, 2022
Charles Johnson
Sacramento Bee…
Plot
McMurphy has a criminal past and has once again gotten himself into trouble and is sentenced by the court. To escape labor duties in prison, McMurphy pleads insanity and is sent to a ward for the mentally unstable. Once here, McMurphy both endures and stands witness to the abuse and degradation of the oppressive Nurse Ratched, who gains superiority and power through the flaws of the other inmates. McMurphy and the other inmates band together to make a rebellious stance against the atrocious Nurse.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Jack Nicholson’s performance in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is considered a milestone in his career.
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