"One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" Is Released
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman.
The film is an adaptation of the 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. The movie was the first to win all five major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Actor in Lead Role, Actress in Lead Role, Director, Screenplay) since It Happened One Night in 1934, an accomplishment not repeated until 1991, by The Silence of the Lambs. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is frequently called one of the greatest films in the history of American cinema, as the film is ranked number 105 on Empire's "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time"
There had been an earlier stage version of the book, in 1963, but the film does not use the script of the stage version.
The movie was filmed at Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Oregon, which was the setting of the novel.
With an insane asylum standing in for everyday society, Milos Forman's 1975 film adaptation of Ken Kesey's novel is a comically sharp indictment of the Establishment urge to conform. Playing crazy to avoid prison work detail, manic free spirit Randle P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is sent to the state mental hospital for evaluation. There he encounters a motley crew of mostly voluntary inmates, including cowed mama's boy Billy (Brad Dourif) and silent Native American Chief Bromden (Will Sampson), presided over by the icy Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). Ratched and McMurphy recognize that each is the other's worst enemy: an authority figure who equates sanity with correct behavior, and a misfit who is charismatic enough to dismantle the system simply by living as he pleases. McMurphy proceeds to instigate group insurrections large and small, ranging from a restorative basketball game to an unfettered afternoon boat trip and a tragic after-hours party with hookers and booze. Nurse Ratched, however, has the machinery of power on her side to ensure that McMurphy will not defeat her. Still, McMurphy's message to live free or die is ultimately not lost on one inmate, revealing that escape is still possible even from the most oppressive conditions. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
More information
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Wikipedia: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (Film)
en.wikipedia.org
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The New York Times: The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made
movies.nytimes.com