One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 drama movie directed by Miloš Forman, with a running time of 2h 13m. It stars Jack Nicholson, Brad Dourif and Louise Fletcher.
Randle Patrick McMurphy fakes madness to escape a prison work farm, betting a mental hospital will be easier time. Inside, he collides with Nurse Ratched, whose soft voice and clipboard rule the ward through routine, medication and quiet humiliation. McMurphy starts waking the other patients up, teaching them to gamble, laugh and want things again, and the ward becomes a contest of wills. Milos Forman's 1975 film, from Ken Kesey's novel, turns a locked institution into a parable about freedom and control, carried by Jack Nicholson at his most alive and Louise Fletcher's chilling calm.
Quick answers
What is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest about?
Randle Patrick McMurphy fakes madness to escape a prison work farm, betting a mental hospital will be easier time. Inside, he collides with Nurse Ratched, whose soft voice and clipboard rule the ward through routine, medication and quiet humiliation. McMurphy starts waking the other patients up, teaching them to gamble, laugh and want things again, and the ward becomes a contest of wills. Milos Forman's 1975 film, from Ken Kesey's novel, turns a locked institution into a parable about freedom and control, carried by Jack Nicholson at his most alive and Louise Fletcher's chilling calm.
When was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest released?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was released on 19 November 1975.
How long is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest runs 2h 13m.
Who made One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was directed by Miloš Forman.
Where can I watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is available on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, Google Play Movies and YouTube.
Where to watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Cast
- Jack Nicholson as Randle Patrick McMurphy
- Brad Dourif as Billy Bibbit
- Louise Fletcher as Nurse Mildred Ratched
- Danny DeVito as Martini
- William Redfield as Dale Harding
- Scatman Crothers as Orderly Turkle
- Christopher Lloyd as Max Taber
- Will Sampson as Chief Bromden
- Dean R. Brooks as Dr. John Spivey
- Michael Berryman as Ellis
- Sydney Lassick as Charlie Cheswick
- William Duell as Jim Sefelt
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A few thoughts on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Start with Ken Kesey's source novel, which tells the ward's story through the silent eyes of Chief Bromden. Arthur Miller's play The Crucible burns with the same fight between one stubborn conscience and a machine of authority. The game Inside strands a small figure in a cold, controlling system that wants only obedience, McMurphy's struggle rendered wordless.
Locked wards where staying human is the whole fight
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest turns a mental ward into a test of how much control a person will accept. These stories drop their characters into asylums, prisons and convents run by rules that flatten the individual, then watch who pushes back. If McMurphy's standoff with Nurse Ratched stayed with you, the same charge runs through every title here.
One live wire who wakes a whole room up
McMurphy walks into the ward and teaches beaten-down men to gamble, laugh and want things again. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest lives on that spark, a single stubborn person pulling others back toward life. These picks share it, whether a teacher, a runaway kid or an unlikely friend cracks the quiet open and refuses to let people settle for numb.
Quiet tyrants who rule through a soft voice and a clipboard
Nurse Ratched never raises her voice, and that is what makes her terrifying in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Her power runs on routine, paperwork and calm humiliation. These stories hand the same cold authority to a fashion editor, a captor and a devout inquisitor, each one controlling a world through composure rather than force.
Ken Kesey's novel and other revolts against the gray life
Milos Forman adapted One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest from Ken Kesey's counterculture novel, and its refusal to be tamed echoes across these titles. Each one follows someone who will not be processed, medicated or marched into line, choosing chaos, freedom or open rebellion over a safe and deadened existence.