One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
General Information
Completed On: 19 Nov, 1975
Duration: 2 hr 13 min 0 sec
Genres: Fiction
Language: English
Country: United States
Submitted By: Anna Maurice
Festival Rating
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 behaviour, 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.
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DirectorsMiloš Forman
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WritersBo Goldman
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WritersLawrence Hauben
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Film TypeFiction
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GenresClassic,Comedy-Drama
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Runtime2 hours 13 minutes 0 seconds
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Completion Date19 Nov, 1975
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Production BudgetUSD
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Country of OriginUnited States
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Country of Filming
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Film LanguageEnglish
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Shooting Format
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Aspect Ratio
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Film ColorColor
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Student ProjectNo
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First-time FilmmakerNo
Director's Biography
Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman was a Czech-American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968.
Forman was an important figure in the Czechoslovak New Wave. Film scholars and Czechoslovakian authorities saw his 1967 film The Firemen's Ball as a biting satire on Eastern European Communism, and it was banned for many years in his home country. He left Czechoslovakia for the United States, and his films One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Amadeus (1984) acquired particular renown and for both films, he won the Academy Award for Best Director. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was the second film to win all five major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Actor in Leading Role, Actress in Leading Role, Director, and Screenplay).
Forman also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Director for The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996). He also won Golden Globe, Cannes, Berlinale, BAFTA, Cesar, David di Donatello, European Film Academy, and Czech Lion awards.