One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 drama film directed by Milos Forman, starring Jack Nicholson, Brad Dourif, Louise Fletcher. It drew a wide audience and shaped its genre.
Plot
In 1963, Oregon, Randle McMurphy is incarcerated for the statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl (which he claims he committed under the assumption that she was an 18-year-old), with five previous arrests for assault. He feigns mental illness so he can be moved to a mental institution and avoid hard labor at a work farm. The medical ward is dominated by the cold, passive-aggressive Nurse Ratched, who intimidates her patients and maintains control through fear. The other patients include young, anxious, stuttering Billy Bibbit; Charlie Cheswick, who is prone to temper tantrums; delusional, child-like Martini; the articulate and repressed Dale Harding; belligerent and profane Max Taber; epileptics Jim Sefelt and Bruce Fredrickson; quiet but violent-minded Scanlon; tall, deaf-mute Native American Chief Bromden; and several others with chronic conditions.
Production
Written by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman, the film was produced by Fantasy Films. Jack Nitzsche composed the score. Haskell Wexler handled the cinematography. The film runs 135 minutes. The crew and editing refined every shot.
Reception
On a budget of $3,000,000, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest grossed $108,981,275 worldwide at the box office. A critic consensus praised its screenplay and score.
Legacy
The film's influence spread across the century; its narrative and tone echo in much later cinema.
See also
References
- "The 100 Greatest Films of All Time". topfilms100. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
- Ebert, Roger. The Great Movies. Broadway Books.
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