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One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (1975)

Film: 5 stars
Film in Relation to the Book: 3 stars

Cast
Jack Nicholson - R.P.
McMurphy
Louise Fletcher - Nurse Ratched
Will Sampson - Chief
Brad Dourif - Billy Bibbit
William Redfield - Harding
Sydney Lassick - Cheswick

Director

Milos Forman

Drama
Rated R (for violent scenes such as: language, gore, fighting, alcohol use, etc.)
133 minutes

Reagan Dishaw
15 March 2015

(Spoiler Alerts!)

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is a brilliant film directed by Milos Forman himself.
Forman has directed as many as 15 films, but no film compares to his superb outcome with One
Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. This intriguing movie opens our eyes to a sense of rebellion, pros

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and cons of conformity and the downfall of complete power; it also satisfies us with extreme
humor and amazing acting by the cast. From the overall concept, down to the minor details, this
movie deserves nothing less than a 5 star rating.
Having said that, the book to film comparison is not all that magnificent. Now having
said that, given the time limit and ability to only do so much, Forman still produced an extremely
impressive film thats theme will live on forever.
Well, lets start with the negatives - just to get them out of the way. Im talking book
to film comparisons of course, because the film itself has no critiques. First of all, Nurse Ratched
is a huge issue. Literally, and figuratively. Forman did an excellent job establishing Ratcheds
strictness and need for power and Fletcher did an excellent job carrying out her tough
personality. Having read the book, and then watching the film, Fletcher is a disappointment. In
the book, Ratched is depicted as exceedingly evil, an absolute machine of power, and even a
complete psychopath - and her physical characteristics coincide (Kesey, 5). In the movie,
Fletcher is pretty, she puts on a stern yet approachable face, she doesnt seem half as evil and
even seems quite kind at times. Now, Forman didnt do an awful job. To people who have never
read the book, its obvious the nurse is the antagonist. The camera angle was often low for
Ratched, showing power. The camera also zoomed in on her, especially during meetings, to
emphasize power once again. The lighting for Ratched was often the same throughout every
shot, because she is a flat character. Having never read the book, Ratched does a fine job acting
evil. Now having read the book, not so much.
Another critique the film to book connection deserves, is its lack of important scenes.
Forman neglected to include Cheswicks death, which in the book was rather significant.
Looking at it from Formans standpoint, he most likely deleted that scene to emphasize other
deaths within in the ward. Without the background knowledge of the book, Cheswick living is
obviously accepted; anyone apart of the audience with the background knowledge is left
surprised. Speaking of Lassick, he did an absolutely stunning job of making Cheswick an
admirable character and Forman helped by often shooting Lassick up close with the camera,
emphasizing his child like features and slight abandonment within the ward.
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest has so many positives, from its influential themes of
power and rebellion, to the amazing acting of all its cast members, and even down to the
seemingly insignificant techniques Forman uses. An extremely notable part of the movie is Jack
Nicholsons acting of R.P. McMurphy - the rebel and truly admired character by the other actors
and the audience. When McMurphy and Ratched encounter each other for the first time, this is
when the initial power struggle is introduced. McMurphy confidently challenges the nurse in
charge, and even conforms the patients in the ward to challenge her too. McMurphy is portrayed
as powerful by the majority of his camera shots being individual. He is often shown on screen

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alone, and also shown with a low camera angle. McMurphy and Nurse Ratched prove to have a
power problem by the constant two-shot of them, sizing each other up, not saying a word. In the
book, McMurphy is described as rebellious, confident, energetic, courageous and successful.
With the astounding work of Forman and Nicholson together, McMurphy is an exact parallel to
himself from the book - except for that red hair (Kesey, 71).
Formans outcome of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is absolutely brilliant and
anybody in their right mind (pun intended) would praise and respect this film endlessly. The
book to film comparison falls short of brilliant for multiple reasons, but also deserves applause
for what it did do positively. Reading the book first and then watching the film is difficult and
not recommended, but that doesnt mean the film wont be enjoyable. Without the consideration
of the book, the film is astounding and not only Forman, but his brilliant cast, deserve endless
applause.