One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975) United Artists 📢 Director: Miloš Forman 💰 Producer: Saul Zaentz, Michael Douglas 👫 Cast: Jack Nicholson, Louis Fletcher, William Redfield. 🏆 Awards ceremony: -48th Academy Awards: March 29, 1976. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, California. 🎭 Other films nominated for Best Picture this year: -Barry Lyndon. -Dog Day Afternoon. -Jaws. -Nashville. 📕 Plot summary: Randle P. McMurphy (JACK NICHOLSON) is sent to a mental institution to be evaluated after he apparently feigns illness in order to avoid a prison sentence. Thinking this option will be a much smoother ride for him, McMurphy soon learns that life as a mental patient isn't as easy as he thought it would be. The ward is run by the no-nonsense Nurse Ratched (LOUISE FLETCHER) who seemingly makes it her business to give McMurphy a hard time. However, the fellow patients take an instant liking to McMurphy as he brings a new spark of positive energy to the ward with his loveable character. Nurse Ratched is morally defeated by McMurphy, who not only gets the better of her but also rallies the others to make a stand against the regime of their daily lives in the institution. Unfortunately for McMurphy, his actions land him in trouble with the staff and he ultimately pays a heavy price for his behaviour. 💥 Standout scene(s): Charlie Cheswick demanding his cigarettes from Nurse Ratched. That scene builds and builds, gets louder and louder... and finally explodes with all hell breaking loose on the ward: "Piss on your fucking rules Miss Ratched". Damn!! 🔑 Facts: -The 48th Academy Awards. -Nominated for 9 Academy Awards, it won 5: Best Picture, Director, Actor (Jack Nicholson), Actress (Louise Fletcher), Screenplay (adapted). -Michael Douglas collected an Oscar for co-producer. -Brad Dourif's first Best Picture appearance. He would return in 2003 for The Lord Of The Rings's final film. -First of three Best Pictures for Jack Nicholson (Terms Of Endearment, The Departed). He makes his first appearance here after just 4 minutes. 🙂 Personal opinion: To think that this film is now 50 years old is silly! It's almost faultless; the only sequence that is amiss is the fishing boat trip. Nicholson is at his absolute best, probably the very best performance of his entire career; Louise Fletcher is brilliant* and the whole cast lend a collective effort in their part with delivering a thoroughly compelling storyline, filled with memorable scenes and unwittingly humorous dialogue. It's just brilliant. The direction is so perfectly executed that the viewer becomes mesmerized by what they are watching on the screen. It's done in such a way that it feels real. Now a word on Louise Fletcher's character: is she good or bad? You can look at it both ways. It is widely accepted that her character is cold and uncaring but I have seen this film over 30 times and I consider her Nurse Ratched character to be leaning more on the side of being professional. Bit of a bitch though when she doesn't turn the television on after the group voted in favour of watching the ball game! One of the ten best movies ever made in my opinion. The film deserved every single one of its 5 Oscars. Did it deserve the Oscar? ✅YES. But just look at the competition! This was the same year as Jaws, Dog Day Afternoon, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Eiger Sanction... ⭐️10/10

Review date: 23 March 2025