One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
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Short description
Randle Patrick McMurphy, a small-time criminal, is transferred from a prison work farm to a state mental hospital so that doctors can determine whether he is insane. He has in fact been faking mental illness to escape hard labor, and he expects the ward to be an easier place to serve out his sentence. Instead he finds a rigid institution run by the cold, controlling Nurse Mildred Ratched, whose rules govern every part of the patients' daily lives.
McMurphy's rebellious streak quickly spreads among the other men on the ward, who are drawn to his defiance and his appetite for disruption. His clashes with Ratched grow more direct, and the struggle between the two comes to shape the fate of the patients around them. The film is based on Ken Kesey's novel and was directed by Miloš Forman, who had previously made The Firemen's Ball and I Miss Sonia Henie; it stands third among the eleven features listed in his filmography. Jack Nicholson plays McMurphy, with Louise Fletcher as Ratched and supporting turns from Brad Dourif, Danny DeVito, William Redfield and Scatman Crothers. Bo Goldman and Lawrence Hauben wrote the screenplay, and Saul Zaentz and Michael Douglas produced.
Made for about 3 million dollars, the film took in roughly 109 million worldwide, a large multiple of its cost. Its reputation rests on sustained approval: 8.6 on IMDb across 1.2 million votes, 8.4 on TMDB, and a critics' rating of 9.3 from 140 reviews, all closely aligned rather than split along usual lines.
What's left behind the scenes
- Louise Fletcher received the role only a week before filming began. This event was preceded by about six months of continuous auditions. Miloš Forman couldn't decide to cast this actress in the project, but after viewing other candidates, he repeatedly invited Louise to auditions until he finally made a final decision.
- In English, there is a set expression "cuckoo's nest" which means "mental institution".
- Ken Kesey, the author of the novel of the same name, wrote a screenplay for the film, but it did not appeal to Forman, as the narrative was told from the perspective of Bromden. After that, an offended Kesey stated that he would never watch the adaptation of his own novella 'in such a perverted form.' Moreover, he even sued the film's producers, but his claim was dismissed.
- Many years later, Ken Kesey lay in his own bed, flipping through TV channels in search of something interesting to watch. Unexpectedly, he came across a rather curious film. Only a few minutes passed before he realized what the picture was, and immediately switched to another channel.
- Besides Louise Fletcher, Anne Bancroft and Ellen Burstyn also competed for the role of Nurse Mildred Ratched.
- The most difficult moment in the creation of the film was that no serious film studio wanted to take on such a dubious project. Kirk Douglas met Miloš Forman in Prague, where he told him about his plans and immediately offered him the position of director.
- Throughout the filming process, actor William Redfield was seriously ill. Several months after completing work on the project, William passed away.
- Will Sampson argued with Forman about the concept of the Chief Bromden role and ultimately played it his own way.
- Among the contenders for the role of Randle Patrick McMurphy were such famous actors as James Caan, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, and Burt Reynolds. Ultimately, the role was offered to Jack Nicholson.
- Miloš Forman’s film was the second in history to win all the most significant awards at the Academy Awards ceremony: "Best Picture", "Best Director", "Best Adapted Screenplay", "Best Actor", and "Best Actress".
- Ken Kesey wrote his book inspired by his work at a California state hospital for veterans.
- Kirk Douglas wanted to play one of the roles, but by the time the project was launched, he had aged too much.
- With the exception of the fishing scene (which was filmed last), the entire film was shot sequentially. The fishing scene was filmed in the smallest harbor in the world, located in Oregon.
- Forman did not want to film the fishing scene at all, as he believed it would destroy the feeling of confinement experienced by the patients within the hospital space.
- Most of the extras were actually mentally ill patients. Each member of the film crew was assigned 2-3 patients so that they could find something resembling mutual understanding with the patients.
- Alexander Morfov staged the play "Eclipse" based on the novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" at the Lenkom Theatre.
- Kirk Douglas held the rights to the film adaptation for a long time, but his son, no less famous Michael Douglas, ultimately took on the project. Nevertheless, Kirk retained the right to receive a percentage of the profits.
- This film marked the big-screen debut of Brad Dourif (best known as the voice of the killer doll Chucky in the 1988 film *Child's Play*) and Christopher Lloyd (Dr. Brown from the 1985 film *Back to the Future*).
- Before starting the filming process, Miloš Forman gathered the entire film crew and showed them the film “Titicut Follies” (1967).
- The film is based on Ken Kesey's novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1962).
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