One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

R

Released Nov 19, 1975

2h 13m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

93%

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128 Reviews

96%

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250,000+ Ratings

When Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) gets transferred for evaluation from a prison farm to a mental institution, he assumes it will be a less restrictive environment. But the martinet Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) runs the psychiatric ward with an iron fist, keeping her patients cowed through abuse, medication and sessions of electroconvulsive therapy. The battle of wills between the rebellious McMurphy and the inflexible Ratched soon affects all the ward's patients.

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Critics Consensus

Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher are worthy adversaries in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, with Miloš Forman's more grounded and morally ambiguous approach to Ken Kesey's surrealistic novel yielding a film of outsized power.

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Frank Rich

New York Post

While Milos Forman has made a frightfully mindless film, he's made it damn well -- cloaking Kesey's irresponsible pap in trappings of immediacy and legitimacy that aren't easily stripped away.

Feb 25, 2025

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Jack Kroll

Newsweek

Most of the characters are thinned out... But Forman directs his players superbly, and Louise Fletcher as the nurse turns impassive coolness into a destructive force.

Feb 25, 2025

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Molly Haskell

Village Voice

As for Nicholson, he is nothing short of miraculous.

Feb 25, 2025

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Ted Mahar

Oregonian

Yes, it's a good movie, a very good one; no, it's not precisely Ken Kesey's novel... It's almost as if the saga of Randle P. McMurphy were a historical incident reported novelistically by Kesey and filmically by Forman, each in a distinctive style.

Feb 25, 2025

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Tom Milne

Monthly Film Bulletin

About midway through the film, two things happen, transforming a facile tract about the repressive society into an honest polemic.

Feb 25, 2025

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David Sterritt

Christian Science Monitor

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a bruising film -- boisterous, unflinching, sometimes ugly. Yet it is tempered with a quiet humanity, a genuine regard for people and their impossible predicaments.

Feb 25, 2025

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Chief B

Not one boring moment!! High level film making

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/12/25

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Stephen C

Success in 2 hours and 13 minutes. Happy 50th anniversary to the movie based on the novel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/06/25

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21 - Priyan B

A masterpiece. Rating: 10/10

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/15/25

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Kyle C

As a standalone movie, it’s quite good, elevated by Jack Nicholson’s timeless interpretation and the cruel foil of Louise Fletcher (of whom I’m a huge fan; DS9, anyone?). It takes a different, much more focused approach than the book does, which works well in a film context. The camaraderie and brotherhood between “the boys” is really fun to watch and leads to the best emotional moments toward the end. But more than anything, my favorite aspect of this movie is its comedic timing. Everybody on the cast hits the nail on the head every single time and it’s hilarious. Not to say that this is just a comedy; there’s obviously a lot of depth and dark tones present throughout. But it’s very entertaining! I wish the Chief had gotten a little more depth (without the narration present in the book, it’s a lot harder to give him a backstory) and there are a handful of moments that haven’t aged super well, but overall, I really enjoyed this movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/06/25

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Audience Member

One of the greatest movie... teaches so much... made me sad

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/05/25

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Audience Member

It is a good movie depicting how a charming character can put some light in the life of people that basically live day by day waiting for death. It is moving and filled with good acting. The pace is slower than I'd like. I did not really feel that the villain(Ratched) was so bad so I couldn't really relate with the hero(Mac).

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/27/25

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Milos Forman

Director

Jack Nicholson

Randle Patrick McMurphy

Louise Fletcher

Nurse Mildred Ratched

Brad Dourif

Billy Bibbit

William Redfield

Harding

Michael Berryman

Ellis, tall bald patient

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Synopsis

When Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) gets transferred for evaluation from a prison farm to a mental institution, he assumes it will be a less restrictive environment. But the martinet Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) runs the psychiatric ward with an iron fist, keeping her patients cowed through abuse, medication and sessions of electroconvulsive therapy. The battle of wills between the rebellious McMurphy and the inflexible Ratched soon affects all the ward's patients.

Director: Milos Forman
Producer: Michael Douglas, Saul Zaentz
Screenwriter: Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman
Distributor: Pioneer Entertainment, Warner Home Vídeo, Republic Pictures, United Artists
Production Co: Fantasy Films
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 19, 1975, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Runtime: 2h 13m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.85:1)

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