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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Peter V

One of the greatest movies of Jack Nicholson. Was honestly thinking that I would not like this movie, but I definitely recommend it to see. What a actor that Jack

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/23/25

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Matt C

Aside from the actors’ portrayals of mental illness, including a good but not great performance from Nicholson, this movie has very little going for it. It’s extremely slow, feels aimless most of the time and despite it’s subject matter creates virtually no care factor in the viewer.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/21/25

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Frans B

Way ahead if it's time. Milos Forman dared to tread where nobody ever even considered going. Nicholson truly excels here. One of those movies you will discover something new after watching it again. Real deep dive into human psyche and very "abnormal" for the time, amazing movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/19/25

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bob c

Jack nails it and the nasty nurse is really nasty. A sort of post-modern Foucault critique of institutionalised power before it became commonplace. But greatly entertaining for all that. Plenty of later famous actors playing supporting roles.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/25

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William B

A wonderful classic. Recommended.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/18/25

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Abdirahman B

Although the storyline itself is not particularly outstanding, the way it is executed makes it remarkably engaging and compelling to the audience.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/09/25

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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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