One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (Wide Screen)

Advantages: Absolutely stunning film
Disadvantages: None

...1975 film is quite possibly one of the best films of all time. In all my days (and I say this as though I have inhabited this wonderful planet for much longer than twenty years, but I guess I've packed a lot of films into those twenty years… but anyway, I digress…) no other film has struck me as being so phenomenally well-made, astoundingly directed and with a cast that is absolutely faultless to a man. 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' would certainly ...
...Thankfully, Michael Douglas (yes, the one who is married to Catherine Zeta-Jones) took it upon himself to personally fund the project, bringing in Milos Forman as director. Forman had an extensive background in foreign language films and his career since 'Cuckoo's Nest' has been less than spectacular, but he was certainly the right director for the project. It is interesting that the movie was released in 1975, a date that some could possibly argue ... Read review

Advantages: Classic, can watch over and over, excellent cast
Disadvantages: NONE!

...played by Sydney Lessick. One of my favourite characters, always funny, even when he is angry. I actually named one of my cats after him. Cheswick is a voluntary patient. Harding, Played by William Redfield, who sadly died a year after the film was released. He is a more serious character that McMurphy loves to wind up, as do the other patients, especially Taber. Harding is also a voluntary patient. Taber, Christopher Lloyd’s first part. ...
...he belongs here. A very funny character throughout the film, and another of my favourites. Taber is a committed patient. Watch out for the cigarette in his turn ups. Martini, played by a young Danny Devito, is a bit simple, but still a funny character. He is also a voluntary patient. Billy Bibbet, played by Brad Dourif, is a young voluntary patient that fears his mother, as well as Nurse Ratched. He suffers from a very bad stutter, and finds it ... Read review

Advantages: Acting, direction, style, story...
Disadvantages: A little disturbing but other than that nothing

...too. Although Ken Kelsey's book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is not a true story, the themes in it, and the shocking ending are based on things he experienced working in a state mental hospital in San Jose, California - things that had been happening all too regularly all over the country in the 70s. The leading character, petty thief Randall P. McMurphy, is played by Jack Nicholson in probably his greatest role to date, including Chinatown and ...
...more, it is obvious that one of them is going to have to give way before something else does, but the question is who, when and how? There are many touching scenes in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but one of my particular favourites is when McMurphy asks Nurse Rached if he and the other guys can watch the Baseball World Series on television. The Nurse at first refuses, arguing that the basis of the institution is on a strict routine and upsetting ... Read review

Advantages: Great entertainment
Disadvantages: not for fast action fans particularly

...forever perfect. This is just one of a handful of movies out of thousands that I could happily watch twenty four hours a day, every day, for the rest of my life! What makes it so good? Read on if you want to know more…. The Story…. Randle P. McMurphy [played by Jack Nicholson] is a loud-mouthed fast talking convict. He has learnt that he can shorten his sentence and spend his remaining time in a nice cosy mental hospital, if he can convince the ...
...characters relationship with Randle is one that really stands out, as does his overall performance, only being overshadowed by perhaps Nicholson himself! Louise Fletcher is cold and annoying as "Nurse Ratched" the woman just oozes irritation. The kind of character you would like to see hit over the head with a fridge. It's not surprising the inmates refer to her as nurse "Ratchet". You need an evil Ratched to balance out the nicer characters and ... Read review

Advantages: A classic film, very clever, shocking ending
Disadvantages: Not much action, depressing subject matter

...mental condition, we are never one hundred percent sure that it is all fake. Although clearly not as disturbed as many of the other patients, he certainly does seem to have some violent and impulsive tendencies and we are never sure whether his manic outbursts are wholly for the purpose of appearing insane and trying to provoke Nurse Ratched, and his character is genuinely quite disturbing. Louise Fletcher is also excellent (she and Nicholson both ...
...Ratched. She is chilling in her emotionlessness and in the way in which she calmly controls the patients and probes them to talk about their innermost feelings. We are unsure whether she truly believes that she is helping them by enforcing a strict routine and by her intrusive group therapy sessions, or whether she simply derives some kind of sadistic pleasure from being in control – albeit that the people she is controlling are a group of men who ... Read review