One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a 1975 American drama directed by Miloš Forman and adapted from Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel. Jack Nicholson stars as Randle Patrick McMurphy, a rebellious man sent to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation, where his resistance to strict institutional control brings him into conflict with Nurse Ratched, played by Louise Fletcher.

The film became one of the most celebrated dramas of the 1970s. It won the five major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. The Academy notes that it was the first film to achieve that sweep since It Happened One Night 41 years earlier. Tinyzone readers interested in another character driven classic can also browse the site’s Drama collection or read about the classic espionage drama 5 Fingers.

Movie Title

• Movie Name: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
• Released: November 19, 1975
• Genre: Drama, Psychological Drama
• Duration: 2 Hours 13 Minutes
• Country: United States
• Language: English
• Director: Miloš Forman
• Producer: Michael Douglas
• Production Company: Fantasy Films
• Distributor: United Artists.

Budget And Box Office

The movie became an extraordinary commercial success relative to its reported production cost.

Box Office Mojo records:

• Budget: $3 million
• Domestic lifetime gross: about $108.98 million
• Recorded international gross: about $147,000
• Worldwide across recorded releases: about $109.13 million

Main Cast

• Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Will Sampson, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Brad Dourif
  William Redfield, Scatman Crothers

Movie Story

Randle McMurphy enters the hospital expecting institutional life to be easier than prison. Instead, he encounters a highly controlled environment where schedules, group sessions, medication and behavioural expectations shape everyday life.

McMurphy begins challenging seemingly small rules, but those arguments gradually become more important. He tries to persuade the other patients to express their preferences, participate in activities and believe that they can have more influence over their own lives.