This film is based on a novel written by Ken Kesey. McMurphy has a criminal past and has once again gotten himself into trouble and he is sentenced by the court. To escape labor duties in prison, McMurphy pleads insanity and is sent to a ward for the mentally unstable. Once here, McMurphy both endures and stands witness to the abuse and degradation of the oppressive Nurse Ratched! She gains superiority and power through the flaws of the other inmates. McMurphy and the other inmates band together to make a rebellious stance against the atrocious Nurse.
This is an adult drama laced with humor but it deals with life-and-death issues. The setting is in a hospital psychiatric ward. Intense situations alternate with comic moments. Underlying all the comic moments are the weighty topics of tyranny, sacrifice and the fragility of the human mind. There are scenes of sustained cruelty, forcible restraint of mental patients, fighting and two deaths (including a suicide). Language is strong throughout and there are a multitude of expressions used as slurs regarding race and gender. Characters smoke constantly, they drink and get drunk in one out-of-control party sequence. Moderate crude sex references, some brief sexualized nudity, violence and gore. 3 1/2* (I liked this movie and I felt sorry for McMurphy)
133 min Drama directed by Milos Forman and written by Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman, Ken Kesey and Dale Wasserman with Jack Nicholson, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco, Dean R. Brooks, Alonzo Brown, Scatman Crotheres, Mwako Cumbuka, Danny DeVito, William Duell, Jospi Elic, Lan Fendors, Louise Fletcher, Nathan George, Ken Kenny, Mel Lambert, Sydney Lassick.
Note: Imdb 8.7* out of 10* with 932,781 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 94% with 83 critic reviews 96% with 250,000+ audience scores, Roger Ebert 4*, reelreviews.net 3 1/2* James Berardinelli, Letterboxd 4.3* out of 5* with 4.8K fans, Amazon 5* with 335 reviews, Common Sense Media Carly Kocurek, 5*, age 16+, 2* sex and positive role models, 3* positive messages and drinking, drugs & smoking, 4* violence, 5* language, The Guardian 5* Peter Bradshaw.
Special Note: Many of the extras were authentic mental patients. Will Sampson (Chief Bromden) was a Park Ranger in Oregon near where the movie was filmed. He was selected for a part because he was the only Native American the casting department could find who matched his character's incredible size. In later interviews, Louise Fletcher said that she found ways to make her character human yet still remain unsympathetic. Ultimately she decided that Nurse Ratched actually did care about the patients and she felt she was doing what was best for them?Ultimately, she was misguided and drunk on her own power!!
Mistakes: The Monopoly game has plastic houses and hotels, in 1963 they would still be made of wood. After McMurphy hijacks the bus and is driving through town, there are some 1970s automobiles, including a Plymouth Duster, Chevy Nova and a store with lots of color TVs in the window. The movie is set in 1963, according to the World Series broadcast. During their road trip on the bus, they pass a "DUCK XING" road sign. Those signs did not exist in 1963. Just before McMurphy climbs over the fence to hide in the bus, what looks to be a Ford Pinto can be seen in the hospital parking lot.
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