Cinema
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Miloš Forman · 1975
Synopsis
Oregon, summer 1963. Randle McMurphy, thirty-eight, convicted of statutory rape and already arrested several times for assault, is sent from the prison farm to the psychiatric hospital for examination; he is suspected of faking in order to escape work. The ward is run by Nurse Ratched, who regulates the queue for pills, the background music and the group meetings. McMurphy bets the patients that within a week he will make her lose her temper, teaches them blackjack, plays basketball with the Chief and asks for a vote to watch the baseball finals on television.
Context
Kirk Douglas had acquired the rights in 1962 and spent nearly ten years trying to get the project made, before passing them on to his son Michael, who produced it with Saul Zaentz. Filming began on 13 January 1975 at the Oregon State Hospital, whose director, Dean Brooks, plays the chief physician; the admission interview was largely improvised. Kesey followed the production, reached an out-of-court settlement and declared that he had never seen the film, which abandoned the first-person narration of Chief Bromden.
Who it is for
A film of a little over two hours, shot on a real set; the book it is based on is narrated by another character.
Prizes and reception
The five main Oscars in 1976, for film, direction, actor, actress and screenplay, something that only two other films have achieved.
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