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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 50th Anniversary

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Videos & Photos

  • Official Trailer
  • Clip: Opening Credits

Movie Info & Cast

Synopsis

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest tells the story of a free-spirited rogue who takes over the ward of a mental hospital by a combination of chutzpah and ingenuity. The film is based on Ken Kesey’s best-selling novel published in 1962. Using the madhouse to symbolize the individual against the system, the story gets its power from its unforgettable ensemble of characters and accretion of details that reveal what life is about inside a mental institution. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest swept the top five Oscars in 1976, the first film to do so since It Happened One Night in 1934.

Cast

  • Michael Berryman
  • Peter Brocco
  • Dean R. Brooks
  • Alonzo Brown
  • Scatman Crothers
  • Mwako Cumbuka
  • Danny DeVito
  • William Duell
  • Louise Fletcher
  • Jack Nicholson
Moviegoers are saying
This emotionally charged drama delivers powerhouse performances that feel authentically raw, with Danny DeVito stealing scenes despite minimal screen time and a Chief character that has audiences openly weeping. While the acting resonates deeply with viewers who compare it to classic asylum cinema, the film's heartbreaking yet fulfilling finale leaves audiences feeling both devastated and satisfied.
Top Mentions
Tear-Jerker
Award-Worthy
Scene-Stealer
Emotionally-Raw
Authentically-Real
Heart-Wrenching
Summary generated from the text of Atom User reviews

Letterboxd User Reviews

4.4
1.4M
261.6K
470.6K
RATINGS 29.5K FANS
4.4

Queue Community Reviews

93%
Community 12,789
❤️ LOVE
43%
👍 LIKE
50%
😐 MEH
6%
👎 DISLIKE
1%
Top Reviews

Atom Users Reviews

5.0
5
0
0
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POPULAR TAGS

Reviews

Metacritic

60

The supporting cast is flawless, with a special mention owed to Brad Dourif as poor, doomed Billy Bibbit. But the script lacks the woozy, otherworldly subtlety of Kesey’s book, relying instead on pop psychology and finger-pointing: once again, it turns out women are to blame for pretty much everything.

Tom Huddleston
Time Out
100

Nicholson’s live-wire performance turns what could have been a standard movie malcontent into a martyr.

Metacritic review by Chris Nashawaty
Chris Nashawaty
Entertainment Weekly
80

Its honest and forthright depiction of mental illness, combined with Nicholson’s tour-de-force bull in a china shop performance, mean that it has lost none of its power to provoke and entertain in the four decades since its release.

Metacritic review by Maximilian Von Thun
Maximilian Von Thun
CineVue