As time continues to zip by, yet another classic film has reached a milestone anniversary and in doing so has garnered itself a 4K restoration that will allow it to be enjoyed by viewers for many more milestones to come. The film I’m speaking of is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, starring Jack Nicholson, directed by Miloš Forman, and based off the novel of the same name by Ken Kesey.
What’s hard to determine about a film is just how well it will hold up over time until it actually reaches a point the future where it can be reassessed, as a film can be considered a modern-day classic and not hold up to scrutiny or simply not age well as the years pass by. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest now has five decades under its belt and it shows no signs of needing to relinquish its title as a classic and continues to prove itself a worthy recipient of the 1976 Academy Award for Best Picture.
The film’s protagonist is convicted felon Randle McMurphy (Nicholson), and by that statement alone it should be clear that while he’s the central figure in the film, he’s also not a great guy. No, McMurphy is someone who has been convicted of sexual assault (though he claims that she was a willing participant and that she said that she was 18 years old), as well as five previous arrests for assault. McMurphy is a character that can lead to debates and deeper conversations after watching the film, as one can choose to simply focus on his flaws as a human and judge him as simply evil, or they can look at some of his other actions throughout the film, which don’t necessarily make him a hero or negate his previous offenses, but do add some shades of grey into the mix that make him more of an anti-hero – though that doesn’t mean you have to like him.
One thing that’s hard to not like is Nicholson’s acting job that brings McMurphy to life, as he – much like many other now famous actors in the film – are completely mesmerizing. Nicholson won the Academy Award for Best Actor and has no trouble pulling the viewer into this world of disarray with his charisma and delivery. While it’s clear from the first time we meet McMurphy that he’s flawed, one can’t help but want to see where things are going because of how well Nicholson embodies the character.
We learn of McMurphy’s discretions because he’s trying to feign mental illness so that he can serve out the remainder of his sentence in a mental institution instead of doing hard labour at a work farm in prison. He believes that it’ll be smooth sailing compared to the hard time he was serving, though he wasn’t expecting that he’d find a new nemesis in the head nurse of the psychiatric ward, Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher).
McMurphy is a rebellious spirit and in order to prove his “insanity” he must participate in group therapy, which is led by Nurse Ratched. It’s here that McMurphy learns more about the other patients in the ward, as well as the way Nurse Ratched intimidates them and keeps control through fear, intimidation and manipulation. While McMurphy is looking out for his own needs when initially squaring off against Ratched, he becomes increasingly attached to the other patients in the ward and begins to fight against conformity and pushes them to stand up for themselves as well.
The other patients include such major players as Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd, both of whom were basically unknowns at the time. DeVito plays Martini and got the role after Forman saw him in the same role in an off-Broadway stage adaptation. DeVito is phenomenal as well, almost unrecognizable, and like everyone else in the group, is just engrossing whenever they’re on screen. Lloyd plays Max Taber, who can someone feel like a bully on the ward, but really he’s just the only patient outside of McMurphy who doesn’t hold back or really show much fear.
The rest of the group consists of Billy Babbit (Brad Dourif), a young man who lacks any sort of confidence in himself and shows this through a severe stutter. While Nurse Ratched has a firm hold on all of her patients, Billy is one she can specifically manipulate to fall in line. Then there’s Charlie Cheswick (Sydney Lassick), who suffers from severe anxiety and worry, but is also the first to side with McMurphy when it comes to making changes. Then there’s Dale Harding (William Redfield), who was the unofficial leader of the group before McMurphy arrived, constantly pushing his intelligence as the reason why he was better than others. Then there’s “Chief” Bromden (Will Sampson), a giant native man, who those in the ward mostly ignore due to the fact that he’s deaf and mute.
There are a handful of other patients that are constantly in the mix, and everyone who plays anyone is spectacularly cast. Michael Douglas produced the film and said that filming had to be delayed six months because Nicholson was finishing another project, but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it allowed for an almost unheard-of amount of time to be allowed for the casting of the patients. I won’t disagree with him there, as again, everyone is brilliant and the casting from top to bottom help make this film as captivating as it is.
Lastly there’s Fletcher, who won the Best Actress Academy Award for her work here as Nurse Ratched. She brings to the table the perfect authoritarian antagonist for McMurphy and their chemistry on screen – or even when across the room or while McMurphy is outside and she’s simply looking out through a window – is perfect. It’s clear the two have a disdain for one another and both are trying to win a game of mental chess for their own reasons.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a fantastic film that has the ability to spark a bounty of conversations and debates once finished. It’s a film that’s more than deserving of its preservation status given by the National Film Registry, and it’s great to see it receive such a strong restoration that brings the film to 4K for new generations to enjoy for potentially the first time, and for long time fans to experience once again with the best visual presentation the film has had since it was released almost 50 years ago.
4K Blu-ray Video and Audio Review:
The restoration process for the film is explained as soon as you hit play, with it being done by the Academy Film Archive, supported by producer Paul Zaentz and with funding by Teatro Della Pace Film. They’ve delivered a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative and the results are immediately noticeable, with some gorgeous clarity as soon as we enter the mental institution. The filmic grain remains in subtle ways that work to the film’s benefit and speak to the time it was made, yet it’s cleaned up and never distracting. The details in the facility are abundant and shine through wonderfully, and the cinematography benefits greatly from this updated look as well. As a whole there are really no complaints to be had unless you want to nitpick, and fans of the film will be thrilled with the attention that this film has received during this process.
On the audio side of things we’ve got a DTS-HD Master Audio, as well as a 2.0 Mono “original” track to choose from. This isn’t a film which boasts a massive need for surround sound, but the DTS-HD track is the way to go for pretty much everyone, unless you just truly love 2.0 tracks. The voices come through nicely from the center speaker and the times that do call for some surround sound come through nicely. The film’s score also shines through, filling the room at times as well, so all in all it’s a solid mix that works harmoniously alongside the new 4K restoration on the visual side.
Special Features:
We’ve got two new retrospective special features for this release, which is great to see. There’s also a massive legacy feature that fans will be happy to have on the same disc and newcomers will get to enjoy as well.
**NEW** Conversations on Cuckoo: Group Therapy – This featurette comes in at just over 13-minutes and sees Producer Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd and Brad Dourif all come together over webcam to talk about the casting process, rehearsing and other tidbits. This is a great group to hear from, especially given that it was so early in their careers compared to where they are now.
**NEW** Conversations on Cuckoo: Moviemaking Memories – This is another featurette with the same group that’s just over 10-minutes long and talk about making the movie, certain scenes and how things were on set. These four are fun to listen and easy to listen to that you do wish it was longer, but at the same time it never overstays its welcome either and it’s nice that they were able to get together for these retrospectives.
Legacy Special Features:
Completely Cuckoo – This is the beefy legacy feature that comes in at just under 90-minutes in length and sees author Ken Kesey, director Miloš Forman, Kirk and Michael Douglas, producer Saul Zentz, screenwriter Bo Goldman, as well as Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Louise Fletcher, Vincent Schiavelli and some others. It’s clearly an older documentary, but it’s fun to watch them all talk about the film and its coming to life, especially alongside the new retrospectives.
Deleted Scenes
Disclaimer: A review copy of this Blu-ray was sent to me to cover in honest and truthful fashion.
Warner Bros. Pictures Presents One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Directed by: Miloš Forman. Screenplay by: Bo Goldman. Based on the novel by: Ken Kesey. Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Brad Dourif, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Sydney Lassick, William Redfield, Will Sampson, Scatman Crothers, Nathan George. Running time: 133 Minutes. Rating: R. Released on 4K Blu-ray: Nov. 11, 2025.
