There is a very good reason why One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time! This is just a fantastic movie in every sense of the word, from start to end, it keeps you engaged and wondering what the heck is going to happen next. I never saw this until my early 20s in the early 00s and I was blown away by how great it was.
How to Download One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was released on November 19, 1975. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
I have seen many older/classic movies that people have told me that I “should” love and not click with them. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was different, it was like every single great thing I had heard about this movie was true. Also, it made me appreciate The Simpsons’ references to the movie even more.
Even though he has had a tremendous career, McMurphy has to go down as one of the best Jack Nicholson characters of all time. I think if I had to do a top three it would be McMurphy, The Joker, and Daryl Van Horne. McMurphy gets arrested and fakes being crazy so that he gets sent to the nut house instead of having to do hard time in a real jail.
Memorable Characters and Performances
It is here that he meets a colorful cast of characters including my favorite The Chief. However, McMurphy also meets the evil Nurse Ratched who is a mean-spirited nurse who controls this place with an iron fist. The way she talks and treats her patients is shocking and she and McMurphy bang heads constantly.
Nurse Ratched sees McMurphy as a massive pain in the butt, a real hassle, and someone who whips up the other inmates into a frenzy. It all comes to a head and McMurphy and The Chief decide that they are going to escape. The thing with One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is that this movie is crazy and it has a lot of funny and wacky moments in it. However, I feel that the brilliance of it is that it can have something crazy happening one moment and then something shocking the next.
A Powerful and Unexpected Ending
The first time I saw this movie I only knew the basic gist of what the deal was and the few parodies that I had seen in The Simpsons. The ending of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was something that truly shocked me. Again, showing what an amazing movie it is, the ending is heartbreaking in one moment, but then has you cheering and smiling the very next moment. It is all just so well done and even now that I know exactly what is going to happen, I am still entertained, moved, and shocked by what happens.
Final Thoughts: A Timeless Classic
The term classic gets thrown around a lot and I am as guilty as anyone for dishing out 10/10s, but there is no way that One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is not deserving of a perfect score. When the only negative that I have about this is that they have yet to make a fantastic 4K collector’s edition of it, you know that the movie must be something special.
