One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Special Edition DVD
One flew east, one flew west, and one flew over the cuckoos nest
Rating: 10/10
Running Time: 133 minutes
UK Certificate: 18
On DVD
The Oscars dont lie. Well, actually, scrap that comment they do. The Hours, for example, is rubbish. But, when the Academy gave One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest all four of the main gongs for 1975 (Best Actor, Actress, Director and Picture), they got it spot on. Only 1934s It Happened One Night had achieved such a clean sweep before, and only 1991s The Silence of the Lambs has managed it since. This film, for my money, is better than either of them. Working from the novel by Ken Kesey, Czech director Milos Forman perfectly handles this funny, poignant and dramatic tale of group dynamics behind the bare walls of a mental hospital. Jack Nicholson as the cocky Randle McMurphy rocks the boat (literally, at one point) when he arrives as the newest inmate, a misbehaving convict who the penal system seem to have given up trying to understand. Has he been faking madness to get out of his prison chores, or is he genuinely in need of help? Nicholsons magnificent performance is supported by an impressive ensemble of loons, including then unknowns Danny De Vito and Christopher Lloyd (this was three years before Taxi). But its Louise Fletcher who perhaps looms largest in this reviewers memory, as the frighteningly steely Nurse Ratched, watching over the ward with expressionless conviction. Cuckoos Nest is quite simply a terrific film. If you havent seen it before, theres really no excuse now that its been visually restored, digitally remastered and given the all-round Special Edition DVD treatment. Oh, and brace yourself for one of the most shocking and touching endings in movie history. You wont forget it in a hurry.
It's Got: Medication time!
It Needs: A straitjacket
DVD Extras Audio commentary from Milos Forman, an hour-long Making Of documentary, extra scenes, and a trailer. DVD Extras Rating: 7/10
Summary
Jack Nicholson at his very best a must-have DVD.