One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ( film ) - wikipedia One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ( film ) For the Broadway play, see One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ( play ). One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest Theatrical release poster Directed by Miloš Forman Produced by Saul Zaentz Michael Douglas Screenplay by Lawrence Hauben Bo Goldman Based on One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest by Ken Kesey Starring Jack Nicholson Louise Fletcher William Redfield Music by Jack Nitzsche Cinematography Haskell Wexler Bill Butler Edited by Richard Chew Sheldon Kahn Lynzee Klingman Production company Fantasy Films Distributed by United Artists Release date November 19, 1975 ( 1975 - 11 - 19 ) Running time 133 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $4.4 million Box office $109 million One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest is a 1975 American comedy - drama film directed by Miloš Forman, based on the 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest by Ken Kesey. The film stars Jack Nicholson, and features a supporting cast of Louise Fletcher, William Redfield, Will Sampson, and Brad Dourif. Considered to be one of the greatest films ever made, One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest is No. 33 on the American Film Institute 's 100 Years... 100 Movies list. The film was the second to win all five major Academy Awards ( Best Picture, Actor in Lead Role, Actress in Lead Role, Director, and Screenplay ) following It Happened One Night in 1934, an accomplishment not repeated until 1991 by The Silence of the Lambs. It also won numerous Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards. In 1993, the film was deemed `` culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant '' by the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Casting 3.2 Rehearsals 3.3 Filming 4 Reception 5 Awards and honors 5.1 Others 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Plot In 1963 Oregon, recidivist criminal Randle McMurphy is moved to a mental institution after serving a short sentence on a prison farm for statutory rape of a 15 - year - old. Though not actually mentally ill, McMurphy hopes to avoid hard labor and serve the rest of his sentence in a relaxed environment. Upon arriving at the hospital, he finds the ward run by the steely, strict Nurse Ratched, who subtly suppresses the actions of her patients through a passive - aggressive routine, intimidating the patients. The other patients include anxious, stuttering Billy Bibbit ; Charlie Cheswick, who is prone to childish tantrums ; delusional Martini ; the well - educated, paranoid Dale Harding ; belligerent Max Taber ; epileptic Jim Sefelt ; and `` Chief '' Bromden, a tall Native American believed to be deaf and mute. Ratched soon sees McMurphy 's lively, rebellious presence to be a threat to her authority, confiscating the patients ' cigarettes and rationing them. During his time in the ward, McMurphy gets into a battle of wits with Ratched. He steals a hospital bus, escaping with several patients to go on a fishing trip, encouraging his friends to become more self - confident. McMurphy learns his sentence may become indefinite, and he makes plans to escape, exhorting Chief to throw a hydrotherapy cart through a window. He, Chief, and Cheswick get into a fight with the orderlies after the latter becomes agitated over his stolen cigarettes. Ratched sends them to the `` shock shop, '' and McMurphy discovers Chief can actually speak, feigning being deaf and mute to avoid engaging with anyone. After being subjected to electroconvulsive therapy, McMurphy returns to the ward pretending to have brain damage, but reveals the treatment has charged him up even more. McMurphy and Chief make plans to escape, but decide to throw a secret Christmas party for their friends after Ratched leaves for the night. McMurphy sneaks two women, Candy and Rose, into the ward, and bribes the night guard. After a night of partying, McMurphy and Chief prepare to escape, inviting Billy to come with them. He refuses, not ready to leave the hospital. McMurphy instead convinces him to have sex with Candy. Ratched arrives in the morning to find the ward in disarray and most of the patients unconscious. She discovers Billy and Candy together, the former now free of his stutter, until Ratched threatens to inform his mother about his escapade. Billy is overwhelmed with fear and locks himself in the doctor 's office and commits suicide. The enraged McMurphy chokes Ratched, before being knocked out by an orderly. Ratched comes back with a neck brace and a scratchy voice. Rumors spread that McMurphy escaped, rather than be taken `` upstairs ''. Later that night, Chief sees McMurphy being returned to his bed. He discovers McMurphy has lobotomy scars on his forehead, and smothers his friend with a pillow. Chief finally throws the hydrotherapy cart through the window and escapes into the night, cheered on by Taber. Cast Jack Nicholson as Randle McMurphy Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched Will Sampson as `` Chief '' Bromden William Redfield as Dale Harding Brad Dourif as Billy Bibbit Sydney Lassick as Charlie Cheswick Christopher Lloyd as Max Taber Danny DeVito as Martini Dean Brooks as Dr. John Spivey William Duell as Jim Sefelt Vincent Schiavelli as Bruce Frederickson Michael Berryman as Ellis Nathan George as Attendant Washington Marya Small as Candy Scatman Crothers as Orderly Turkle Louisa Moritz as Rose Peter Brocco as Col. Matterson Production Actor Kirk Douglas - who had originated the role of McMurphy in the 1963 - 1964 Broadway stage version of the Ken Kesey novel - had purchased the film rights to the story, and tried for a decade to bring it to the big screen, but was unable to find a studio willing to make it with him. Eventually, he gave the rights to his son Michael Douglas, who succeeded in getting the film produced - but the elder Douglas, by then nearly 60, was considered too old for the McMurphy role, which ultimately went to 38 - year - old Jack Nicholson. Douglas brought in Saul Zaentz as co-producer. The film 's first screenwriter, Lawrence Hauben, introduced Douglas to the work of Miloš Forman, whose 1967 Czechoslovak film The Firemen 's Ball had the sort of qualities they were looking for. Forman flew to California and went through the script page by page and outlined what he would do, in contrast with other directors who had been approached who were less than forthcoming. Saul Zaentz, a voracious reader, felt an affinity with Kesey, and so after Hauben 's first attempt he asked Kesey to write the screenplay, and promised him a piece of the action, but it did n't work out and ended in a financial dispute. Hal Ashby, who had been an early consideration for director, suggested Jack Nicholson for the role of McMurphy. Production was delayed for about six months because of Nicholson 's schedule. However, Douglas later felt that this ended up as a blessing, as it gave more time to get the ensemble right. Casting Danny DeVito, who was Douglas 's oldest friend, was the first to be cast as he had played Martini, one of the patients, in the 1971 off - Broadway production. Douglas found Will Sampson, who played Chief Bromden, through a used car dealer that Douglas was sitting next to on an aircraft. Douglas had told him that they were looking for a big guy to play the chief. He sold a lot of cars to Native Americans and six months later rang Douglas to say : `` the biggest sonofabitch Indian came in the other day ! '' Miloš Forman had considered Shelley Duvall for the role of Candy. While screening Thieves Like Us ( 1974 ) to see if she was right for the role, he became interested in Louise Fletcher, who had a supporting role, for the role of Nurse Ratched. A mutual acquaintance, the casting director Fred Roos, had already mentioned her name as a possibility. Even so it took four or five meetings, over a year, ( during which the role was offered to other actresses ) for Fletcher to secure the role of Nurse Ratched. Her final audition was late in 1974, with Forman, Zaentz and Douglas. The day after Christmas, her agent called to say she was expected at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem on 4 January to begin rehearsals. Rehearsals Prior to commencement of filming, a week of rehearsals started on 4 January 1975 in Oregon, during which the actors watched the patients in their daily routine and at group therapy. Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher also witnessed electroconvulsive therapy on a patient. Filming Other than Nicholson, the rest of the cast were working for scale, or a little above that. Fletcher worked for 11 weeks, and made $10,000 before taxes. Filming began in January 1975, and concluded approximately three months later, and was shot on location in Salem, Oregon, and the surrounding area, as well as on the Oregon coast. The producers decided to shoot the film in the Oregon State Hospital, an actual mental hospital, as this was also the setting of the novel. The hospital 's director, Dean Brooks, was supportive of the filming and eventually ended up playing the character of Dr. John Spivey in the film. Brooks identified a patient for each of the actors to shadow, and some of the cast even slept on the wards at night. He also wanted to incorporate his patients into the crew, to which the producers agreed. Douglas recalls that it was n't until later that he found out that many of them were criminally insane. As Forman did n't allow the actors to see the day 's filming, this led to the cast losing confidence in him, while Nicholson also began to wonder about his performance. Douglas convinced Forman to show Nicholson something, which he did, and restored the actor 's confidence. Haskell Wexler was fired as cinematographer and replaced by Bill Butler. Wexler believed his dismissal was due to his concurrent work on the documentary Underground, in which the radical terrorist group The Weather Underground were being interviewed while hiding from the law. However, Miloš Forman said he had terminated Wexler over artistic differences. Both Wexler and Butler received Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography for One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest, though Wexler said there was `` only about a minute or two minutes in that film I did n't shoot. '' According to Butler, Jack Nicholson refused to speak to Forman : ``... ( Jack ) never talked to Miloš at all, he only talked to me. '' Filming went over the initial budget of $2 m and over-schedule, but Saul Zaentz, who was personally financing the movie, was able to fund this by borrowing against his company, Fantasy Records. The movie cost in total $4.4 m to make. Reception The film was met with overwhelming critical acclaim ; Roger Ebert said `` Miloš Forman 's One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest is a film so good in so many of its parts that there 's a temptation to forgive it when it goes wrong. But it does go wrong, insisting on making larger points than its story really should carry, so that at the end, the human qualities of the characters get lost in the significance of it all. And yet there are those moments of brilliance. '' Ebert would later put the film on his `` Great Movies '' list. A.D. Murphy of Variety wrote a mixed review as well, as did Vincent Canby : Writing in The New York Times, Canby called the film `` a comedy that ca n't quite support its tragic conclusion, which is too schematic to be honestly moving, but it is acted with such a sense of life that one responds to its demonstration of humanity if not to its programmed metaphors ''. The film opens with original music by composer Jack Nitzsche, featuring an eerie bowed saw ( performed by Robert Armstrong ) and wine glasses. Commenting on the score, reviewer Steven McDonald has said, `` The edgy nature of the film extends into the score, giving it a profoundly disturbing feel at times -- even when it appears to be relatively normal. The music has a tendency to always be a little off - kilter, and from time to time it tilts completely over into a strange little world of its own... '' The film went on to win the `` Big Five '' Academy Awards at the 48th Oscar ceremony. These include the Best Actor for Jack Nicholson, Best Actress for Louise Fletcher, Best Direction for Forman, Best Picture, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman. The film currently has a 95 % `` Certified Fresh '' rating at Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 9 / 10. Its consensus states : `` The onscreen battle between Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher serves as a personal microcosm of the culture wars of the 1970s - and testament to the director 's vision that the film retains its power more than three decades later. '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest is considered to be one of the greatest American films. Ken Kesey participated in the early stages of script development, but withdrew after creative differences with the producers over casting and narrative point of view ; ultimately he filed suit against the production and won a settlement. Kesey himself claimed never to have seen the movie, but said he disliked what he knew of it, a fact confirmed by Chuck Palahniuk who wrote, `` The first time I heard this story, it was through the movie starring Jack Nicholson. A movie that Kesey once told me he disliked. '' In 1993, this film was deemed `` culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant '' by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry. Awards and honors Award Nominee Result Academy Award Academy Award for Best Picture Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz Won Academy Award for Best Director Miloš Forman Won Academy Award for Best Actor Jack Nicholson Won Academy Award for Best Actress Louise Fletcher Won Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman Won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Brad Dourif Nominated Academy Award for Best Cinematography Haskell Wexler and Bill Butler Nominated Academy Award for Film Editing Richard Chew, Lyzee Klingman and Sheldon Kahn Nominated Academy Award for Original Music Score Jack Nitzsche Nominated Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz Won Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture Miloš Forman Won Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Jack Nicholson Won Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Louise Fletcher Won Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman Won Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor Brad Dourif Won BAFTA Award BAFTA Award for Best Film Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz Won BAFTA Award for Best Direction Miloš Forman Won BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Jack Nicholson Won BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Louise Fletcher Won BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Brad Dourif Won BAFTA Award for Best Editing Richard Chew, Lynzee Klingman and Sheldon Kahn Won BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography Haskell Wexler and Bill Butler Nominated BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman Nominated Others American Film Institute AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Movies - # 20 AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains : Nurse Ratched - # 5 Villain Randle Patrick McMurphy - Nominated Hero AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Cheers - # 17 AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Movies ( 10th Anniversary Edition ) - # 33 See also Film in the United States portal 1970s portal Mental illness in film List of Academy Award records White savior narrative in film References ^ Jump up to : Townsend, Sylvia ( 19 December 2014 ). `` Haskell Wexler and the Making of ' One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ' ''. Retrieved 13 April 2015. Jump up ^ Chew was listed as `` supervising editor '' in the film 's credits, but was included in the nomination for an editing Academy Award. Jump up ^ `` One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest, Box Office Information ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 22, 2012. ^ Jump up to : Hood, Phil ( April 11, 2017 ). `` Michael Douglas : how we made One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ''. The Guardian. Retrieved April 13, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Walker, Tim ( January 22, 2016 ). `` One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest : Louise Fletcher recalls the impact of landing the Oscar - winning role of Nurse Ratched ''. The Independent. Retrieved April 14, 2017. Jump up ^ One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest at the American Film Institute Jump up ^ Story Notes for One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest Jump up ^ `` Hollywood 's Love Affair with Oregon Coast Continues ''. Retrieved 15 June 2015. Jump up ^ Oregon State Hospital - A documentary film ( Mental Health Association of Portland ) Jump up ^ Anderson, John. `` Haskell Wexler, Oscar - Winning Cinematographer, Dies at 93. '' The New York Times, December 27, 2015. Jump up ^ Suntimes.com - Roger Ebert review, Chicago Sun - Times, January 1, 1975 Jump up ^ Suntimes.com - Roger Ebert review, Chicago Sun - Times, February 2, 2003. Jump up ^ Variety.com - A.D. Murphy, Variety, November 7, 1975 Jump up ^ Canby, Vincent ( November 28, 1975 ). `` Critic 's Pick : One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ AllMusic : Review by Steven McDonald Jump up ^ `` One Flew over the Cuckoo 's Nest Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes ''. Retrieved 2010 - 08 - 19. Jump up ^ Carnes, Mark Christopher, Paul R. Betz, et al. ( 1999 ). American National Biography, Volume 26. New York : Oxford University Press USA. ISBN 0 - 19 - 522202 - 4. p. 312, Jump up ^ Carnes, p. 312 Jump up ^ Foreword of One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest, Copyright 2007 by Chuck Palahniuk. Available in the 2007 Edition published by Penguin Books Jump up ^ `` U.S. National Film Registry -- Titles ''. Retrieved September 2, 2016. Jump up ^ AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains Nominees External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ( film ). Wikiquote has quotations related to : One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest on IMDb One Flew Over The Cuckoo 's Nest at the TCM Movie Database One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest at Rotten Tomatoes One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest at Box Office Mojo Films directed by Miloš Forman Black Peter ( 1964 ) Loves of a Blonde ( 1965 ) The Firemen 's Ball ( 1967 ) Taking Off ( 1971 ) Visions of Eight ( 1973 ) One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ( 1975 ) Hair ( 1979 ) Ragtime ( 1981 ) Amadeus ( 1984 ) Valmont ( 1989 ) The People vs. Larry Flynt ( 1996 ) Man on the Moon ( 1999 ) Goya 's Ghosts ( 2006 ) Ken Kesey 's One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest Novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest Adaptations One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ( 1963 play ) One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ( 1975 film ) Thalavattam ( 1986 film ) Manasukkul Mathappu ( 1988 film ) Kyon Ki ( 2005 film ) Characters Randle McMurphy Nurse Ratched See also Institutionalisation Ken Kesey Novels One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ( 1962 ) Sometimes a Great Notion ( 1964 ) Caverns ( 1989 ) Little Tricker the Squirrel Meets Big Double the Bear ( 1990 ) Sailor Song ( 1992 ) Last Go Round with Ken Babbs ( 1994 ) Collections Kesey 's Garage Sale ( 1973 ) Demon Box ( 1986 ) Kesey 's Jail Journal ( 2003 ) Plays Over the Border ( 1973 ) The Furthur Enquiry ( 1990 ) Twister ( 1999 ) Adaptations One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ( 1963 play ) Sometimes a Great Notion ( 1971 film ) One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ( 1975 film ) Related Merry Pranksters Further bus Acid Tests Neal Cassady Carolyn Garcia Lee Quarnstrom Ken Babbs Paul Foster The Electric Kool - Aid Acid Test Kesey Square Magic Trip The Storyteller : Ken Kesey Memorial Awards for One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest Academy Award for Best Picture 1927 / 28 -- 1950 Wings ( 1927 / 28 ) The Broadway Melody ( 1928 / 29 ) All Quiet on the Western Front ( 1929 / 30 ) Cimarron ( 1930 / 31 ) Grand Hotel ( 1931 / 32 ) Cavalcade ( 1932 / 33 ) It Happened One Night ( 1934 ) Mutiny on the Bounty ( 1935 ) The Great Ziegfeld ( 1936 ) The Life of Emile Zola ( 1937 ) You Ca n't Take It with You ( 1938 ) Gone with the Wind ( 1939 ) Rebecca ( 1940 ) How Green Was My Valley ( 1941 ) Mrs. Miniver ( 1942 ) Casablanca ( 1943 ) Going My Way ( 1944 ) The Lost Weekend ( 1945 ) The Best Years of Our Lives ( 1946 ) Gentleman 's Agreement ( 1947 ) Hamlet ( 1948 ) All the King 's Men ( 1949 ) All About Eve ( 1950 ) 1951 -- 1975 An American in Paris ( 1951 ) The Greatest Show on Earth ( 1952 ) From Here to Eternity ( 1953 ) On the Waterfront ( 1954 ) Marty ( 1955 ) Around the World in 80 Days ( 1956 ) The Bridge on the River Kwai ( 1957 ) Gigi ( 1958 ) Ben - Hur ( 1959 ) The Apartment ( 1960 ) West Side Story ( 1961 ) Lawrence of Arabia ( 1962 ) Tom Jones ( 1963 ) My Fair Lady ( 1964 ) The Sound of Music ( 1965 ) A Man for All Seasons ( 1966 ) In the Heat of the Night ( 1967 ) Oliver ! 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Question: who wrote one flew over the coocoos nest
Answer: Ken Kesey