One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

There isn’t much to add. The label of one of the best films in history is very well deserved, as well as the five Oscars in the five major categories. It revitalised Miloš Forman's career in an incredible way, helping him rise to the position of a respected and successful great director. But where would this film be with a different cast? The praise here is not only due to Jack Nicholson, whose performance is brilliant and heartfelt, and I rank it among the best I've ever seen, but also to the other actors involved, who are incredible as the madmen and give the film a distinct authenticity and power. The story is precisely written and directed, Louise Fletcher is both charming and devilish at the same time, and the ending is an unforgettable experience that everyone should savour. (02/08/2012)

Excellent, but I can’t give it a full score, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest didn’t impress me enough for that. Besides, I doubt the film was supposed to make me sympathise with the character of Louise Fletcher, and that Nicholson’s character was supposed to get on my nerves. The nuthouse is a brilliantly depressive setting, but the film never managed to transmit that very well to me as a viewer. It just failed to leave me with that unique 100% impression. 85% (09/16/2008)

Clearly the best Forman, the best Nicholson, and one of the most respected works by me. If I had to objectively say one film that deserves the highest rating from everyone, I would say it's precisely "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". The actors compete to play better - whether it's Randall, the head nurse, or any of the other crazies, they are all incredibly believable. For me, it was the best Indian, also because of the ending, where my jaw dropped and stayed there for a long time. (12/31/2005)

An inexpressible acting and directing concerto, based on an excellent book and a great script. It's hard to say to whom to most "attribute" the suggestiveness of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, whether the actor ensemble, who spent several weeks behind the walls of the world of "abnormality" to absorb the color there (and they succeeded perfectly), or Miloš Forman, whose sensitive and basically inconspicuous but perfectly well-established direction give the film a touch of quiet, subliminal drama, which reaches its greatest intensity in the group therapy scenes... Perhaps the most appropriate conclusion is that One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a perfectly coordinated symphony of all instruments, dominated by the solo parts of Jack Nicholson (incredibly natural and truly manic) and Louise Fletcher (whose beautiful façade hides a minimalist, gruesome interior). The quiet struggle of these two elements – the noisy bon vivant and troublemaker McMurphy and the despotic ruler of the Ratched sisters perfectly complements the smaller but all the more respectable acting party of the department's inmates. Miloš Forman moves in the world of the "crazies" with absolute clarity, with a documentary overview and flawless feeling for the inner drama of the characters. Years later, this image of individual freedom and joy of living in the midst of a world that eats its inhabitants mercilessly is still much better than everything that has been filmed on the subject (including the calculated The Shawshank Redemption). (03/13/2005)

Miracles happen sometimes. This low-budget film nobody expected anything from and by a director with almost no reputation, went on to become a worldwide hit, winner of five major Oscars and a pearl of world cinema. Louise Fletcher, as Nurse Mildred, is one of the most repulsive creatures and the final scene one of the most emotional and moving in the history of cinema. (04/13/2003)