Actors "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", crew, film plot

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Randle Patrick McMurphy is a loner and a rebel who perfectly fits the spirit of America in the 60s. The role was played by Jack Nicholson, for whom this topic is close, later he received many well-deserved awards for it. The film was directed by Milos Forman. He was always excited and interested in the counterculture, the struggle of the loner against society, so this work is distinguished by its versatility. It would seem that in a psychiatric hospital he can find peace, but here the inevitable happens.

History of Creation

Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was published in 1962 and became an instant hit. Over the next ten years, it was reprinted in the United States of America more than twenty times. And a year later, Kirk Douglas first staged a play on Broadway, he also played the main male role. But the project was not able to achieve the same success as the book, and received lukewarm reviews from critics.

In 1964, Douglas arrived in Czechoslovakia, where he met the director Milos Forman, with whom he negotiated the possibility of filming a film for the first time. Returning home, Douglas sendsa publication that never reached the recipient because it was confiscated at customs.

Kirk aspired to be a producer and play the role of McMurphy, but due to many obstacles, this dream was not destined to come true. Film companies were unwilling to give funds for the creation of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", the film was considered a failure in terms of commercial income. The topic seemed too bold. This angered Douglas, who lamented that he was bringing true classics that the film companies couldn't understand.

Movie plot

To avoid prison sentence, McMurphy decides to pretend to be mentally ill, wanting to achieve more comfortable conditions for himself, believing that he will be able to escape at the first opportunity. He does not yet realize how deluded he is.

In the department, he sees his rules, which were established by Nurse Ratched. Risking everything, he tries to break the system, go against the staff and at the same time be able to keep his mind. All his incredible antics bring only benefits, he helps other patients, arranges gambling, constantly jokes. Some of them are even on the mend. But it's hard for one person to go against the crowd.

Working on the script

In 1971, Kirk decides to sell the film rights. When his son Michael shows interest, having no experience, he decides to try his luck. Together with producer Solo Zanz and a small film company Fantasy Films, with a small amount of money in reserve, they begin work on the project.

The script was offered to write the author of the book, Ken Kesey. He spent about eight months on the job. But as a result, he gave out something absolutely unsatisfactory for employers, similar in atmosphere to the "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", which did not at all coincide with the idea and understanding of the producers. And most importantly, the filmmakers saw McMurphy as the main character, believing that the work should be conducted on behalf of a mentally he althy person. But Kesey wanted the Leader to remain the narrator of the work. The author never acknowledged the movie version, and was offended by the creators.

The script was entrusted to Lores Hauben. It was with this version that the search for a director began. Other candidates were considered, but Milos Forman was preferred, as he is talented, experienced, and also charged inexpensively for his work. At that time, he immigrated to America and managed to shoot one unsuccessful picture. And he was in such a distressed situation and without a job that he even thought about returning to his homeland.

As Michael and Solo remember, he was the only one who initially had a plan and a step-by-step vision of the picture. Moreover, Michael did not know that his father had already negotiated with this director. It became a curious accident. The first thing the director did was once again rewrite the script for the film with Beau Goldman, at that time just a novice author.

Character selection

Foreman is extremely scrupulous about the selection of actors, so the casting of the film “One Flew Over the Nest” lasted for a whole yearcuckoo. Jack Nicholson was originally the number one contender for the lead role. He perfectly matched all the requirements of the producer, a famous but underpaid star.

Unlike the role of McMurphy, where the actor was decided almost immediately, castings for Ratched's sister lasted a long time. At the beginning of the selection, the director tried Ann Bancroft, Colleen Dewhurst, Ellen Burstyn, Geraldine Page and Angela Lansbury for this role, whose actresses are usually seen in negative roles. They also refused to shoot as they got acquainted with the script.

But in the process of working on the picture, Foreman comes up with the idea that this role should be played by an actress who will initially please the viewer, he will be imbued with sympathy for her, but only as he gets to know the character he realizes that evil is not always obvious. An acquaintance of the director, Louise Fletcher, asked for a long time to go through a casting for the role of Sister Ratched. It was she who, with perfect and beautiful features, like a porcelain doll, fit perfectly.

Supporting Actors

According to the director's idea, the roles of secondary characters were played by unknown actors. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is filled with characters in which it is difficult for the viewer to navigate. Therefore, each of them should be bright, memorable and charismatic. So debuted in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" Brad Dourif, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Sidney Lassik.

There were considerable difficulties in deciding who would play the role of the Leader. Since, according to the description, it should be two meters high, and the native Indians, on the contrary, were distinguished by their short stature. Therefore, this role was played by non-professional actor Will Sampson.

In general, more than 3,000 performers passed the auditions, and as a result, the best actors were selected. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has become an indispensable experience for many.

Filming location

And in January 1975, the film crew began work on the project, which lasted for three months. Curiously, the shooting took place in a real psychiatric hospital in the city of Salem, Oregon. As it turned out, the medical staff was a fan of the work of Ken Kesey, so a whole empty wing was allocated for filming. Subsequently, the role of the doctor was actually played by the head doctor of the hospital, he also acted as a consultant. And real patients were filmed in the extras, they were also involved as assistants.

The entire film crew practically lived in the wards, and by the end of the filming of the project, some did not even go to sleep in their hotel rooms. The visiting relatives began to worry in earnest about the psychological he alth of their loved ones, so vividly the actors of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" entered the image. Jack Nicholson, who arrived at the shooting later than the rest, was not even immediately able to distinguish the real mentally ill from the cast. Foreman instructed the artists to watch the realpatients, copy their conversation, habits, manners.

Shooting process

The filming process was quite interesting, the actors did not always know when the cameras were on. Milos is close to the documentary genre, so he considered it especially valuable to film the natural reaction of a person. Like when McMurphy comes back from being electrocuted. In fact, Louise Fletcher is shown reacting to the instructions of the project leaders.

At the request of the director, the cast of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest constantly improvised. This method was especially close to Jack Nicholson. Often in the middle of the filming process, he changed lines, did things unplanned by the script. Despite the fact that they agreed on the filming process, they saw the overall concept of the film differently, and by the end of filming, they did not even communicate.

Premier and awards

In November 1975, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" premiered. The film won an incredible success, crowded halls, enthusiastic critics. In America alone, he collected a box office of 109 million dollars, while the film as a whole was spent 3 million.

For One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Jack Nicholson won his first Oscar statuette. It was also one of only three films to win the Big Five at the awards.