One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Masterpiece directed by Miloš Forman and adapted from Ken Kesey’s novel.

Jack Nicholson stars as McMurphy, who is committed to a mental hospital after faking insanity. There, he disrupts the routine maintained by the controlling Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) and gives the other patients a sense of liberation through his freewheeling attitude and irreverent humour. 

It’s incredibly moving. As a human drama it is heartbreaking. It also tackles themes of power, identity and freedom, but in a subtle and sometimes darkly amusing way.

The in-mates, played by actors including Christopher Lloyd and Danny DeVito, are fully fleshed-out characters in their own right, adding real depth to the drama. Will Sampson has huge presence as the "Chief", who pretends to be deaf and dumb. Brad Dourif is superb playing the frail, stuttering Billy Bibbit, whose fears are exploited with devastating consequences. And Jack Nicholson is almost supernaturally potent in the lead role. You cannot take your eyes off him.

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