"A criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rebels against the oppressive nurse and rallies up the scared patients"
This is another film from 1975, going one better than Jaws, and winning the Best Picture Oscar at the 1976 (48th Academy Awards - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/48th_Academy_Awards) .
And with good reason! Rated 8.7 on imdb.com (with a personal rating of 10/10), this is the complete package of a film. At times haunting, at times cheerful, it's a mixture of the pure and the complex with one of the greatest endings to a film, at least in cinematic terms, of all time.
Why do I like this film?
Nurse Ratched is one of the most sinister characters to be portrayed on screen, brilliantly played by Louise Fletcher.
Jack Nicholson is scintillatingly. Enthusasitc, caring, wonderfully rebellious.
The eerie setting.
The on point ensemble from other greats such as Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Sydney Lassick, Will Sampson, and more. There's just such an array of talent.
The sterile music that whispers in the background.
Was made after the original book was banned. Take that authority!
The artistry of the of the direction.
The fact that the only sane person in the whole place (including the nurses) is the one who is chastised for being disruptive.
There's a great deal in sadness of how these institutes aren't there to actually help, yet investigate, store, and condemn those with mental health issues.
Billy's transformation.
The basketball matches.
The water fountain!
The insight into how authority can corrupt.
Showcasing how good intentions can pave the way to hell.
Anyway, there's a lot packed into the two hours and if you haven't seen it yet, make sure you do soon. The book, I'm told, is equally excellent and is definitely on my reading list for the future.
If you like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, tell me your favourite part in the comments.
Team Urban Anker.
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