One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
 Randle
McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is a drifter who pretends to be mentally
ill in order to get out of work duty in prison. He is sent to a
mental ward ruled by the tyrannical Nurse Ratched (Louise
Fletcher) who regiments the lives of the patients without helping
them at all.
McMurphy sees the absurdity of the situation and becomes the
patients' symbol of nonconformity and rebellion. Much of the film
thereafter has a comic tone, but the results of McMurphy's actions
are ultimately tragic.
Nicholson was born to play the role of fast-talking R.O.
McMurphy, the free-spirited fighter of the system.
For a while it is McMurphy's energy that dominates the film.
When the TV set is switched off he improvises a manic commentary
on the World Series for the other inmates.
In a basketball game between the male nurses and the inmates,
he strategically uses the huge Indian (Will Sampson) to win the
game.
The audience was incredibly lifted and amused by such
instances, which makes the eventual fate of McMurphy (lobotomy for
his attempted murder of Nurse Ratched) all the more
horrifying.
But the film ends on a triumphant note. In a sense picking up
the torch that McMurphy has let fall, the Indian takes the marble
stand from the washroom that McMurphy had earlier tried to lift,
hurls it through a window, and runs for freedom
Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman adapted the script from the
original novel by Ken Kesey. For many years, Kirk Douglas owned
the rights to the novel, and when he grew too old to play the
rebellious McMurphy, he passed the project on to his
actor/producer son Michael, who cast Jack Nicholson in the role.
Cuckoo's Nest won five Oscars: Best Picture; Best Script; Best
Director; Best Actor (Nicholson); and Best Actress
(Fletcher).
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