Film Review
Fifty years ago, mental illness was treated very differently in this Country than it is today. Mentally ill patients were seen as less than human beings who were frequently locked up in mental hospitals and medicated to keep them calm. After working in one of these hospitals, author Ken Kesey wrote a novel about his experience there called One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which was later adapted into a play and then a feature film. Starring Jack Nicholson (As Good As It Gets) in the title role, the movie was critically acclaimed and won five Oscar awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress. In celebration of the film's golden anniversary, Warner Bros. is releasing the movie in 4K for the first time.
R.P. McMurphy (Nicholson) is sentenced to a work farm after he was caught having sex with an underage girl. However, after acting out at the farm, he is sent to a mental hospital to be evaluated. Once there, he begins causing problems as he continually antagonizes the head nurse, Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher; Flowers in the Attic), and stirs up the other patients. However, his attitude changes once he discovers that, unlike jail, the hospital can keep them as long as they want. Suddenly, he wants to leave and plans to escape after throwing a party on the ward. This doesn't end up going as planned, and McMurphy ends up on the floor for the disturbed patients, where he is lobotomized.
Nicholson was the perfect person to portray McMurphy, the troubled man who, at the end of the day, is a criminal who really doesn't care about the consequences of his actions. His portrayal was so strong that there were moments where one had to wonder if his character really wasn't perhaps a little bit mentally ill. The rest of the cast was also very strong, which only added to the overall quality go the movie. Among the cast was Christopher Lloyd (The Back to the Future Franchise), Danny DeVito (Batman Returns), Fletcher, William Redfield (Death Wish), and Sydney Lassick (Deep Cover).
This new 4K release offers a 2160p resolution with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio that gives the film a decent yet somewhat grainy look. While it does give the movie some authenticity, it can be bothersome, too. The color palette tends to consist of drab and muted colors (think institutional beige), but the remastered disc does help them to pop, if rather mildly.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 makes the most of what it has to work with. There are times when the surround sound adds some depth, but there is only so much that can be done with an original that was recorded in mono. The dialogue is front and center, as is usual with most films, but certainly for one that is 50 years old.
One nice thing about the extras is that there is a new Zoom conversation that takes place between the film's producer, Michael Douglas (Wall Street), Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, and Brad Dourif (Child's Play), who played Billy Bibbit in the movie. The extras include: NEW! Retrospective Featurettes - Conversations on Cuckoo: Group Therapy and Conversations on Cuckoo: Moviemaking Memories, as well as previously released extras - Completely Cuckoo and Deleted Scenes.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is considered a classic, has been included in the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in its National Film Registry. The performances are what makes the movie so good despite the harsh subject matter it addresses. A film such as this would never be made in today's climate, but it is a rather accurate portrayal of mental health treatments of the 1960s and 1970s, and as a multiple Oscar-winning movie, any film enthusiast will want to own it in 4K.
Grade: A-
