One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Have you ever had one of those films that you knew was great, but you didn't watch it for far too long? One of those films that you would recommend to friends, family, and cinemaphiles alike, but keep not watching? Well, one of those classic greats happens to be One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest for yours truly, as it is one of my most commonly recommended films about the good old underdog story, but a film that I haven’t watched since my early 20s (which was about 20 years ago, I believe). A faux pas that I have now remedied with Warner Bro’s remaster and re-release of the 2008 Blu-ray (which I weirdly never picked up. My last owned copy was the special edition DVD that is stuck in a storage box somewhere) that was released yesterday.

For many of us, mental asylums are something that we’ve seen on film or heard about from our parents, but never experienced them being open ourselves. Being an elder millennial, I remember the stories of how bad they were, but by the time the 1990s had rolled around, pretty much every institution except for a very few specialized ones was all closed down. But from those stories, it’s not hard to understand why there was such a push to have them closed down (despite there being a need for them, which has become ever more obvious in the decades after their closure). Abuse was rampant. People were put in them for cooked-up reasons (sometimes), and human nature's inevitable lust for power and control led to the abuses becoming the norm rather than the rarity. Thus, it’s not hard to see why writer Ken Kessey used the structure of a mental asylum as the framework for his introspective novel on power and hope.

Jack Nicholson is Randle McMurphy, a convicted criminal who is trying to cop an insanity plea to get out of a hard work gang detail after his incarceration. Transferred to a mental asylum for study to see whether he’s fit to finish his sentence, Randle hams it up in hopes of living out the remainder of his incarceration living the easy life in the loony bin. Acting his con man type, Randle tries to “act” a bit cuckoo, angrily ranting at strict Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), and doing his best to alleviate the boredom by rallying the rest of the patients there into forming some sort of entertainment. But every step he takes forward, Randle is kicked back in his place by Nurse Ratched and her orderlies.

Despite being a bit of a con man in his attempts at avoiding punishment, Randle is put off by the strict nurse and her seemingly cruel treatment of the patients. Every attempt to push back on her is met with even stricter punishment, and before you know it, Randle is less concerned with living out his sentence in ease, but instead as an advocate for the men around him. Hey, he’s crazy, right? They can’t do anything to him? Well, that gives the con man the brilliant idea to break out of the institution with his inmates, head down to the docks, and steal (err...borrow) a fishing boat for the day and give the boys some fun. But his plans backfire when Nurse Ratched and the doctors decide NOT to send Randle back up the river to the prison facility, but instead, knowingly commit him permanently as a form of punishment, without reprieve, parole, or even a chance to get out.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is punk rock without the weird hair and loud music. It’s a tale of literal rebellion against power and control, told through the easily accessible lens of a mental institution. Randle himself is a tragic figure, both villain and hero, who sees the injustice of what is happening to the men around him. Knowingly a bit of a scumbag, but one who can’t stand cruelty and injustice. The first half of the film showcases him as the wheedling and conniving con man that he knows he is. Dancing around the asylum like it’s his own private palace; pushing back on the nurses and doctors as he thinks he’s untouchable. Simultaneously, we see the strictness of Nurse Ratched, and actually sympathize with her. She may be strict, but she seems fair enough, and in most cases, you can understand why. She has to maintain a strict sense of rigidity and structure so that the mentally ill patients can function properly and not lose what little control they have over their psyche.

But it’s the 2nd half of the film, after the boating incident, where the film changes tone and direction. Randle’s own misgivings about Nurse Ratched are proven true when his punishment comes around. The Nurse knows full well that he’s not crazy, but instead of passing him back up the line to his jail cell, where he belongs, she decides to invoke her own self-righteous punishment, advocating for him to be kept in the mental institution so that she can “work on him”. With his bubble broken, Randle himself begins to see his small world through the lens of kinder eyes, forgoing his self-actions of the first half as he tries to give hope and humanity back to the beaten town patients who are forced to take the same meds and the same routine every day. This isn’t an institution of healing, but rather one that strips the little humanity these ill people have left. That boat trip gave more hope and joy to the inmates than anything the asylum has done for them, and lit a fire under McMurphy’s crude sense of justice. Unfortunately for him, Nurse Ratched’s cruelty and desire for control over these men is the central focus of the 2nd half, pitting him against an opponent who wants to keep him and everyone underneath her in a perpetual state of servitude. Embodying the age-old statement of “I don’t care whether you like me or not. I care whether you obey me”.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is an unbelievably uplifting story, despite the drab trappings of the mental institution. Jack Nicholson was absolutely born to play this role, and he gives it his all, with an incredible performance that makes you actually wonder if he’s insane or not. The rest of the film is a star-studded cast of classic Hollywood actors, and an entire litany of up-and-comers, including Danny DeVito (who’s almost unrecognizable), Christopher Lloyd, a baby Brad Dourif, and many more. Simply put, this is an amazing story of one man’s struggle against overreaching authority, pushing boundaries, and fighting back against power that wishes to stifle the human spirit. It’s probably one of the few perfect movies out there, and it still remains awe-inspiring to this day.




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

The highlight of the film is the brand new restoration that happened a few months ago by the Academy Film Archive, overseen by the film’s producer, Paul Zaentz. Going back to the original 35mm OCN, we get a brand new scan with additional cleanup and a nice, subtle HDR application that nets this one of the best restorations in the last few years. I haven’t seen the Blu-ray to compare, but the 4K UHD detail levels are amazing and organic, giving us a very filmic look that maintains a tight grain structure. I never noticed any swarming or frozen grain, and the facial details and detail levels of the asylum look great. The film has always been a bit dim and grungy, with slightly crushed blacks, but the new 4K image is surprisingly clear, despite the dimming that is pretty normal with HDR/Dolby Vision enhancements. The film is dark and sometimes dreary, with that heavy-handed coloring from 1970s filmmaking. The HDR is subtle, adding depth to the shadowy bits, and some really bright highlights when Randle takes the inmates out fishing. Honestly, this is a perfect-looking dish, and Warner Bro’s should be proud of this one.







Audio:

Now, here comes the fun part. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest comes with dual audio options. A 5.1 DTS-HD MA track that is basically the same 5.1 home video mix we’ve had for years, and a track labeled “2.0 Mono Theatrical”. However, this track is really not the original Mono mix, but sourced from an older home video release due to the fact that the original audio elements had suffered too much damage to be restored. And the 5.1 mix is one of those controversial mixes ala S7even and the like, where liberal adjustments were made, and audio cues were lost or additions made that weren’t there originally. As such, some people are going to be fine with it, while others are going to be sadly frustrated.

The 5.1 mix is a solid enough mix, with good dialog representation and a strong presence in the surrounds when the asylum music is blasting over the speakers, or the open sea when Randle takes the men out for a jaunt. Bass is not exactly wild, but it certainly seems to be robust when they’re reeling in the deep-sea fish that they catch. Overall, it’s a perfectly pleasant mix with no real major imperfections, but I have to dock it a full half point for the weird audio changes they made for the home video release (there’s a scene where he throws something out a window, and you don’t actually hear the crash, and many others are very slightly altered). The 2.0 track is decent, but feels a tad muted as well.








Extras:

• NEW Conversations on Cuckoo: Group Therapy - Producer Michael Douglas leads a star-studded conversation with Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, and Brad Dourif on the unorthodox casting process that launched the careers of the famous ensemble fifty years ago.
• NEW Conversations on Cuckoo: Moviemaking Memories - Memories of working with Jack Nicholson and director Miloš Forman and filming the Academy Award-winning film are shared by Producer Michael Douglas and cast members Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, and Brad Dourif.
• Completely Cuckoo - A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the making of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, tracing the path from Ken Kesey's 1962 novel to the 1963 Broadway play starring Kirk Douglas to the 1975 film that would sweep that year's Academy Awards
• Deleted Scenes
-- Pecking Party (2:17)
-- Where are your Clothes? (1:50)
-- Meet Nurse Ratched (1:39)
-- First Group Therapy (2:36)
-- Shaving Chief (0:49)

Final Score: ​

Milo Forman’s fantastic direction made this a treat to behold, and one of the few films relating to rebelling against the man that is more accessible than your average “punk” type of film. Nicholson was born to play his Oscar-nominated role, giving us his version of DeNiro’s Taxi with all the flair and spice that he’s known for. The 4K UHD disc looks great, has a bit of a controversial sound issue, and actually has some reasonable extras. My one complaint is that I wish Warner had included the now out-of-print Blu-ray in the set as well, but that’s a minor collector’s quibble more than anything. Absolutely Must Buy.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Louise Fletcher, Brad Dourif
Directed by: Milos Forman
Written by: Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman, Ken Kesey
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin), Italian DD Mono
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Warner Bro's
Rated: R
Runtime: 133 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 11th, 2025

Recommendation: Great Buy

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