“Flying Over the Cuckoo's Nest” is one of the best works of contemporary American literature. The film adaptation of Ken Kesey's book has become a classic movie. How did American society perceive the film about the tragic fate of the rebel, and what were the reviews? “Flying Over the Cuckoo's Nest” is the topic of this article.
Background
The story of the creation of the film that conquered the whole world is not simple. Ken Kesey’s novel received rather conflicting reviews. “Flying Over the Cuckoo's Nest” is the book that has become the main one for American hippies. Perhaps the theme of the declaration of freedom turned out to be overly bold for Western society. And perhaps the deep philosophical idea was not available to the producers of the sixties. One way or another, Kirk Douglas, who bought the rights to staging this work, could not start the film. Although the performance was a success for him ... However, the American theater audience reacted coldly to the story of the psychiatric hospital.
The stage production did not satisfy Douglas, and he made several attempts to get the opportunity to make a film. Once I even contacted Milos Forman, because it was he who saw him as the director of the future film. Douglas sent the Czech film maker Kesey's book in the mail. But she did not reach the addressee. The dream of filming a book would be safely forgotten if the person who had cherished it for so long had no stubborn and talented son.
Michael Douglas was able to get this thing off the ground after his father finally despaired. The young actor went around all the leading film studios. The producers, who had the opportunity to participate in the creation of a true work of cinema, read the script. And what were their reviews? “Flying over the cuckoo’s nest,” they, oddly enough, perceived as something unpromising. And only Sol Zentz appreciated the material.
Scenario
The creators of the film at the beginning of their difficult journey decided that the film would be low budget. And therefore, they did not begin to attract actors with huge ambitions and organize complex scenes. But first you had to write a script. This case, Douglas and Zentz entrusted to the author of the book of the same name. Kesey spent several months writing the script, but since he was a man far from the movie, his work was in vain. According to the writer, the film was impossible to make. Therefore, Lawrence Hauben took up the matter. By the way, Ken Kesey left negative reviews about the script and the film.
“Flying Over the Cuckoo's Nest” is a book in which the main character is Leader Bromden. In the film of the same name, this character faded into the background. The painting, which has received many awards and in this sense has become even unique in the world of cinema, is a striking event in art. However, it lacks the deep psychologism that the author achieved through a special technique. Kesey in his novel portrayed events through the prism of a mentally ill person. The vision of the world around him through the eyes of the Leader is what the writer's artistic plan is based on.
Movie budget
No matter how hard the filmmakers tried to save on the actors' work, a third of the budget had to be spent on Jack Nicholson. Although the total cost of the production was only three million. This budget is meager. Especially considering that he collected more than one hundred million dollars. The director was still Milos Forman. Prior to filming, he was unemployed for a long time. And this became a decisive factor in his agreement, even despite the low fee.
The shooting of the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” continued for only a few months. 1975 was the year of the release of the film, which went down in history. Only two films have ever won so many awards.
Scenery
In fact, they were not needed. Because in a real clinic for the mentally ill, the film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was shot. The summary of the book at the time of the creation of the film was familiar to many. And among young people, Kesey’s novel was incredibly popular. Specialists in the field of psychiatry, by the way, did not like the film for obvious reasons. But it was after the release of the picture for rent. And before starting work on the film, the management of one of the hospitals in Oregon still agreed to provide a room for filming. Perhaps the hospital staff had only an approximate concept regarding the plot of the film. After all, after his release on the screens in American society, a very negative opinion about their activities began to develop.
Casting
Milos Forman is a director who was extremely reverent about creating an image on the screen. Perhaps that is why the formation of the cast took more than a year. In the image of the protagonist, according to Foreman, a recognizable but not famous person should appear on the screen. The roles of the remaining characters were assigned to completely unknown actors, but with a special specific appearance. The viewer should have the feeling that he was in an unknown, distant world. World psychiatric hospital.
McMurphy
There were many applicants for the role of the protagonist. Among them: Marlon Brando, Steve McQueen, John Voight, Jack Nicholson. Foreman, as you know, made a choice in favor of the latter. Today it seems obvious that it was this actor who played the role of a quick-tempered and freedom-loving adventurer. But Jack Nicholson as McMurphy is the find of a talented director. It was thanks to Foreman's special vision that the film received so many awards.
Sister ratched
The most terrible evil is one that is outwardly difficult to recognize. Such thoughts come to mind after reading Kesey's book. Sister Ratched personifies a decent but cruel society that kills a person’s will and desire for freedom. For the main female role, Milos Forman initially intended to take an actress with a pronounced sinister role. However, the choice was stopped by Louise Fletcher. And I was not mistaken. The image that this actress created on the screen is truly intimidating. A pretty blonde who is convinced of her important mission and leads others to believe in it. The evil of the heroine is not obvious. And that’s why it’s even worse.
Hospital staff
It is noteworthy that some employees of the hospital were played by far from professional actors. So, Dean R. Brooks played the role of chief physician. This character is not central. He, along with other representatives of the medical staff, creates a peculiar background. On the set of the film, Foreman not only did not insist that amateur actors learn words. The director even asked them to come up with a few cues.
Patients
Foreman selected the supporting actors so meticulously that he had to review about three thousand candidates. As a result of laborious work, the owners of the most colorful appearance were selected. For many of them, filming in a film based on Ken Kesey’s novel has become iconic in fate. Danny De Vito, Christopher Lloyd, Brada Durif and Sidney Lassica began with this picture of his acting career.
Douglas, who, as already mentioned, had experience in staging a play based on Kesey's work, suggested that the director take one of the actors who were involved in the play for the role of Martini. The role of a quiet and peaceful madman named Martini was played by Danny De Vito. In the mid-seventies, this actor was still young and unknown to anyone. The role of another patient was played by William Redfield. For this actor, working with Foreman was not the first professional experience. In the film about the psychiatric hospital, he played his last role. William Redfield passed away a year after the release of the movie “Flying Over the Cuckoo's Nest”.
Milos Forman was a fan of improvisation. He was constantly in search of a natural frame, for which he often turned on the camera without the knowledge of the actors. Freedom is the most important thing that a person has. This is the main point of Ken Kesey's book. And perhaps it is precisely in the pursuit of absolute creative freedom that the success of the film by Milos Forman lies.