One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Image
See the trailer
Metascore
79 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.7 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 114 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Starring: Louise Fletcher
  • Summary: A nice rest in a state mental hospital beats a stretch in the pen, right? Randle P. McMurphy (Nicholson), a free-spirited con with lightning in his veins and glib on his tongue, fakes insanity and moves in with what he calls the "nuts." Immediately, his contagious sense of disorder runs up against numbing routine. No way should guys pickled on sedatives shuffle around in bathrobes when the World Series is on. This means war! On one side is McMurphy. On the other is soft-spoken Nurse Ratched (Fletcher), among the most coldly monstrous villains in film history. At stake is the fate of every patient on the ward. (Warner Bros.)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    100
    A masterpiece. (9 Jan 1998, p.3D)
    All this critic's reviews
  2. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    80
    Jarring and electrifying drama.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    So good in so many of its parts that there's a temptation to forgive it when it goes wrong. But it does go wrong, insisting on making larger points than its story really should carry, so that at the end, the human qualities of the characters get lost in the significance of it all. And yet there are those moments of brilliance.
  4. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Vincent Canby
    70
    A comedy that can't quite support its tragic conclusion, which is too schematic to be honestly moving, but it is acted with such a sense of life that one responds to its demonstration of humanity if not to its programmed metaphors.

See all 7 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. DamienDarko777
    10
    A classic. Deeply moving, funny, and heartbreaking. What seems a simple story of a misfit stuck in the system is magnified into an epic power struggle that reveals both the heights and depths of human nature. Movies don't get any better than this.… Expand
  2. rollingstone82
    10
    One of the greatest and most iconic films ever made.

    79? 79??? People are nuts. This movie is one of the most remembered classics in the hist    ory of cinema. With engaging and fully developed characters, a good story, great dialogue, and overall wholesome entertainment, the metascore is 79?

    Tell me if you have ever seen Jack Nicholson in a more rebellious, free-spirited, fun-loving, iconic role than R. P. McMurphy. In fact, could any other actor do that type of role with the same energy and enigma Nicholson brought to the table? Never. This was a destined role for a great actor like Nicholson. He lives and breathes the character as if he is the essence of the film.

    And Louise Fletcher? Even though in her entire career, this was the only role she was known for, it is STILL one of the greatest villains in history. Fletcher plays Ratched with no smile, all work, and a sinister need for control. And the supporting cast of mental patients are equally brilliant.

    This movie has everything an entertaining movie needs: plot, great characters, great dialogue, emotion, comedy, tragedy. This film is epic. It is a shame critics still disfavor such a classic.    … Expand
  3. ShenekaB
    8
    this movie had a funny side to it but also a look at what real mental patients might go through. Jack Nicholson really played a funny part that made this movie very enjoyable.… Expand
  4. AlexB.
    5
    This coulda shoulda and woulda been one of the best American movies ever made if the idiots Bo Goldman and Lawrence Hauben actually knew how to adapt while staying true to one of the best American novels of the 20th century.… Expand

See all 24 User Reviews

Trailers

Current Movie Releases

Full List »
  1. Star Trek Into Darkness
    Metascore: 72
  2. Iron Man 3
    Metascore: 62
  3. 42
    Metascore: 62
  4. Evil Dead (2013)
    Metascore: 57
  5. The Croods
    Metascore: 55
  6. The Great Gatsby
    Metascore: 54
  7. Oblivion
    Metascore: 54
  8. Pain & Gain
    Metascore: 43
  9. Olympus Has Fallen
    Metascore: 41
  10. G.I. Joe: Retaliation
    Metascore: 41
  11. The Host
    Metascore: 35
  12. Tyler Perry's Temptation
    Metascore: 27
  13. Scary Movie 5
    Metascore: 11
All Current Movies »