Moviefone Editorial

Tag: one flew over the cuckoo’s nest

  • The Greatest Best Picture Oscar Winners of All Time

    Moviefone presents the 30 greatest Best Picture Oscar winners of all time.
    Moviefone presents the 30 greatest Best Picture Oscar winners of all time.

    The 98th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 15th and by its conclusion a new film will be added to the exclusive list of Best Picture winners.

    Over the previous 97 years, many classic movies have received this honor from ‘In the Heat of the Night‘ to ‘Titanic.’ But for every ‘Schindler’s List‘ or ‘Moonlight‘ there is a film like ‘Driving Miss Daisy‘ or ‘American Beauty‘ that has not aged well.

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    And let’s not forget the all-time classic movies that were completely snubbed such as ‘Pulp Fiction‘ or ‘The Shawshank Redemption,’ and did not receive the Academy recognition they deserved.

    In honor or the upcoming Oscar ceremony, we’ve decided to countdown the 30 greatest Best Picture winners of all-time.

    Let’s begin!

    Related Article: ‘Sinners’ and ‘One Battle After Another’ Lead The 2026 Oscar Nominees

    30. ‘The Sting‘ (1973)

    (L to R) Robert Redford and Paul Newman in 'The Sting'. Photo: Universal Pictures.
    (L to R) Robert Redford and Paul Newman in ‘The Sting’. Photo: Universal Pictures.

    A novice con man (Robert Redford) teams up with an acknowledged master (Paul Newman) to avenge the murder of a mutual friend by pulling off the ultimate big con and swindling a fortune from a big-time mobster (Robert Shaw).

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    29. ‘The Sound of Music‘ (1965)

    In the years before World War II, a tomboyish postulant (Julie Andrews) at an Austrian abbey is hired as a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain (Christopher Plummer) with seven children and brings a new love of life and music into the home.

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    28. ‘Rain Man‘ (1988)

    When car dealer Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) and that his father’s $3 million fortune is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. Motivated by his father’s money, Charlie checks Raymond out of the facility in order to return with him to Los Angeles. The brothers’ cross-country trip ends up changing both their lives.

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    27. ‘Parasite‘ (2019)

    All unemployed, Ki-taek’s (Song Kang-ho) family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

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    26. ‘Midnight Cowboy‘ (1969)

    Joe Buck (Jon Voight) is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women; he finds a companion in Enrico “Ratso” Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida.

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    25. ‘The Departed’ (2006)

    (L to R) Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson in 'The Departed'. Photo: Warner Bros.
    (L to R) Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson in ‘The Departed’. Photo: Warner Bros.

    To take down South Boston’s Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise. While an undercover cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) curries favor with the mob kingpin (Jack Nicholson), a career criminal (Matt Damon) rises through the police ranks. But both sides soon discover there’s a mole among them.

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    24. ‘On the Waterfront‘ (1954)

    A prizefighter-turned-longshoreman (Marlon Brando) with a conscience goes up against labor leaders to expose corruption, extortion, and murder among the union ranks.

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    23. ‘The Hurt Locker‘ (2009)

    During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.

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    22. ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once‘ (2022)

    Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as Daniels, the film is a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can’t seem to finish her taxes.

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    21. ‘Platoon‘ (1987)

    As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.

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    20. ‘Anora’ (2024)

    (L to R) Mikey Madison as Ani and Mark Eydelshteyn as Ivan in 'Anora'. Photo: Courtesy of NEON.
    (L to R) Mikey Madison as Ani and Mark Eydelshteyn as Ivan in ‘Anora’. Photo: Courtesy of NEON.

    Mikey Madison captivates as Ani, a young sex worker from Brooklyn whose life takes an unexpected turn when she meets and impulsively marries Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the impetuous son of a Russian billionaire. However, when Vanya’s parents catch wind of the union, they send their henchmen to annul the marriage, setting off a wild chase through the streets of New York.

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    19. ‘Unforgiven’ (1992)

    William Munny (Clint Eastwood) is a retired, once-ruthless killer turned gentle widower and hog farmer. To help support his two motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission to find the men who brutalized a prostitute. Joined by his former partner (Morgan Freeman) and a cocky greenhorn, he takes on a corrupt sheriff (Gene Hackman).

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    18. ‘Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)‘ (2014)

    A fading actor (Michael Keaton) best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and family prove more difficult than expected. Also starring Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, and Emma Stone.

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    17. ‘In the Heat of the Night‘ (1967)

    African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger), the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.

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    16. ‘Casablanca‘ (1943)

    In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate (Humphrey Bogart) meets a former lover (Ingrid Bergman), with unforeseen complications.

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    15. ‘Gladiator‘ (2000)

    Russell Crowe in 'Gladiator'. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
    Russell Crowe in ‘Gladiator’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

    After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), his devious son takes power and demotes Maximus (Russell Crowe), one of Rome’s most capable generals who Marcus preferred. Eventually, Maximus is forced to become a gladiator and battle to the death against other men for the amusement of paying audiences.

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    14. ‘Titanic‘ (1997)

    101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater (Gloria Stuart) tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose (Kate Winslet) boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Fabrizio De Rossi (Danny Nucci) win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic’s departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.

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    13. ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest‘ (1975)

    A petty criminal (Jack Nicholson) fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and an enemy to the cruel, domineering nurse (Louise Fletcher) who runs the ward.

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    12. ‘Argo’ (2012)

    As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA ‘exfiltration’ specialist (Ben Affleck) concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador. Also starring Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman.

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    11. ‘Moonlight‘ (2016)

    The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.

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    10. ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (2003)

    Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn Elessar in director Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.' Photo: Warner Bros.
    Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn Elessar in director Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.’ Photo: Warner Bros.

    Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) is revealed as the heir to the ancient kings as he, Gandalf and the other members of the broken fellowship struggle to save Gondor from Sauron’s forces. Meanwhile, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) take the ring closer to the heart of Mordor, the dark lord’s realm.

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    9. ‘Rocky’ (1976)

    When world heavyweight boxing champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) wants to give an unknown fighter a shot at the title as a publicity stunt, his handlers choose palooka Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) , an uneducated collector for a Philadelphia loan shark. Rocky teams up with trainer Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith) to make the most of this once in a lifetime break.

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    8. ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (1991)

    Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is a top student at the FBI’s training academy. Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.

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    7. ‘Oppenheimer‘ (2023)

    The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s (Cillian Murphy) role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

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    6. ‘Schindler’s List‘ (1994)

    The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.

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    5. ‘Spotlight’ (2015)

    (L to R) Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo in 'Spotlight.' Photo: Open Road Films.
    (L to R) Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo in ‘Spotlight.’ Photo: Open Road Films.

    The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core. The movie stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McAdams.

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    4. ‘The French Connection’ (1971)

    Tough narcotics detective ‘Popeye’ Doyle (Gene Hackman) is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer (Fernando Rey) who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.

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    3. ‘The Godfather Part II‘ (1974)

    In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.

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    2. ‘Lawrence of Arabia‘ (1962)

    During World War I, English officer Thomas Edward ‘T.E.’ Lawrence (Peter O’Toole) sets out to unite and lead the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes to fight the Turks.

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    1. ‘The Godfather’ (1972)

    (L to R) James Caan, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and John Cazale in 'The Godfather'. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
    (L to R) James Caan, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and John Cazale in ‘The Godfather’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

    Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino) steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.

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  • ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ TV Spin-Off in Development

    Jack Nicholson in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. Photo: United Artists.
    Jack Nicholson in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. Photo: United Artists.

    Preview:

    • A ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ TV adaptation is in development.
    • It’ll focus on the character of the Chief from the 1975 Oscar winner.
    • Producer Paul Zaentz, one of the rights holders, is behind the new project.

    There are always concerns when a spin-off of a classic movie is announced. Will it tarnish the legacy of the original? Will it go off in some random direction and end up far less entertaining than the movie from which it derives?

    In the case of 1975’s multiple Oscar-winning drama ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’, there is plenty of reason to worry. But with the rights in the hands of producer Paul Zaentz –– nephew of ‘Cuckoo’ producer Saul Zaentz –– it appears the forward movement on a TV take on the story is proceeding with all due caution and respect.

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    Talking on indie filmmaking podcast CK Café, Zaentz revealed that he’s made a deal to put a ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ TV series into development.

    Related Article: Diane Kruger, Ray Nicholson and director Neil LaBute Talk ‘Out of the Blue’

    What was the story of ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’?

    Jack Nicholson in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. Photo: United Artists.
    Jack Nicholson in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. Photo: United Artists.

    The movie, directed by Milos Forman, was written by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman, and adapted both Ken Kesey’s book and the play created from it by Dale Wasserman.

    It follows a unruly convict Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), who is sent to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation in 1963 Oregon, and encourages his docile companions to take more control of their lives and defy the tyrannical head nurse.

    Chief Bromden (played in the movie by Will Sampson) is the towering half-Native American patient who pretends to be deaf and mute. Over time, the antics of protagonist McMurphy coax him out of his disguise and he becomes a symbol of powerful resistance and emancipation. The book focuses more on Bromden.

    ‘Cuckoo’s cast also includes Danny DeVito, Scatman Crothers, Brad Dourif, Nathan George, Christopher Lloyd and Vincent Schiavelli, with Louise Fletcher memorably playing the tyrannical Nurse Ratched, who rules the wards with an iron grip.

    Kesey famously didn’t like the film, feeling that it deviated too far from the source.

    While he might not have approved of the adaptation, audiences and critics certainly did; it earned $109 million worldwide on a $3 million budget, and won five Academy Awards from eight nominations, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor for Nicholson, Best Actress for Fletcher and Best Director for Forman.

    What will the ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ TV series focus on?

    (L to R) Will Sampson and Jack Nicholson in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. Photo: United Artists.
    (L to R) Will Sampson and Jack Nicholson in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. Photo: United Artists.

    Here’s what Paul Zaentz told the podcast about the show:

    “I’ve signed an agreement with Ken Kesey’s widow to develop a TV series which we’ll make through the point of view of the Chief for the first season. Following the first season, we’ll see what happens to the Chief after he escapes [from the psychiatric hospital].”

    Beyond that, details are scarce on this one –– Zaentz has yet to reveal who might be writing the show, or whether he has a studio involved.

    And it’s not the first time someone has approached him and the other rights holders about a remake or spin-off.

    Michael Douglas, who was also among the producers on the original, told Deadline as part of a retrospective earlier this year, that the team has been careful in what they agree to:

    “[Paul] has been very selective and I think that was the only time they’ve done one, which is good because so much gets remade these days…as for the series, it was ok, just ok. I wasn’t very much involved, to be honest.”

    The “series” in question was 2020’s Ryan Murphy-produced Netflix series ‘Ratched,’ which charted the earlier days of the title character.

    With Sarah Paulson in the lead, ‘Ratched’ is set in in 1947, when Mildred Ratched begins working as a nurse at a leading psychiatric hospital. But beneath her stylish exterior lurks a growing darkness.

    The show received mixed-positive reviews but hasn’t progressed past its original season. Paul Zaentz was involved as a producer.

    In the podcast interview, he’s clear that he doesn’t think that targeting classic movies for remakes in the traditional theatrical sense is worth it, but that TV can be a place for more nuance and character development, offering the chance to do something fresh.

    When will the ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ TV series be on screens?

    With no creative team, cast or even production company/network or streamer involved yet, it’s far too early to guess when this might arrive.

    Still, Netflix –– which backed ‘Ratched’ and has also been behind TV adaptations of movies such as ‘Ripley’ –– might well be a leading candidate to take this on.

    (L to R) Jack Nicholson and Will Sampson in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. Photo: United Artists.
    (L to R) Jack Nicholson and Will Sampson in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. Photo: United Artists.

     

    List of TV Series Adapted from Movies:

    Buy ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ on Amazon

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  • Louise Fletcher Dies Age 88

    Louise Fletcher in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.'
    Louise Fletcher in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.’ Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. YouTube channel.

    Louise Fletcher, whose subtle, creepy performance seared a classic, conflicted movie villain into the public consciousness – and won an Academy Award in the process – has died. She was 88.

    Estelle Louise Fletcher was born in 1934 in Birmingham, Alabama. Her father was an episcopal priest and both of her parents were deaf. That would lead to an emotional element when she won her Oscar for ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’; she utilized sign language as part of her acceptance speech.

    Introduced to acting by an aunt she and her siblings spent a year and further summers with to ensure they learned to speak, she attended school at the University of North Carolina and then headed to Los Angeles, where she started to find acting work making guest appearances on shows such as ‘Bat Masterson’, ‘Maverick’, ‘The Untouchables’, ‘Wagon Train’, and ‘Perry Mason’.

    Yet after an uncredited movie debut in ‘A Gathering of Eagles’, she decided to give up acting and focus on family. It was Robert Altman who persuaded her to return to the screen for 1974’s ‘Thieves Like Us’. Her performance caught the attention of Milos Forman, who thought she might be right for ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’s rigid, rule-enforcing Nurse Ratched.

    In addition to the Academy Award, she became only the third woman to win the BAFTA and the Golden Globe for a single performance.

    Producer Michael Douglas, director Miloš Forman, Louise Fletcher, and Jack Nicholson from 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' at the 48th Academy Awards.
    (L to R) Producer Michael Douglas, director Miloš Forman, Louise Fletcher, and Jack Nicholson from ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ at the 48th Academy Awards. Photo courtesy of Oscars.org.

    A less fruitful period followed. Though she worked fairly consistently, she suffered typecasting, appearing as doctors, psychiatrists and authority figures in movies such as ‘Exorcist II: The Heretic’ and had the title role in ‘The Lady in Red’. She also appeared in ‘Strange Behavior’, ‘Strange Invaders’ the original ‘Firestarter’, ‘Invaders from Mars’ and ‘Flowers in the Attic’.

    She had more luck reuniting with Altman for Hollywood satire ‘The Player’ and working on ‘Blue Steel’ for director Kathryn Bigelow.

    Fletcher had more luck on TV, starring in TV Movies including ‘The Karen Carpenter Story’ and scoring an Emmy nomination for series ‘Picket Fences’ as a woman who rejects her deaf daughter (played by fellow Oscar winner Marlee Matlin).

    Sci-fi fans will know her best as Kai Winn, the scheming religious leader from the planet Bajor in ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’, who sought political power and went to great lengths to achieve it.

    She would go on to describe the feeling of winning her Oscar as exhilarating but fleeting, and she was glad she didn’t win earlier in her career. “I got the Oscar when I was 41,” Fletcher told the New York Times. “If I was 23, it would have been hard to deal with. Hell, at my age it was hard to deal with. It was like being thrown an explosive.”

    Fletcher died at her home in Montdurausse, France, surrounded by family.

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  • 11 Great Jack Nicholson Roles From His Illustrious Career

    11 Great Jack Nicholson Roles From His Illustrious Career