Into the Blu

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Posted on 12. Oct, 2008 by Bill Geiger in 1.85:1, 1080p, Dolby Digital 1.0 (English), Dolby Digital 1.0 (French), Dolby Digital 1.0 (Spanish), Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Drama, Reviews, VC-1, Warner Bros.

In many cases, you won’t find Jack Nicholson in a role that is bad. He is an actor who can play just about any part thrown at him and make it his own. He has been President in Mars Attacks, a crazed out writer in The Shining and in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Jack as McMurphy, a petty thief, hits a homerun easily in one of the most critically acclaimed films of all time.

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest stars Jack Nicholson (JP McMurphy) as a petty thief that has found himself sent from prison to a mental facility for evaluation. McMurphy, who is not crazy, finds the struggle of having to deal with a worse situation in the loony bin that he did in prison. He thinks the best way to get out and freed is to butt heads with the head nurse, Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher.) Thinking if she gets tired of him, she will have no choice but to cave in.

Nurse Ratched, unshaken by McMurphy’s antics and his ability to turn the rest of the ward against her, has mental control over all of the wards patients. Upon finding out that all of his antics have done more harm than good for himself, McMurphy tries to find many ways to escape. If he is unable to escape, McMurphy knows his days of sanity are numbered.

Video

The 1080p high definition transfer for One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio is about as good as it is going to be on Blu-ray but does have its flaws. The transfer in many spots is very soft and annoying. There are also a few specs of film dirt that can be spotted, but that isn’t a real bother. Skin tones look very good and life-like. Film grain is visible at times, albeit extremely mild, mostly in outdoor and darker lit. The main color throughout the film is white and really sometimes it does come off a little too bright, but not to the point of blooming.

I didn’t notice much difference from the previous 2 disc DVD but I don’t have a copy to compare it to. Nothing will really grab you while watching this as the film is obviously dated and very drab with its colors.

Audio

Warner Brothers has decided not to throw any real high definition sound our way which seems to be happening recently with many of their releases. Warner Brothers has given us a Dolby Digital 5.1 track as well as a French, German, Spanish and Italian 1.0 mono track. For the most part, all sounds come from the center channel. When the movie’s score is being played, it does fill the surrounding speakers. I didn’t notice any use of bass at all but that isn’t too surprising given the films content.

Overall, it is a basic audio presentation and nothing that will blow you away.

There are many subtitles here for your reading pleasure if so desired.

Special Features

• Commentary with director Milos Forman and Producers Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz
• The Making of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
• Additional Scenes
• Trailer

Final Thoughts

The more and more I watch Cuckoo’s Nest, the more appreciation I have for the film. The acting, from Nicholson to Lloyd to everybody is just spot on and real. It is interesting that many of the actors during the filming of the movie never broke character while on set. I can understand why many people feel the older films are more important and that is because everyone just gave their all. No one phoned in their performances. Mind you, I may not feel the same way but I can certainly understand why someone might say that. The sanity and insanity that the actors portrayed is something that, if I were someone who was interested in acting, would watch very closely and learn all I could. There is a reason why this film won just about every award possible at the 1975 Academy Awards.

That being said, this is definitely a recommend, even if the audio and video isn’t mind blowing. One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a special film that should at least be viewed once by everyone.