One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Ken Kesey ’s classic 1962 novelOne Flew Over the Cuckoo ’s Nestwas adapted into a classic film , place by Milos Forman , in 1975 and naturally , as with all script - to - film adaptation , the questions of fidelity and winner necessarily arose . It ’s not a raw consideration ; after all , the same probe line occurs every meter a newStephen King concealment adaptationis heighten and indeed , Jack Nicholson ’s turn inThe Shininginspires arduous debate on that front . Naturally , only one version can be well than the other and the inquiry run even now .
The general story centers on patients living in an Oregon psychiatrical hospital for men , under the corrupt authority of the infamous resister Nurse Ratched . Kesey ’s original aim in creating the chronicle was to offer a blunt study of the institutional process and to critique how psychiatric patient role were regale at institutions in the sixties . Before Forman place the 1975 film interpretation - which was adapted by Bo Goldman - the book was made into aBroadway playby Dale Wasserman in 1963 . The novel is prominent on high schoolhouse reading lists - though over the years it has been banned from some due to its primitiveness and descriptions of vehemence - andTimemagazine include it in its " 100 Best English - spoken communication novel from 1923 - 2005 " listing .
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The movie version ofOne Flew Over the goofball ’s Nestwas a vital hit , and it ’s often refer to as one of the greatest cinema ever made . It was name for numerous accolades , including nine Academy Awards , and bring home the bacon five of them : Best Picture , Best Director , Best Actor ( Jack Nicholson ) , Best Actress ( Louise Fletcher ) , and Best Screenplay Adapted from Other Material . Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher were indeed laud for their various performances as patient Randle Patrick McMurphy and Nurse Mildred Ratched . But did the rest of the movie variation outshine the novel ?
McMurphy: Book Version vs. Movie Version
Despite the film ’s overall trueness to Ken Kesey ’s original story , specially in terms of maintaining its important melodic theme and motifs , it did diverge from the book in several ways . For example , it weaken Randle Patrick McMurphy ’s more controversial behavior that is present in the book . In the playscript , McMurphy often resorts to fury to get his way , while in the movieJack Nicholson ’s version is present as a humorous con game human . In the rule book , McMurphy wrongly short-change his fellow affected role into yield him their money , while the film only present him advance cigaret .
Also in the book , Kesey report that among McMurphy ’s crimes was bear sexual relations with a nine - class - old - girl . In the flick , though , McMurphy boasts about being con into statutory assault by a 15 - twelvemonth - quondam female child , who apparently told him she was 18 . Overall , the book reveals more distressing truth about McMurphy - truths that often turn the read against him - while the moving picture present him as more fun - loving , and propose excuses for his behavior .
McMurphy eventually conform to Ratched ’s rule is also something that ’s not see in the motion-picture show . In the moving-picture show , Jack Nicholson ’s McMurphy is roguish and rebellious up until his prefrontal lobotomy . In the playscript , though , he spends time towards the end seek to adjust to the linguistic rule , becoming more and more depressed and bust down as he does so .
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Chief: Book Version vs. Movie Version
The most significant elbow room the moving-picture show strayed from the film is through the story ’s item of view . In the Holy Writ , Chief Bromden is the narrator who watches the struggle between McMurphy andNurse Ratched . reader observe Chief as he undergo changes and details the event occurring the institution . The book also offers contingent on Chief ’s backstory , revealing that he is a paranoid schizophrenic and a war veteran whose white mother conspired with the government to emasculate his Native American father .
The motion picture , meanwhile , does n’t apply Chief - played by Will Sampson - as the narrative ’s teller . In fact , it in full discards his background news report , instead pass on McMurphy a more elaborated backstory . In the film , Chief is pass on to a supporting character , and his independent aim is to help McMurphy . Also , in the movie , Chief never ends up becoming fully communicative as he does in the book . And while in the book Chief finish up being the ultimate hero of the novel , McMurphy is the clear deliverer of the movie adjustment ofOne Flew Over The Cuckoo ’s Nest .
At the final stage of the motion picture , Chief is establish go from the hospital , with viewer arrogate he will freedom and felicity . In the Holy Writ , though , Kesey uses symbolism to give a darker meaning to the ending . Chief see a dog sniffing gopher holes from a windowpane ; the dog is distracted by flying goose and chases them toward a route . It ’s implied that the frank will of necessity get hit by a vehicle and die out . In this description , Kesey is trying to say that machines always triumph over nature , and is suggesting that when Chief get away the hospital he may look a worse fate .
Some Details The Movie Forgot
The 1975 movie also left out some small details that were present in the original 1963 textbook . One of the most renowned thing the film forget out was Charlie Cheswick ’s suicide . In the account book , when he notice that McMurphy has started adjust to Ratched ’s rule , he feels betrayed and loses faith - and decides to submerge himself .
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The sportfishing trip , a famous scene in both the Word of God and the motion-picture show , was also altered for the film interlingual rendition . In the novel , the trip is a plan group outcome , whichNurse Ratchedrepeatedly attempt to cancel . But McMurphy end up convincing a doc to provide his car , so the head trip happens and the patient have sport . In the film interlingual rendition , though , the sportfishing trip is much more dramatic . McMurphy terminate up hijack an institutional bus and lead his fellow patient role in rebellion . But , of course , the aspect is exciting and has become one of the most famous moments in cinematic account .
Why The Book Is The Better Version
Ken Kesey ’s 1962 novel is arguably the best version ofOne Flew Over the Cuckoo ’s Nest , trumping the critically acclaimed 1975 celluloid adaptation . While there is certainly copious grounds to back up the movie ’s credit - including the phenomenal stamp of the likes of Nicholson , Danny Devito , and Christopher Lambert that brought Kesey ’s characters to vivid living - it ultimately does not terminate up telling the same story that Kesey told .
The movie did keep several base and motifs from the volume , key among them freedom vs. institutionalization and rebellion against authority . But in decide to dial down the persona of Chief and turn McMurphy into the hero , the film took aside from the point Kesey was trying to make in the original story . And , ultimately , themovie white - washed the storyby changing the item of view , taking away Chief ’s backstory , and focusing first and first off on McMurphy ’s character electric discharge .
Famously , Kesey claim he never see the film adjustment ofOne Flew Over the Cuckoo ’s Nest , due to controversy he had with its producer over pay . Supposedly , Kesey despised that the picture show was not narrated by Chief Bromden , and he finally thought Jack Nicholson was the wrong actor to act as McMurphy . Still , the movie belong on to win multiple Oscars , and Jack Nicholson ’s portrayal of McMurphy has gone down as one of the greatest performances in cinematic account .
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