One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975) DIRECTOR NOTES

This movie has to have a strong main actor for it to be successful, for he is the one who is the hero or antihero and that is the heart of the story. Jack Nicholson obviously fits perfectly as McMurphy. He needs to be witty, manly, and direct, confident, manipulative but still humane and friendly. Other actors who could play this role in my opinion could have been Robert Deniro or Sean Penn. For the Head Nurse the actress must play a hard-hearted, cold, and stern older woman. The Chief Indian guy should obviously be played by a tall actor with Native American characteristics and that can convey enough emotion with just gestures and no words. Any actor who can do a good crazy person acting job could play the rest of the loonies.

             The plot of the story is incredibly entertaining and has many twists and turns. It deals with mentally ill prisoners who are under the control of a tyrannical Head Nurse and wardens and are stuck in a system that is pitiless and unsympathetic to the patients. In all this mess McMurphy shows up and shakes everything up. He is defiant and sees the mistreatment of the loonies as wrong. I think this is a main theme of the story, revolting against the status quo and doing what you feel. Certainly many young people can relate to this while growing up.

            The set and setting is important too. The hospital should have an old-fashioned look with old furniture and should have a cold and desolate atmosphere. There should be a lot of grays and bland colors in for the set and the uniforms. This can give the scene an empty and hopeless feeling.

            Talking about the scenes, this screenplay is full of memorable ones. The basketball game is one that stands out and gives the movie some comedy and a lighter side. There should be a lot of noise and commotion from the crowd and this scene should be exciting and keep the viewer on the edge and rooting for the loonies because they are the underdogs. Another scene that stands out is at the end of the movie when they had the party. This is a scene hat should be emphasized with a lot of talking and drunken acting because they are consuming alcohol and dancing and having fun.

            There should also be close ups and special attention paid to the dialogue between McMurphy and the loonies because they have relationships that change and vary from person to person, for example at first they all like McMurphy but as he boasts and claims things his integrity is challenged by many of the loonies. He showed he meant business when he tried to pick up the machine and throw it out the window as he claimed. He failed and it led to his hands to bleed but it proved his point and showed his character as well. The blood in his hands should be emphasized to show this. One of the final scenes where Billy takes his own life is a pivotal scene and puts a grim ending to the wild night. The position of him laying face up on the table should be from a top angle to show the horror of the act.