One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) First Time Watching! Full Movie Reaction!!
Added 2023-01-10 19:15:09 +0000 UTC
Comments
My late grandads favourite film π₯ because in the 70s he worked at a place like that. My dad loves this one as well!
Backlog Andy M.
2025-06-12 00:05:58 +0000 UTCI've always loved this flick. I don't blame you guys for not knowing how to feel. It's often the case with movies of this era where they tried to make you "think" of everything which you guys pretty much did at the end as you guys talked about it.
Philip Davetas
2023-01-14 22:41:29 +0000 UTCI never saw anyone who was sympathetic towards Nurse Ratched before.
Mike Tocci
2023-01-12 21:53:07 +0000 UTCI saw this in a high school English class and the entire class was immediately turned on to how much of a villain Nurse Ratched was. I've honestly never seen anyone react to Cuckoo's Nest this way. The whole point of the movie, I felt, was largely missed.
Mike Tocci
2023-01-12 21:50:06 +0000 UTCThis reaction elicited a lot of really thought provoking comments on your YouTube channel. I think that just shows how deep and controversial this movie really is. A small minority of these comments are a bit on the rude side, so I hope that isn't too off putting. It takes a pretty thick skin to put reaction content on the internet. In any case, I hope you guys enjoy the discussion this movie brought out. I would love to hear any impressions you have if you ever decide to watch this again.
Marcus Cato
2023-01-12 20:49:16 +0000 UTCK-Pax is a great follow-up to this one
Jim Frykman
2023-01-12 06:20:46 +0000 UTCPlease add The Edge to your reactions. A great movie with Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin
James
2023-01-11 21:05:57 +0000 UTCThe Game is a masterpiece. Some can argue over the ending, but what a great idea for a movie.
James
2023-01-11 21:05:04 +0000 UTCItβs really interesting for βpeople of a certain ageβ to basically see again, through your fresh eyes, iconic films and TV shows that were such a profound part of our earlier lives. And as Iβve mentioned before, you and Dan are at the very top of the new trend of βreactorsβ. Most are a lot more superficial, and too hurried to have a lengthier discussion. So far as my above comments, Iβve been thinking more about Mississippi Burning, and how good it really is. Please consider reacting to it. The cast, in addition to Dourif, has Willem Dafoe, Gene Hackman, and Frances McDormand. The story is hard hitting, and close to me personally, having been raised in the Deep South during that era. I have memories that probably wouldnβt diminish even with the onset of dementia. And Mississippi Burning is a true story.
David Wilkins
2023-01-11 19:21:45 +0000 UTCDevito was Martini yes!
Jason Dolan
2023-01-11 18:38:49 +0000 UTCPunch to the gut at the end! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:36:09 +0000 UTCThanks all, for the recommendations! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:35:55 +0000 UTCThanks, Renee! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:35:25 +0000 UTCLOL -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:35:15 +0000 UTCP.S. Honestly, I think I still feel the same way about the movie all these years later. I admire its craftsmanship, but I donβt love this film. Sometimes when movies are held in such high regard we feel that we must love them, but itβs ok not to. At least for me.
Robert Boyd
2023-01-11 18:32:38 +0000 UTCWe have not! Thanks for the recommendation! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:32:33 +0000 UTCOh! We saw his name and didn't know if it was actually him haha this is cool! -sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:32:23 +0000 UTCWe did not figure it out hahah but can't believe we didn't realize it was Danny Devito! I wasn't confident enough to voice my guess haha! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:31:56 +0000 UTCHope you enjoyed the reaction, Steve! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:31:12 +0000 UTCOoh we'll need to get It Happened One Night on our list then! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:30:57 +0000 UTCIt got really dark at the end! Jack and Louise were absolutely well deserved but Billy would have been as well! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:28:47 +0000 UTCAww Chief! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:27:43 +0000 UTCDefinitely extremely dark and very iconic characters! The juicy fruit moment was so sweet! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:26:53 +0000 UTCTrue! Such a hard moment for Chief knowing McMurphy wasn't the same :( -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:24:48 +0000 UTCThank you, Robert! Definitely a lot to process after this one! Awesome, thanks for the recommendations! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:24:21 +0000 UTCI can see why! Trainspotting is definitely on our list too :) Haha YT was not happy with our Boogie Nights reaction, but we'll see about The People Vs Larry Flynt for the future! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:23:47 +0000 UTCWe could definitely see her wheels turning at that discussion on whether to keep him! We tried to keep in mind the timing of the film, but we also don't have a lot of knowledge of how it worked in the 60s. Always very cool to see some of our favorites early in their careers! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:14:57 +0000 UTCWe didn't realize it was him until Daniel was editing haha yes, we'd like to get back to Child's Play :) -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:12:39 +0000 UTCSo hard to watch him lose his confidence in the blink of an eye! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:07:54 +0000 UTCThanks for the kind words, Mark! Definitely one we'd like to watch again! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:06:26 +0000 UTCWow thank you for sharing this! I'd like to watch again knowing this and from The Chief's perspective :) -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:05:32 +0000 UTCLOL all the milk! Happy National Milk Day! -Sam
TBR Schmitt
2023-01-11 18:04:48 +0000 UTCI watched this one when it first released. It's a great movie and I've never watched again. For me it's too painful, much like Deer Hunter was as well. I'm glad you're watching it as it belongs on everyone watch list. McMurphy and Nurse Ratched are two of the great characters in cinema history. I can say that I do smile a bit more anytime I have a piece of Juicyfruit gum, "Ah Juicyfruit"
softshoes
2023-01-11 17:32:30 +0000 UTCI think Chief did the right thing. Letting McMurphy go out like that would have been messed up especially considering how his personality was. And Iβm sure Nurse Ratched would have felt like she got the last laugh but now she must feel really stupid
Richard
2023-01-11 15:41:26 +0000 UTCBilly is the voice of Chucky. You guys are going to watch the rest of the Childβs Play series right?
Sergeant Pepper
2023-01-11 13:44:51 +0000 UTC>> And Michael Douglas won an Oscar as Producer Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito were roommates in college and life long friends. They made/produced quite a few movies together, for example "The War of the Roses" - DeVito directed and both acted in it, definitely worth watching, together with Wall Street and The Game.
Alec S
2023-01-11 12:56:34 +0000 UTCYep, this is a one of a kind movie that is hard to process. I totally felt the same way as you guys felt after seeing it for the first time. I give props to director Milos Foreman. Just brilliant. Two other films he directed that are definitely worth checking out are Amadeus and The People vs. Larry Flynt. Both are extraordinary.
Robert Boyd
2023-01-11 07:25:06 +0000 UTCThis is sincerely one of my all time favorite movies, top 10 if not top 5, just a personal thing I don't try to explain, just some movies you love. Trainspotting is another one like that for me, even though there's some FUCKED up stuff that happens in that movie. Chief Bromden smashing through the window and running into the woods is also one of my all time favorites scenes. Milos Forman directed this, another one by him, I might have already recommended, not sure, is The People Vs Larry Flynt. It's my favorite of Woody Harrelson's and I don't think it would be harder to edit than the Boogie Nights reaction, but it does earn its R rating for pretty much the same reasons.
Joe D. MacGuffinstuff
2023-01-11 07:05:34 +0000 UTCOoh, great call on the Cool Hand Luke comparison, Marcus!
Robert Livingood
2023-01-11 06:23:15 +0000 UTCI had to go inpatient many years ago and my stay was fine and I was treated well. It was just literally some of the most boring days of my life. Unfortunately, people's experiences can vary a great deal depending on where they are and it really sucks. I was a crisis worker for two years and I had to do evaluations and make my recommendation on hospitalization to the doctor. There were plenty of times I felt shitty not because I knew their time inpatient would be bad, but I knew hospitalization was going to really derail their life. I had a woman who had a real plan that she admitted she was going to carry out to put her kids to bed and then attempt to OD on medications. I'd tell her that she'd have to be hospitalized and she gets really upset and told me how she can't be away from her kids. Now, what I think most people would think is "You were ready to leave them forever!" but depression and being suicidal can distort your thinking so much and I have a great deal of empathy for those people.
Jeffrey Miller
2023-01-11 06:20:36 +0000 UTC@Marcus Yeah, it's my first time watching the series as well. I have no big complaints about Dr. Melfi. I mean, it is weird that she practices therapy when today most psychiatrists focus on prescribing/managing medications. Also, she uses a psychoanalytical approach (Freud and Jung are the most well known practitioners). This is where all the dream analysis, and symbolism usually comes from. But I have no problem with that stuff because I think there is a lot of good depictions of important topics for therapists. I really like the scenes with Dr. Melfi and her therapist because it's an easy way to explain to the audience issues like compassion fatigue, ethical boundaries, when things that eventually come up for every therapist like when your feelings towards a client might interfere with you providing the best treatment. I want to emphasize that I mean all kinds of feelings and not just romantic or sexual. I could go on, but I think the show does a pretty good job of portraying all parts of the profession and treatment.
Jeffrey Miller
2023-01-11 06:06:25 +0000 UTCNothing is really black and white. There isn't really any good or bad, Philosophically. But, that being said, Nurse Ratched is truly evil. Along with the Wicked Witch from the West, the Joker and Boddicker from RoboCop.
Kevin Charley
2023-01-11 05:35:32 +0000 UTCAre you watching the Sopranos reactions? I'm sure you have a lot of interesting thoughts on the way the profession is presented throughout that show. David Chase really had a mother like Livia and you can really see how his experiences have shaped that show.
Marcus Cato
2023-01-11 05:23:01 +0000 UTCThis is a dark one, and it was tough watching this reaction knowing how brutal the ending is. I first saw this movie when I was in high school, and although I liked it at that time, it doesn't hit me the way it does now. Now that I've seen people hide their bullying behind their roles within a system, it hits much harder. As an adult, you really feel this movie. I wish I could say I didn't but there it is. Edit: it never occurred to me before but this movie has a pretty similar vibe and theme as Cool Hand Luke. That would be a pretty cool reaction too.
Marcus Cato
2023-01-11 05:20:24 +0000 UTCAmen to that. Definitely a real cruelty to her.
Marcus Cato
2023-01-11 05:13:12 +0000 UTCDeadwood! Forgot about that one but the doctor in Deadwood was Brad Dourif's finest role IMO. Please put that one on your list maybe after the Sopranos is finished.
Opie Wan
2023-01-11 04:59:24 +0000 UTCIndeed, everything she did was in order to break the will of her patients. Evil (from the 8th Dimension!). Little plug for Buckaroo Bonzai there.
Opie Wan
2023-01-11 04:54:42 +0000 UTCWow, I'm literally shocked there's any discussion as to whether Nurse Ratched is the villain. She's widely recognized as one of the greatest and most evil villains in cinema. As a mental health professional I found her "group therapy" sessions to be monstrous. She is demeaning, forcing clients to talk about painful subjects even when they object. She is clearly sadistic and enjoys hurting the patients. The way she talks to Billy after finding him with Candy makes it obvious she cares far more about enforcing her will on the vulnerable rather than helping them in any way. I've seen it argued that she's not the villain she is just working in the evil system that was mental healthcare back then. It's a terrible argument because it treats her like she had no choice but to become head nurse at the mental hospital. When you're talking about jobs that require that much experience and training there's a huge self-selection bias in who applies for those jobs.
Jeffrey Miller
2023-01-11 04:29:12 +0000 UTCIt always kills me to see happy, confident, non-stuttering Billy immediately destroyed again by Nurse Ratched with just a few words about his mother.
Thomas Yanez
2023-01-11 04:23:03 +0000 UTCNurse Ratched is evil. It's not that hard.
Kevin Charley
2023-01-11 04:10:11 +0000 UTCIt wasn't what Billy did - it was Nurse Ratchet's reaction to it. Remove that and Billy lives. "Aren't you ashamed?" "No, I'm not." "You know, Billy, what worries me is... how your mother's going to take this." "Well, you... don't have to tell her, Miss Ratched." "I don't have to tell her? Your mother and I are old friends, you know that." Under no circumstances is a health care professional required to inform an adult's parent about their voluntary sexual behavior. There is no way that can be argued as ethical. Nurse Ratched is a health care professional whose totally unnecessary threat caused a patient to commit suicide. There is no amount of rationalization that would make that acceptable. She is the villain, pure and simple. She basically shamed that kid into killing himself. Her entire conversation was specifically intended to cause psychological harm to the psychiatric patient under her care. What she did could arguably be charged as manslaughter or at least malpractice. Instead of pressing charges or sending him back to Prison like the others have suggested, She gives McMurphy a lobotomy knowing full well that he isnβt even mentally ill! Thatβs a lobotomy out of pure spite. He clearly has some issues he is not willing to work on and being a rebel is not always a positive trait, specially in a place that is ostensibly designed to help the mentally ill. But Ratched is driven by pettiness and sadism, she enjoys being in control and hurting people. Billy's death is one hundred percent on her. It's about power, and how power corrupts. Within this small world of theirs that McMurphy enters, he acknowledges the injustice and self proclaimed authority figure. He decides to disrupt this. There is a Nurse Ratched in many areas of life in many families and many workplaces they secretly love control. When they all decided to watch the World Series she was angry that McMurphy won as she didn't want to do anyone else's way. She is cold and has anger in her eyes. McMurphy was trying to help the patients feel more free and happy and to teach life lessons to them. Nurse Ratched is more concerned with having her way and keeping people in line than helping her patients. They all have the option to leave but she makes them feel as if they belong there. Nurse Ratched represented the tyrannical system and McMurphy was rebelling against that.
Joe Lazarus
2023-01-11 03:44:42 +0000 UTCThanks for the reaction! I can completely understand the feelings you had during the post movie discussion. This is a movie that really sits with me and I appreciate it more as the years go by.
Mark M
2023-01-11 03:16:13 +0000 UTCYou guys should know Brad from Child's Play. he was Charles Lee Ray and then, of course, the voice of Chucky the doll :)
Renee S
2023-01-11 02:42:38 +0000 UTCIf they made this film today, they definitely would have changed McMurphy's reason for being at the hospital. Back then, the attitudes were different about statuary rape and large age difference relationships in general. They probably would just change the crime completely, or at least make it where the girl was like 17 and McMurphy was just a year or two older, because 38 and 15 is just...eww.
Jeffrey Miller
2023-01-11 02:22:26 +0000 UTCI think the nurse wanted to keep Jack at the hospital to βbreakβ him. She had a cruel streak, and sheβs an order and control person. And one thing to remember about the general institution environment, is that it was set in 1963. The world was a very different place, and there were a lot of poorly administered and poorly funded places run by states. There were some really marginal and lousy places where people were more or less warehoused. And needless to say, psychiatric treatment was still in a barbaric stage in all but the best of facilities. Obviously this was among Danny DeVitoβs earliest appearances. And Scatman Crothers would go on to play the cook in The Shining. Brad Dourif, who played Billy is a fantastic character actor. You should check him out in Mississippi Burning, and HBOβs Deadwood series, among several others.
David Wilkins
2023-01-11 01:16:27 +0000 UTCThe book by the late great Ken Kesey is told from the Chief's point of view. That's always how I watch this movie--seeing McMurphy through Chief Bromden's eyes. McMurphy's not a good man--fucking and fighting...and statutory rape; but he is alive. And he awakens something in everyone--the Chief most of all. In the book, Chief calls Nurse Ratched 'Big Nurse'. Kind of like 'Big Brother', from Orwell's 1984. She's the oppression, the dehumanization of the system. She's there to protect capitalism, and polite society, and white picket fences from the crazies--not to help the crazies. And, of course, we are all the crazies in the cuckoo nest. I fucking love this movie. McMurphy's actions might lead to other people getting in trouble, or worse (poor Billy). But is that McMurphy? Or is that the system itself simply made visible through McMurphy's actions?
Steve Mercier
2023-01-11 00:26:19 +0000 UTCMmm...Juicy Fruit.
VivendoBem
2023-01-11 00:01:25 +0000 UTCFYI Tuesday 01/11/23 is National Milk Day...so in honor of that, since I am slightly incapacitated due to knee injury, I will be watching every one of you guys reviews that involve bad guys drinking milk. But back to ONE FLEW OVER CUCKOOS NEST...isn't anyone going to mention how young Danny DeVito looked?
Anthony Perez
2023-01-10 23:39:45 +0000 UTCI think you're giving Nurse Ratchet too much credit by believing she was trying to help them. She just enjoyed having power over people and abused that power at every chance. She wasn't keeping McMurphy there to help him, she just wanted control over him and to break him.
TGrimace
2023-01-10 23:31:20 +0000 UTCit happened one night & the silence of the lambs
Wayne Delaune (cardaderdention)
2023-01-10 23:25:18 +0000 UTCAny guy that'd fall in love with your daughter ought to have his head examined.
Jason Dolan
2023-01-10 23:08:46 +0000 UTCHello Clarice.
Ghost Crusaders
2023-01-10 23:05:11 +0000 UTCBloodsport?
Future Boy
2023-01-10 22:59:52 +0000 UTCI remember leaving the theater {yea, am that old lol} and thinking that was a fun watch until those final 20 minutes. The big debate was always who actually did the most harm to those patients. The 2 leads Jack and Louise Fletcher both won Oscars but I also thought Brad Dourif (Billy) should of won one too. Thanks as always for your reaction. seeya π
Robert Smith
2023-01-10 22:13:01 +0000 UTCI would love to see a reaction to The Game (1997). It's a real mind-bender that's great for reactors, and my favourite David Fincher film. As someone who hates romantic comedies, I also love The War of the Roses (1989). It's like an ANTI romantic comedy. Very dark, very funny (nothing to do with the 15th century wars in England, in case the title is putting anyone off. The "Roses" are a married couple.) Actually, your whole list is great. What a body of work Michael Douglas has. Falling Down, Wall Street, Fatal Attraction. These films were MADE for reactors.
Future Boy
2023-01-10 22:07:39 +0000 UTCMore Trivia, this is one of only 3 films ever to win Best Picture, Director, Actress, Actor and Screenplay at the Oscars. The other two were... can you guess? You've watched one of them for your channel!
Jason Dolan
2023-01-10 21:58:24 +0000 UTCthey'll never figure out Brad, that's just to let Sam know after the fact here, haha, but I'll be curious if they get Danny DeVito or they'll be YELLING out his name in the credits, lol - full TAXI and BATMAN alumni party going on here
Jason Dolan
2023-01-10 21:41:13 +0000 UTCGot one anyway. I though Danny DeVito was pretty obvious if young, but Brad Dourif isn't nearly as well known.
Opie Wan
2023-01-10 21:39:00 +0000 UTCLloyd first
Jason Dolan
2023-01-10 21:21:11 +0000 UTCJust got home from work, and found this waiting. Gonna get me something to eat, cue up my movie, and all kinds of hell yes...
Steve Mercier
2023-01-10 21:20:57 +0000 UTCLet's see my top ten (non-MCU) Michael Douglas actor movies are: 1. Wall Street 2. Fatal Attraction 3. Traffic 4. Romancing the Stone / The Jewel of the Nile / The War of the Roses (the Kathleen Turner - Danny DeVito Trilogy, haha) 5. The American President 6. A Perfect Murder 7. Falling Down 8. Basic Instinct 9. The Game 10. Black Rain But Behind the Candelabra is also awesome (and I know that's 13 movies but a baker's dozen of Douglas is just what the doctor ordered)
Jason Dolan
2023-01-10 21:17:53 +0000 UTCWho do Sam and Dan recognize first, Doc Brown or Danny DeVito or the Evil Guy who hypnotizes the king from The Lord of the Rings (and is also the voice of CHUCKY)?
Jason Dolan
2023-01-10 21:09:59 +0000 UTCFor many years Kirk Douglas wanted to do this movie and his son, THE Michael Douglas, ended up getting the rights and being the one who made it with Jack Nicholson so Michael Douglas actually won his FIRST Oscar for producing this movie.
Jason Dolan
2023-01-10 21:04:52 +0000 UTCHave you seen Girl, Interrupted? It's kind of the female version of One Flew and it has great roles for Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie.
Odd Thomas
2023-01-10 20:55:03 +0000 UTCNurse Ratched takes RBF to a whole new level.
Richard
2023-01-10 20:30:53 +0000 UTCOh Yeah!! Love this Movie !! One of the Best Drama's of all Time !! The First Oscar for Jack !! And Michael Douglas won an Oscar as Producer !! Hope you see more of Douglas, he is such a Brilliant Actor !!! "Fatal Attraction", "Basic Instinct", "Romancing the Stone", "Falling Down", "Wall Street","The War of the Roses" !!! All Classics!!!
Florian Meier
2023-01-10 20:07:32 +0000 UTCCool! I'll get into this one this evening. Good reactions lately
Renee S
2023-01-10 19:34:31 +0000 UTCI remember this movie. Real heart breaker.
Tostito Buddy
2023-01-10 19:21:01 +0000 UTCNo "coming soon" post this week? I mean it's not the biggest deal in the world, just wondering
dieselbeast
2023-01-10 19:20:40 +0000 UTC
