Blu-Ray Review: ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Ultimate Collector’s Edition’

CHICAGO – One of the most-beloved films of arguably the most important period in film history hits Blu-ray this week in a lavish “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” courtesy of the studio that does this kind of thing better than anyone else. With unique physical collectibles to go with great special features and a new HD transfer of the 35-year-old film, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” has lost none of its power.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” has long been one of those films that I admire and respect more than thoroughly love as much as I do some of its ’70s colleagues. It’s not my favorite film of its era, not my favorite Jack Nicholson performance, and not even my favorite Milos Forman film. And it won Best Picture in a year when that category was STACKED. I simply adore fellow nominees “Barry Lyndon,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Jaws,” and “Nashville” — four films that I would pick over “Cuckoo’s Nest” (and, for that matter, a lot of others). Although the fact that this was arguably the fifth choice in that category should make clear how strong 1975 was for cinema. It’s one of the best ever.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Ultimate Collector’s Edition was released on Blu-ray on September 14th, 2010
Photo credit: Warner Brothers

Of course, “Cuckoo’s Nest” is not even just your average Best Picture winner. It’s one of only three films to win the “Big Five” at one Academy ceremony, taking Pic, Actor (Nicholson), Actress (Louise Fletcher), Director (Forman), and Screenplay. (The other two are “It Happened One Night…” and “The Silence of the Lambs”.) And it was nominated for four others. The adaptation of Ken Kesey’s landmark novel is one of the most beloved films of its era, even if it is is a bit overrated.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Ultimate Collector’s Edition was released on Blu-ray on September 14th, 2010 Photo credit: Warner Brothers

Knowing that people continue to adore “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” it was a natural choice for Warner Brothers to pull from the vault and give a lavish HD treatment not unlike what they’ve done for “Dirty Harry,” “The Wizard of Oz,” and “Gone With the Wind.” With collector’s items as unusual as playing cards combined with more typical-but-interesting special features on the disc, this release has clearly been designed as a gift set to carry buyers through the holiday season. There’s simply no studio doing this kind of release better than WB. And they cut no corners by providing new on-disc material to go with the collector’s edition. It’s a great catalog release. It’s never too early to start Christmas shopping for the movie nut in your family and you could do a lot worse than this special edition of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

Synopsis:
“A nice rest in a state mental hospital beats a stretch in the pen,right? Randle P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), a free-spirited con with lightning in his veins and glib on his tongue, fakes insanity and moves in with what he calls the “nuts.” Immediately, his contagious sense of disorder runs up against numbing routine. No way should guys pickled on sedatives shuffle around in bathrobes when the World Series is on. This means war! On one side is McMurphy. On the other is soft-spoken Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), among the most coldly monstrous villains in film history. At stake is the fate of every patient on the ward.”

Special Features:
o “Completely Cuckoo” 87-Minute Retrospective
o All-New Interview With Michael Douglas
o 52-Page Commemorative Hard-Bound Book
o Reproduction Of The Original Press Book
o 52-Card Deck Of Cast-Inspired Playing Cards
o 4 Mini Reproductions Of Original Worldwide Theatrical Posters
o Cast/Character Photo Cards

And check out this clip before you go pick up your own copy:

[17]	By BRIAN TALLERICO [18] Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com [17]