In celebration of it’s 50th anniversary, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest returns to select movie theaters nationwide on Sunday, July 13 and Wednesday, July 16, courtesy of Fathom Entertainment’s Big Screen Classic Series.
Originally announced in 1962 with Kirk Douglas in the starring role, the film took 13 years to develop. By that time Douglas was considered too old and the role was offered to Gene Hackman, James Caan, Marlon Brando and Burt Reynolds. All four turned down the part, which ultimately went to Jack Nicholson.
Photo courtesy of Fathom Entertainment
Directed by Miloš Forman, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest tells the story of a free-spirited rogue Randie McMurphy who takes over the ward of a mental hospital by a combination of chutzpah and ingenuity. The film is based on Ken Kesey’s best-selling novel published in 1962. Using the madhouse to symbolize the individual against the system, the story gets its power from its unforgettable ensemble of characters and accretion of details that reveal what life is about inside a mental institution.
The producers shot the film in the Oregon State Hospital, an actual psychiatric hospital, which is also the novel’s setting.
The supporting cast includes Will Sampson, Danny DeVito, Sydney Lassick, William Redfield, Christopher Lloyd, Brad Dourif and Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched, who intimidates her patients and maintains control through fear.
Considered one of the greatest films every made, it won Oscars® for Best Picture, Directing, Actor, Actress and Writing in 1976, the first film to do so since It Happened One Night in 1935. It was restored in 2025 by the Academy Film Archive, with restoration funding provided by Teatro Della Pace Film and special thanks to Paul Zaentz.
Kirk Douglas’s son, Michael, who produced the film, said, “I feel the film is more relevant than ever, and I am heartened that new and returning moviegoers want to seek it out on the big screen. I feel its messages need to be shared widely today.”
Each screening will feature an exclusive introduction by cinema critic and historian Leonard Maltin, discussing the landmark film’s timeless appeal and offering special insight into the classic motion picture.
Locally the film will be shown at AMC Stony Brook 17; Regal Cinemas in Ronkonkoma, Deer Park and Farmingdale; Island 16 Cinema de Lux in Holtsville; and Showcase Cinemas in Farmingdale. To purchase tickets in advance, visit www.fathomentertainment.com.
Fathom Entertainment’s Big Screen Classic Series continues with a 75th anniversary screening of Sunset Boulevard on Aug. 3 and Aug. 4; and the 60th anniversary screening of The Sound of Music on Sept. 13, Sept. 14 and Sept. 17.
