
During class this past week we watched Cuckoo’s Nest the movie. Jack Nicolson played R.P McMurphy and Louise Fletcher played Nurse Ratched. Well reading the book I felt bad for McMurphy more. I understood what he was trying to do with the patients and how he was trying to help them from constantly living life stuck under Nurse Ratched’s power. However well watching the movie I felt bad for Nurse Ratched. Nurse Ratched was not showing the power trip seemed to be under during the book in the movie. Instead she was just trying to keep order and have the best for the men in the ward. She was looking out for their best interests. McMurphy however was just out of control during the movie. He brought women and alcohol into the ward throwing all the men off which ultimately led to Billy’s death. He was not looking out for the men in the Christmas party scenes, he was just looking for a good time. McMurphy seemed immature and out of control he needed help and Nurse Ratched tried to help him. Do you think that the director of the movie wanted to have this much of a contrast from the book to the movie?
2 comments:
Like many books made into movies the book is almost always much better than the movie. After watching the movie in class the past couple days, I felt very disappointed. I thought that the movie did not depict what the author, Ken Kesey would have wanted. Kesey was alive when the film was made and had influence on the film. However, he quit working on the film two weeks in because he did not like how much he was being paid. Kesey was upset that the film was not going to be narrated like the book was. He was also upset that Jack Nicholson was casted as McMurphy. Kesey claimed that he never saw the movie. On the contrary, I thought Nicholson was perfect for the role of McMurphy. He was just how I imagined him when reading the book. I wish the movie would have been more like the book. Many significant parts were left out. For example, I thought that is was good that it showed that McMurphy made a difference because men were leaving. In the movie, the only person that left was Chief.
I enjoyed the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest but not as much as the book. I agree that Jack Nicholson was perfect for the part of McMurphy. I think he got McMurphy’s personality down perfect. It was really funny seeing the characters come to life in the movie. I liked Cheswick, and Martini, but Harding was a little different than I expected. I guess I agree with Bethany that Nurse Ratched was different in the movie than how she was described in the book. She didn’t seem as mean or cruel in the movie. She just seemed like she was trying to keep control of the ward. The movie was also moved too fast without any explanation of what was happening. The fishing scene for example was a little confusing, especially when McMurphy just stole the bus. It is no surprise though that the movie was different than the book because they have to cram a whole book into an hour and a half movie. I think it was one of the better book to movie combination I have seen and I’m glad we got to see it.
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