Restored in 2025 by the Academy Film Archive, with restoration funding provided by Teatro Della Pace Film and special thanks to Paul Zaentz.

4K Restoration! After ushering in the Czech New Wave with five distinct features in his native country, Czechoslovakia-born director Milos Forman brought his idiosyncratic sensibility to the United States, first with his unconventional and free-spirited Taking Off (1971). Kirk Douglas and his son Michael were anxious to adapt Ken Kesey’s popular 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and it was Michael Douglas who tasked Forman with directing the project alongside the film’s producer, Saul Zaentz. Forman worked closely with casting directors Mike Fenton and Jane Feinberg to fill the screen with a vivid ensemble, including Best Actress winner Louise Fletcher and Supporting Actor nominee Brad Dourif, alongside newcomers Christopher Lloyd and Danny DeVito. Forman took home his first of two Directing Oscars, and Jack Nicholson won Best Actor for his vibrant portrayal of the rebellious R. P. McMurphy, for this Best Picture–winning classic.

Winner of the 1975 Academy Awards for Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Directing & Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Academy Museum film programming is generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation.