One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

1975.
#20 / #33
Winner of 5 Academy Awards.

Randle McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) checks into a mental hospital after refusing to work at a prison camp. His rebelliousness draws the ire of Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher).

Eddie: How many times can I extol Jack Nicholson? There are only so many ways I can say it, but I'll try once more. Jack is da bomb. His intensity dominates the movie. There's one shot in the movie where he's looking out the window, and it holds on the close-up until his glare turns into that devilish smile. It's a very long take, but it's worth every second, as is the movie as a whole.

I had thought, before watching the movie, that ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST ended with McMurphy's lobotomy. McMurphy does, in fact, get one, but that's by no means the ending. What happens after the operation is powerful and touching. Will Sampson (who plays Chief) navigates that last scene heroically, portraying exactly how much McMurphy had meant to him.

Sarah: I felt full of anxiety the whole time I watched this film. The camera movement and the actors' performances all work together to build growing tension. I think this film, like Kesey's novel (that's right, I read it. I have a degree in literature) does a great job finding lightness amid the heavy subject matter. Or maybe it does a great job finding drama amid the sometimes comical hysteria. That's the story's brilliance. The more you try and label who is crazy and who is not, the further you will get from the answer.This is the first film we've watched in a while that we both agree deserves it's place on the list.

Side note: Eddie and I have visited the hospital where this was filmed, and the whole place gives off a gloomy heavy feeling. I can't imagine what it was like to actually be inside.

Why You Should See It: When Nurse Ratched won't allow the patients to watch a baseball game, McMurphy gets them all to pretend to watch a game on the screen. It's Nicholson hijinks at its best.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

1966.
Unlisted / #67
Winner of 5 Academy Awards.

George (Richard Burton) and Martha (Elizabeth Taylor) invite over a young couple, and what follows is a no-holds-barred, booze-fueled descent into hell, where all of their marital problems are laid out on the table.

Eddie: Similar to our experience of THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, watching WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? drained the life out of us. It took us three viewings to make our way through the catastrophically bleak movie. I had never watched the movie in its entirety before, but I had seen the play (with Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin). I wasn't a big fan of the changes they made in translating the story to the screen - namely the late night venture to the bar. But overall, Ernest Lehman's adaptation of Edward Albee's play captures the mood, even if it strays from the location. Haskell Wexler earns the movie's MVP award (and one of its five Oscars) for his black and white cinematography. He uses every trick in the playbook on this movie - film noirish chiaroscuro, quick dolly moves, zooms, delayed focus pulls - and the result is a chaotic glimpse at George and Martha's madness.

Sarah: Besides the bleakness, another reason it took Eddie and I so long to watch this is we played the WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? Drinking Game. When they drank, we drank. This was unwise, considering the clink of ice is so consistent in the film, it could have been part of the score. This film is Mike Nichols' directorial debut, and he uses it to showcase his talents.

Also, who hurt you, Mike Nichols? This and CLOSER? Not every relationship is a blood feast.

The script is brilliant, and the actors do it justice. Elizabeth Taylor is as dangerous as a tiger, while Sandy Dennis is as naive as a baby gazelle. Even if you're not drinking, the movie will have you feeling dizzy and confused, and when it's over, you will feel beat.

Why You Should See It: Sandy Dennis won an Academy Award for playing Honey, the young wife in the movie. Her role is the smallest of the main cast, but her performance is on par with - if not beyond - the rest.