The Most Iconic Book-to-Film Adaptations in the History of Cinema

19. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

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As Jack Nicholson’s Randle Patrick McMurphy is being strapped in and lubricated for a vicious session of electroshock therapy, he still has time for a quick wiseguy remark. Though not released until 1975, director Milos Forman’s adaptation of Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is, in some ways, the essential film document about the 1960s counter-culture. It swept the five top Academy Awards — winning nods for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Adapted Screenplay.