Filmgaming

Recast ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)

By request: let's recast One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

I find this film to be frustrating, exhilarating, exhausting, amazing. Can it be made any better with a recast? Can Jack be bettered? Can Nurse Ratched be any more evil?

Free Spout t-shirt for the greatest recast. Winner announced 11/14.

Jack Nicholson     ...     R.P. McMurphy

Louise Fletcher    ...     Nurse Mildred Ratched

William Redfield    ...     Dale Harding

Sydney Lassick    ...     Charley Cheswick

Brad Dourif    ...     Billy Bibbit

Christopher Lloyd (on the right)   ...     Taber

William Duell (in center)   ...     Jim Sefelt

Vincent Schiavelli (on the left)   ...     Fredrickson

Will Sampson    ...     Chief Bromden

Danny DeVito    ...     Martini

Dean R. Brooks    ...     Dr. John Spivey

Scatman Crothers    ...     Turkle the Janitor

Re:Recast ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)

I could never recast Cuckoo's Nest.  The cast is darn near perfection as it is.  Louise Fletcher is one of the scariest scary nurses ever!  In fact, she's always good for a villainess, and it's hard to think of any other typically villain-playing actresses that would even hold a candle to her (or some non-typically villain-playing actresses that might stretch their acting legs and do well).

And Jack!  I could never see replacing Jack.  He's brilliant as McMurphy because he brings just the right amount of ambiguously crazy to the mix.  I am trying to think of some good ambiguously crazy actors - DeNiro, Pacino, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey (he can do it), Gary Sinise...even younger serious actors with crazy potential like Edward Norton or Christian Bale...I just can't think of a contemporary actor, younger or older, who could do it.

Danny DeVito's Martini could be recast, but the size factor (he's kind of a pygmy) makes that one special.  The only replacement for Chief Bromden I could think of is the only contemporary American Indian actor that's achieved any kind of repetition in casting, and that's Graham Greene.  He'd probably do a good job.

As far as the other supporting roles, the only role I can think of a good alternative for is Elijah Wood for Billy Bibbitt.  He has that eternally youthful face and mark of innocence that could play well with that character, even if I am drawing from the Lord of the Rings well there (as always).

Jim Carrey would be a good patient in general, though I'd probably give him Taber.  Christopher Lloyd has better crazy eyes and type A bravado, though.

Those are my two cents, since this is one of my favorite movies.

Re:Recast ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)

pippin06:

I could never recast Cuckoo's Nest.  The cast is darn near perfection as it is.  Louise Fletcher is one of the scariest scary nurses ever!  In fact, she's always good for a villainess, and it's hard to think of any other typically villain-playing actresses that would even hold a candle to her (or some non-typically villain-playing actresses that might stretch their acting legs and do well).

Well, I just thought of Meryl Streep for the Nurse Ratched role - only because that woman can play anything!

Re:Recast ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)

Jack Nicholson     ...     R.P. McMurphy                        ... Ryan Gosling (A little young for the part but I think he would really bring a fire to this role) or Sam Rockwell - Sorry, I just can't make up my mind on this one but either would do me proud.

Louise Fletcher    ...     Nurse Mildred Ratched          ... Linda Hamilton (her breakthrough comeback role!)

William Redfield    ...     Dale Harding                          ... Sam Waterston

Sydney Lassick    ...     Charley Cheswick                   ... Kevin Spacey

Brad Dourif    ...     Billy Bibbit                                         ... James Van der Beek (Where the hell is this guy?)

Christopher Lloyd (on the right)   ...     Taber               ... Elias Coteas (Does anyone out there currently play a better nutter?)

William Duell (in center)   ...     Jim Sefelt                    ... Michael Jeter (I believe he's the only actor on my list I need to resuscitate)

Vincent Schiavelli (on the left)   ...     Fredrickson       ... Steve Buscemi (Sorry for the casting the other most famously not-the-most-attractive man here)

Will Sampson    ...     Chief Bromden                            ... Ron Perlman (While not preserving the American Indian vibe, I'm convinced he could bring the strong and silent like he did in The City of Lost Children (1995))

Danny DeVito    ...     Martini                                             ... Colin Farrel

Dean R. Brooks    ...     Dr. John Spivey                         ... J.K. Simmons

Scatman Crothers    ...     Turkle the Janitor                 ... John Witherspoon (He blows away the critics with his first dramatic turn)

Thanks.  This one really got me juiced up.  :)

Re:Recast ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)

seven-ate-9:

R.P. McMurphy  ... Ryan Gosling (A little young for the part but I think he would really bring a fire to this role) or Sam Rockwell - Sorry, I just can't make up my mind on this one but either would do me proud.

Dang, those are both great!

Re:Recast ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)

Thanks.  After seeing Lars and the Real Girl (2007) I just can't get enough of Gosling.

Btw, where the heck did everyone go on these boards?  I miss all the great comments and ideas.  Come back!!

Re:Recast ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)

pippin06:

 

...As far as the other supporting roles, the only role I can think of a good alternative for is Elijah Wood for Billy Bibbitt.  He has that eternally youthful face and mark of innocence that could play well with that character, even if I am drawing from the Lord of the Rings...

Nice one!

Re:Recast ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)

Woody Harrelson     ...     R.P. McMurphy
Patricia Clarkson   ...     Nurse Mildred Ratchet
Bob Balaban    ...     Dale Harding
 Paul Giamatti   ...     Charley Cheswick
Jeremy Davies  ...     Billy Bibbit
Will Oldham  ...     Taber
Dylan Baker   ...     Jim Sefelt
Peter Storemare  ...     Fredrickson
Fred Ward    ...     Chief Bromden
 This is an admittedly lame replacement, though I don't know how anyone replaces Will Sampson in this role. An alternative would be to use that CNN topogram technology to splice in his perfomance from the original.
Roberto Benigni    ...     Martini
 Worth the price of admission just to see him NOT talk for an entire film.
Ron Rifkin    ...     Dr. John Spivey
Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson from the Roots   ...     Turkle the Janitor

Re:Recast ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)

The t-shirt goes to seven-ate-9, who really knocked this one out of the park.

Everyone had some great picks. Like pippin says, Elijah Wood could do great as Billy Bibbitt. And benthams_head, I love Paul Giamatti as Cheswick, and Roberto Begnini as Martini.

seven-ate-9 offered two great choices for McMurphy, and though I love the idea of Ryan Gosling in the role, I think Sam Rockwell is one more degree of perfect. I recommend you check out seven-ate-9's full post; here's why I love his choices:

Jack Nicholson     ...        R.P. McMurphy                ...   Sam Rockwell

Sam is hugely talented, and he hits the right note between charming  & smarmy. Favorite Sam roles, anyone? I'll go with Charlie in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

Louise Fletcher    ...       Nurse Mildred Ratched    ...  Linda Hamilton

Whoa! The tough chick who's institutionalized in T:2 turns to the other side! Brilliant.

William Redfield    ...     Dale Harding                ...          Sam Waterston

Sydney Lassick    ...      Charley Cheswick       ...        Kevin Spacey

I'm imagining Spacey playing this like his character in The Usual Suspects, but it would be great to see him play someone who's not hiding a wolf-like cunning.

Brad Dourif            ...      Billy Bibbit               ...             James Van der Beek

It would be wild to see this former teen sex symbol become terrified of the thought that his mother would discover he lost his virginity.

Christopher Lloyd     ...     Taber                        ...            Elias Koteas

seven-ate-9 said "Does anyone out there currently play a better nutter?" I don't have an opinion on that, but I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Mr. Koteas. Remember him as the compassionate Captain Staros in The Thin Red Line? And who can forget him as Casey Jones in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

William Duell           ...     Jim Sefelt                 ...               Michael Jeter

Poor Michael Jeter. I didn't even know he was gone until I read seven-ate-9's post. Since he's the only one we'd have to resurrect, what do you guys think of benthams_head's choice, Dylan Baker? He's one of those "Oh, that guy. I like that guy!" kind of actors.

Vincent Schiavelli    ...     Fredrickson               ...            Steve Buscemi

Will Sampson            ...     Chief Bromden         ...            Ron Perlman

seven-ate-9 is right on: "While not preserving the American Indian vibe, I'm convinced he could bring the strong and silent like he did in The City of Lost Children (1995)."

Danny DeVito            ...      Martini                  ...                  Colin Farrell

Wow. Farrell can pull off a boyish charm (did you see In Bruges?) but playing that cute meatball, Martini, would be a challenge. If he pulled it off, he should star in a modern remake of Tom Hanks's Big.

Dean R. Brooks         ...     Dr. John Spivey             ...     J.K. Simmons

Nice! The guy who played Juno's dad would be perfect here. I can see him
playing it similar to how he played the CIA boss in Burn After Reading. He and Brad Pitt were my two favorite things about that film.

Scatman Crothers    ...     Turkle the Janitor            ...    John Witherspoon