There are many differences between the book and the film of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. For example Cheswick dies in the book when he gets his hand stuck in the bottom of the pool, however in the movie Cheswick doesn’t die. In the book Chief Bromden is the narrator. In the movie there is no real narrator, but McMurphy is the main character and he’s usually the one talking. Chief is more of a secondary character in the movie. Doctor Spivey is also much less of an important character in the movie. He doesn’t go with the patients on the fishing trip and is only in a few scenes. I felt that the most significant change between the book and the movie was how they choose not to have Cheswick die in the movie. That was a big event in the novel and the patients were devastated by his death. In the movie he lives and stays in the hospital.
I don’t think that there were that many differences between the movie and the book. I think the movie followed the plotline of the book pretty closely with few differences. Many of the main events such as the attempt to lift the control panel, the death of Billy Bibitt, and the fishing trip all matched the books description. I think the main difference for me was how the characters were portrayed, McMurphy in the book was a big, redheaded man who was always smiling, in the movie he was small with brown hair and didn’t seem to have the same personality that I would have imaged McMurphy to have. Also I think Cheswick was portrayed really differently. In the book he was the person who always instigated and talked up situations, and pretended to be tough, but in the movie he was very passive and whiny. The other differences such as the difference in narration, Dr. Spivey’s role, and Cheswick’s death didn’t seem very important to me.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I noticed as I started watching the movie was that Chief Bromdem wasn't narrating the story, like he did in the book. The audience never got to see his point of view on anything or what he was thinking in the movie.
ReplyDeleteHe wasn't the main character, McMurphy was. Speaking of McMurphy, he didn't look how I imagined him to, or atleast how the book portrayed him to look. In the movie, he wasn't a redhead, nor was he as buff and bulky how I pictured. His voice wasn't that deep either. The book portrayed him to be jolly, but in the movie he didn't seem all that happy, nor did he laugh that much. Overall, the storyline was pretty much along the same lines of the book, with a few things left out. The most noticiable event that was left out was Cheswick's death. In the book, he drowns but in the movie he does not. Also, Cheswick isn't as agressive as I thought he would be. In the movie he complained too much, and seemed to be "soft".