The fact that modern Hollywood productions look boring is not least due to the constant faces. Things were different 50 years ago: In 1975, Miloš Forman showed in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” how lively and interesting the facial expressions of high-class actors can be when they are allowed to collide as an ensemble in a psychiatric hospital.
Whether blockbusters or classics: Beyond the streaming services, the business with high-quality film restorations that are released in 4K on UHD Blu-rays is flourishing. Week after week we test the most interesting discs, uncover the background to the production and special content features and compare the image and sound quality of the discs and streams.
An overexcited Jack Nicholson as McMurphy challenged the ice-cold Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched – a psychological battle that won both an Oscar and a permanent place in film history. After the Blu-ray Disc was out of stock in this country for a long time and remaining copies were sold at ridiculous prices, Warner restored the film in 4K for the first time and recently re-released it on UltraHD Blu-ray (UHD). We compare the image and sound quality of the two editions with the version, which is now also available as a stream in 4K.
But before we go into the technical details, let’s take a look at the production conditions and special features at the time that made it possible for the Czechoslovakian director Miloš Forman to achieve a milestone in New Hollywood cinema. After a short holiday break, the next home cinema test will take place on May 29th.
That was the reading sample of our heise-Plus article “Jack Nicholson beside himself: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in the 4K home cinema test”. With a heise Plus subscription you can read the entire article.
