Brilliant. Time to talk about our Ten lists once more, so settle in for the long haul and try and keep up. Much discussion ensues as Sam tries to extol the virtues of Ingmar Bergman, praise the magical realism of Billy Liar and attempt to make sense of All About Lily Chou-Chou. John continues the theme, causing slight, though understandable, consternation with his uncensored views on Raging Bull and confessions of multiple tears during Schindler’s List. Tom rounds the night off in business-like fashion with praise for The 400 Blows, controversial dislike for the second half of Stalker and man-crushed love for Le Samourai.

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 40.5

Remember to email us, sugarplums!

Brilliant. Time to talk about our Ten lists once more, so settle in for the long haul and try and keep up. Much discussion ensues as Sam tries to extol the virtues of Ingmar Bergman, praise the magical realism of Billy Liar and attempt to make sense of All About Lily Chou-Chou. John continues the theme, causing slight, though understandable, consternation with his uncensored views on Raging Bull and confessions of multiple tears during Schindler’s List. Tom rounds the night off in business-like fashion with praise for The 400 Blows, controversial dislike for the second half of Stalker and man-crushed love for Le Samourai.

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 40.5

Remember to email us, sugarplums!

The showdown between a nurse and a patient. Let the games begin.

Implacable rabble-rouser Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is committed to an asylum and inspires his fellow patients to rebel against the authoritarian rule of head nurse Mildred Ratched (Louise Fletcher).

The film has one of the greatest feuds between 2 characters I have ever seen on film. A nurse and a patient doesn’t seem so heavy you say, but after you see this then you will question no more. Nurse Ratched is all about order and discipline. Randle on the other hand represents everything anti-establishment, who is in the nut house pretending to be crazy to escape being in incarcerated.Both feud and show dislike towards one another and its surely something great to see.

The film has a great sense of the human qualities to it. Randle treats these patients as if they are normal old human beings and not some drugged out nut cases that have to follow a same routine everyday. This makes you think and makes you feel about life in a great and wonderful way of who you really are.

There are scenes that are just simply unforgettable much of due to the charisma of the stars portraying these characters. They all seem so real in a creepy kinda weird way. Jack Nicholson gives an amazing performance that is too great to be true and brings all of the energy to the film. Having Louise Flecther playing the quiet but very strict nurse is totally effective as she is a lady that doesn’t talk too loudly and wants everything done her way but when that flip switches, oh god it sure as heck switches. The rest of the cast do very exceptional jobs as many will see great debut films for such stars as: Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, and Brad Dourif.

The mixes with comedy and drama throughout but ultimately is the most effective tragedy of all-time. The on-going feud between Nurse Ratched and Randle are simply one of the greatest feuds on screen of all-time and set the grounds for many more effective feuds in cinema history.

There is nothing bad I can say about this film other than it truly is a wonderful American Classic. All should see if you want a film that will make you laugh, cry, think, and overall be happy about your own life, and not many films nowadays do that.

10/10=Full Price!!!

(Season 4, Episode 5)

I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but sometimes I wonder if we don’t have more people reading TV Squad than Heroes has viewers. And so I want to keep reminding fallen fans who may have jumped ship over the past two not-so-great seasons that things are going much better this season.

There’s a better balance in each episode than there’s been. In the past few weeks, we’ve been sticking to mostly three storylines per week. This time around, we checked in on Peter, Claire and Sylar (after his unearthing last week). They’re allowing the characters room to breathe and be themselves, rather than just rushing into the next adventure.

It was character growth and development that I’d missed the most, and we’re finally getting it. Zachary Quinto was fantastic this episode, and even Hayden Panettiere showed an inkling of range. Oh, who am I kidding, she was as wooden as ever, but that’s why we like her … right?

–>to continue reading, follow the link over to the full article on TV Squad

SPOILER ALERT!! - Self-discovery rocks their world as our Heroes encounter new abilities, try to recall past lives and stumble upon an unexpected kiss – Madeline Zima, Dawn Olivieri, Deanne Bray, Tessa Thompson, Ernie Hudson, Ray Park and Academy Award-winner Louise Fletcher guest-star.

In Hysterical Blindness, Samuel (Ray Knepper) prepares for new additions to his family, while Lydia (Dawn Olivieri) warns him of the consequences. Claire (Hayden Panettiere) discovers that her roommate Gretchen (Madeline Zima) may have a hidden agenda. Meanwhile, Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) finds an unexpected way to connect with Emma (Deanne Bray), who would prefer to stay distant. Elsewhere, a different side of Sylar (Zachary Quinto) emerges as he desperately tries to remember the person he used to be. Masi Oka and Cristine Rose also star; Rachel Melvin and Jack Wallace also guest-star. Hysterical Blindness airs Monday, October 12th @ 8 p.m. EST on NBC.

Claire's (Hayden Panettiere) and Gretchen's (Madeline Zima) friendship takes an unexpected turn in next week's Heroes. Photo copyright of NBC TV

As noted above, photo courtesy of and copyright of NBC TV, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

(Season 4, Episode 3)

Let’s talk candidly. After all, it looks like you and I are the only ones left watching this show. Remember the good old days when Heroes was the top-rated show on NBC and all the talk at the proverbial water coolers? It feels like it was only three years ago.

It’s a shame that it looks like this ratings erosion is a permanent one, as tonight was a good installment. Unless things turn around immediately, it’s a pretty safe bet this will be the last volume of Heroes. They need to sneak in some stunt casting or film a live episode or whore the stars out to all the talk shows relentlessly if they want to save the show. If they want to.

–>to continue reading, follow the link over to the full article on TV Squad

Jack got a busted nose in Chinatown. Uploaded by cinemaisdope.com.

Jack Nicholson has played some of the most fascinating roles in movie history. He’s been the Joker in Batman… J.J. Gittes in Chinatown… Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest… Jack Torrance in The Shining… and Colonel Jessep in A Few Good Men. And that’s just some of the high points.

H-e-e-e-re's Johnny! Uploaded to Flickr by stephen-kingdotch.

One of the ways we know an actor is truly great is that he makes each part so distinctively his own that we can’t imagine anyone else in the role. And with Nicholson, there’s an edge about him that helps make his every character unpredictable.

I don’t consider Five Easy Pieces a highlight of his career, but the diner scene is quintessential Nicholson. He wants breakfast made his way, and the waitress won’t allow any substitutions. Look at how Jack controls every moment of this scene:

While it seems that Nicholson dominates most of his movies, in each of his movies for which he’s won Academy Awards, his co-star also won Best Actress: Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Great American Thing No. 140), Helen Hunt in As Good as it Gets, and Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment. In addition to the three wins, he’s been nominated nine additional times. He received a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute in 1994.

Oh, and he also played the President of the United States in Mars Attacks! Ack ack. Ack ack ack.

Por Jaime Ramos

Inspirado por los útimos Clásicos de nuestro programa de radio, y por mi cariño hacia el personaje de Benjamin Linus en Lost, os traigo esta lista que debería haber llamado “Mis 10 villanos favoritos”, pero como la cosa va de maldad, mejor ser pretencioso, pedante y resabido. Allá vamos (espero no olvidar a nadie):

10. Javier Bardem en su papel de Anton Chigurh en No es país para viejos

Lo más o menos divertido, según se mire, de la construcción de este personaje, son los motivos que le llevan a matar, porque al igual que Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov y Brandon Shaw, él cree poseer una moral superior, solo que sin los fallos de base (conciencia y empatía) de los mencionados.

9. Hades en Hércules, encarnado por la voz de James Woods.

Sí, sé que me meto en un jardín introduciendo un villano de Disney, porque cada cual tiene su favorito, pero creo que Hades es el mejor conseguido de todos, después de una tendencia clásica a hacerlos a todos demasiado parecidos. Otro que me encanta es el malvado niño descuartiza juguetes de Toy Story.

8. El lobo de La historia interminable o Lars Von Trier (a elección del lector)

Un poco de 2.0, ¿no creen? Elijan lo que les aterrorizó más, ese malvado licántropo o ese director licántropo devorador de personajes (imagínense quedar encerrado en una de sus películas, donde ningún personaje tiene esperanza).

7. Ruth Gordon en el papel de Minnie Castevet en La semilla del diablo.

Este papel, de un clásico que recordamos hace poco en nuestra versión radiofónica, le dio a Ruth Gordon el Oscar a Mejor actriz de reparto. A mí, al menos, me parece la más malvada en la sección de vecinos espeluznantes, aquellos que tratan de cuidarte, pero por motivos más que diabólicos.

6. Jack Nicholson en su papel de Jack Torrance, en El Resplandor.

Cualquier motivo que dé en su respaldo se quedará muy corto. Un consejo, los que se la hayan perdido en versión original, descubrirán si la visualizan que es una película de terror. Y hablando de Jack Nicholson, esta es una decisión muy personal, como en el caso de Von Trier, en la que ustedes han de decidir irremediablemente (piénsenlo bien): ¿con cuál de los dos se quedan?

5. Hal 9000 en su papel de Hal 9000 en 2001 Odisea en el espacio.

Particularmente a mí me asusta más que cualquier versión Terminator porque de IBM no te lo esperas. Las órdenes contradictorias que le son dadas lo terminan convirtiendo en un psicópata muy silencioso. Sin embargo, permitan que rompa un condensador a su favor y en el de Chandra.

4. Alan Arkin por Roat en Sola en la Oscuridad.

Que es un psicópata lo tenemos claro, pero lo que honra tanto personaje como genial interpretación es la inteligencia que denota, que se plasma en imprevisibilidad para predecir su siguiente jugada, además de ser capaz de desdoblarse dentro del filme en varios personajes con apariencia inocente.

3. Ian McKellen por Magneto en X Men.

El villano, cuando es intelectual, es doblemente villano. Son aquellos que se vuelven contra el mundo después de que este no haya querido comprender su inteligencia superior. Para mí Magneto ganaría la partido al Lex Luthor de Superman interpretado por Gene Hackman (prefiero no hablar del último). Como el caso de Disney, el mundo cómic es terreno arenoso para tomar una decisión férrea sobre su villano favorito. Uno que me agrado mucho en los últimos tiempos fue Jeff Bridges en Ironman.

2. Louise Fletcher,o la enfermera Ratchet en Alguien voló sobre el nido del cuco.

Muchas veces el terror puede sorprender desde la persona que menos se espera. La enfermera Rachet representa en un solo personaje todas las barreras del ser humano por ser libre, es como el Gran Hermano corpóreo, como si Brazil hubiera tenido un villano específico. Aquella que extremando las reglas de nuestra sociedad, las utiliza para asfixiarnos.

1. Daniel Day Lewis, o Daniel Plainview en Pozos de Ambición.

Martin Scorsese demostró lo malo que podía llegar a ser Daniel Day Lewis, pero jamás imaginé que Paul Thomas Anderson pudiera elevarlo en interpretación hasta el nivel del ser Daniel Plainview. Un ser con la moral más perniciosa de la historia. El se reconoce como miembro de la sociedad, como persona, pero increíblemente el milagro de la existencia es tan solo algo secundario que pasa por casualidad por su capacidad para hacer el mal entre los que le rodean. Es el diablo en la Tierra, orgulloso de su condición, y lo peor de este personaje, es que hay que admitir que un día podemos reconocerlo, podemos cruzarnos con él. Y es que no son factores externos, o un engaño de su conciencia lo que le motiva: su maldad es propia, parte de él mismo. Me pone los pelos de punta su “I drink your milshake“

Antes de despedirme quería felicitar a los que se han quedado fuera de mi lista, sin ellos no hubiera sido posible esto (preparaos que son muchos): Alan Rickman, lo intentaste, pero no pudo ser; echaría de menos al Agente Smith; a Tom Hanks y Jude Law en Camino a la perdición; a los cuatro chicos de Funny Games; a algún que otro nazi, como Aman Goth; al malvado emperador Cómodo; a Jamie Foxx en Dreamgirls; a Max Cady; a Hannibal Lecter; a Nicolas Cage por él mismo; a Harry Powell; a Darh Vader y a su jefe; a Norman Bates, a Michael Corleone y ya me he cansado. ¿Se me ha olvidado alguien?

I’ve only seen three Milos Forman movies, but it’s hard to watch a single frame of this director’s work without understanding where his talent lies: he has a singular ability to understand madness. From One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to Amadeus to Man on the Moon, Forman shows that he understands the complex dimensions of craziness, instability, and the liberating force that insanity can be in a world governed by rules. I suppose Mozart and Andy Kaufman aren’t quite as insane or dangerous as Randall McMurphy or any of the other men in the asylum, but all three of these characters seem to be governed by a single dictum: the only way to survive and live your life is to use lunacy as a creative outlet. It’s a really amazing feat for a director to be able to explore this theme. Too many of the Best Pictures we watch are about ambition or greed or the wills of powerful men. Forman finds the greatness in powerless men and eagerly shows the audience that maybe we’re the loonies.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is an astonishing film, and while people tend to point to the two central performances — Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher — as the lynchpins of the affair, it’s really an amazing ensemble piece. Every guy in the asylum with McMurphy is an indelible character. Forman and his screenwriters have the courage to instruct these actors to let their freak flags fly, and the results are amazing. It would be easy to fill a film with a bunch of mockable loonies, but the men in Ratched’s ward are less insane than they are emotionally wounded, confused, and abandoned by society. Forman goes to great lengths to show how their various mental and emotional problems both help them to connect and isolate them from one another; the exuberance of the World Series scene and all their whacked out poker games is matched by the crushing despair of the “correctional” scenes — the unforgettable shock therapy scene, the dismal group therapy scenes, and the horrifying climax

The film almost always feels like a product of the 60’s, rather than the mid-70’s. When McMurphy and his friends are exploring their inner psychoses and the insanity of the outside world, the film is freewheeling, madcap, and maybe even a tad hypnotic. We are fully a part of their world, which is why Nurse Ratched’s intense obsession with structure and control make her seem like a pure villain. Really, she’s more of a long-suffering wife or mother figure, dealing constantly with the violent outbursts and the unpredictability of her patients. I have a bit of a problem with the film’s eagerness to paint her as the quintessential corrupt power figure, but I’ll save that for an academic essay. What I’m getting at is that this film is gleefully anti-authoritarian, dealing with a lot of the same issues Stanley Kubrick tackled in A Clockwork Orange, albeit in a less stifled and formalistic manner. The spirit of Cuckoo’s Nest roams free, and in the morale-crushing wake of the Nixon years, Nicholson’s audacious and rebellious McMurphy is a perfect echo of the gleeful, counter-cultural anarchy of the mid-to-late 60’s. The amazing sequence where all the men escape and go fishing is like Hair (also Forman’s work) but with crazy people. It’s just an amazing, unbounded, wondrous, and truly iconic moment in film history.

There’s a great moment in the film, and it might be the finest of Jack Nicholson’s entire career. Right at the end of the all-night bacchanal, Forman catches him in the middle of silent contemplation on the windowsill. The window is open and he has a chance to escape, but instead he just relishes the moment, letting a grin slip here and there, and the audience wonders — is he really crazy? Does he love the asylum too much to leave? McMurphy is not just a rabid anarchist and a practical joker… he’s a truly complex, unorthodox creature, and this quiet moment captures everything that needs to be said about him. During the final moments of the film, when McMurphy’s mutinous reign is extinguished by the cruelty of the powers that be, it’s impossible not to feel defeated and horrified by the unforgiving tyranny of the “sane world.” That Nicholson makes us care so deeply about this outlandish misfit is the ultimate testament to his skills as an actor.

There have been a million films about the triumph of the human spirit and the irrational means that humans use to get by, but there just aren’t many films that capture the need to deliver us from the chains of bondage as buoyantly and as perceptively as this one. This loose, intelligent, and overwhelmingly great film earns a 10/10.

I should start by saying that One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is the only movie that I saw for the first time during this Best Pictures Project but not within the context of the BP Project. I took a class called Insanity in Film, and it was one of the requirements. I considered not taking the class because of my loyalty to this project, but I did. And I loved this movie so much. Naturally, I was looking forward to seeing it again without having to take notes. It is so, so good. My favorite BP winner since On the Waterfront. It is one of three movies to win the “grand slam” – Best Picture, Screenplay, Director, Actor, and Actress (the others being It Happened One Night and Silence of the Lambs, another movie I watched in my Insanity in Film class). I never thought Louise Fletcher should have been nominated for Actress. Her role is much more supporting than leading. Otherwise, all five awards are totally deserved.

Occasionally the theme (“Who is REALLY insane?”) gets a little gimmicky. But the characters are so great. Especially Cheswick, the whiny neurotic one who asks Nurse Ratched for his cigarettes. And McMurphy really does care about these guys and want them to do well, as evidenced by his going back to see what happened to Billy and doing what he does to Nurse Ratched. The greatest scene in the movie is the one in which McMurphy hijacks the bus and takes everyone fishing. Masquerading as doctors in their own mental institution, they have a fun, lazy, silly day out at sea. Everything about this scene is so charming and heartwarming. Sure, McMurphy is a violent statutory rapist, but he just wants everyone to have a little fun in their lives.

I think I could watch this movie a million times and never get tired of it, and I plan to try now that I own the DVD. Especially since I found out most of Nicholson’s dialogue with Brooks (the actor who plays the psychiatrist who initially evaluates him) was improvised, so Brooks really was reacting to Nicholson’s “that little red beaver” comment. And apparently some of Louise Fletcher’s nasty glances were actually her reaction to Milos Forman’s incessant direction. Also, Brad Dourif, who plays Billy, went on to play Wormtongue in LOTR:TT. Anyway, it’s pretty obviously a 10/10.

An a emotional and comical scene. All the therapy scenes in this movie are fantastic, but couldn’t put them all on so I picked the best one.

Best Character: R.P. McMurphy

Best Quote: 

Scene:

I first met Jeff Seckendorf on the feature film, “Finding Home” starring Genevieve Bujold, Louise Fletcher and Lisa Brenner.  I was impressed.  I found his cinematography and his visual understanding of how to tell a story the most impressive thing about the feature film.  We’ve remained friends ever since.  A few years later I had the opportunity to produce a short film that Jeff directed entitled “The Crux,” starring Misha Collins and Wilie Garson (Sex and the City).  Still liked his understanding of film and how to tell the story visually.

Jeff Seckendorf has taught the “Art of Cinematography” for years at the International Film and Television Workshops (now the Maine Media Workshops).  It was because of Jeff’s introduction that I began to teach a course on producing at the Workshops.  One of my favorite highlights each year.  More info at my website at www.EricMofford.com.

A few months ago I completed production through my production company Unconventional Media on the live action elements of the Electronic Arts (EA) video game, “Need For Speed:Undercover.”  We shot a 25-minute narrative film that is interlaced into the game.  Jeff was the Director of Photography and he did an amazing job.  We chose the RED camera for a variety of reasons: the large chip allows full control of depth of field, and the camera records in a ‘raw’ mode which allowed us to deliver a 4k intermediate.  Check out my RED Camera blog for more info.

So the long story short, Jeff has a wonderful training course for directors, cinematographers, editors, production designers called One On One Film Training.  This is not a film school, but a confidential consulting and mentoring program that teaches visual storytelling.  It doesn’t matter if you have a feature film or a video short, a TV commercial or music video, the process is the same.  How to tell the story!

I saw the success of this program when I produced Diane Namm’s short film “The Sacrifice” starring Chris Mulkey, Jon Lindstrom and Darby Stanchfield (Mad Men).  Diane is a terrific writer and theater director but it was with Jeff’s One on One Training that she had a much better understanding of the filmmaking process.  I’ve worked with many first time directors, on bigger budget shows, that didn’t know what to do.  That wasn’t true with Diane Namm.  She was a professional throughout production.  I credit Jeff and his course (and I believe Diane would to) for this knowledge.

If you are not in Los Angeles, I know that One on One is available via ichat and podcasting.  In fact, I join Jeff on the audio recording “Making a Short Film.”  Check it out.  Check out the program.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

–My pop was real big. He did like he pleased. That’s why everybody worked on him. The last time I seen my father, he was blind and diseased from drinking. And every time he put the bottle to his mouth, he don’t suck out of it, it sucks out of him until he shrunk so wrinkled and yellow even the dogs didn’t know him.

–Killed him, huh?

–I’m not saying they killed him. They just worked on him. The way they’re working on you.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest came out in the mid-seventies after Watergate and Vietnam. The country was in the mood for something different, and an anti-hero who spoke his mind to the establishment hit the bull’s-eye. Based on Ken Kesey’s acclaimed novel, Michael Douglas picked up one of his father’s favorite projects that had never got off the ground and gave it wings. He started with hiring Milos Forman to direct. Forman would go on to direct Hair, Amadeus, Valmont, The People vs. Larry Flynt, and The Man in the Moon. Outsiders are people that Forman understands well and he brings that empathy to bear on the patients of a mental hospital.

Another great coup for this picture is, of course, the casting of Jack Nicholson. Apparently, he was not the obvious choice in 1975, and Cuckoo’s Nest became the first film to truly tap into that manic streak we take for granted in the Nicholson persona today. R. P. McMurphy may be Nicholson’s greatest performance.

The movie was shot on location in Oregon State Mental Hospital and the actors practically lived there which shows in their performances. Truly one of the greatest ensemble casts assembled, this movie has a young Danny Devito, Christopher Lloyd, Brad Dourif, Vincent Schiavelli, and Scatman Crothers. They all spent considerable time observing patients at the hospital and allowed them great verisimilitude in their improvised scenes. Will Sampson as Chief Bromden gives a wonderful, dignified performance that lies at the soul of the film.

Louise Fletcher won an Academy Award for playing Nurse Ratched. This movie is often criticized for having misogynistic tendencies which brings up a tricky point in feminist criticism. Is it okay to have a female villain? If you think the film is anti-woman because the strongest woman in it is evil, aren’t you in fact denying women equality? No one can deny that Nurse Ratched is one of the strongest characters in the film. Yes, it is troubling if you interpret the film as being symbolically about male rebellion against stifling female control. I would point out that although there are not a lot of women in the film, the others are portrayed as being kind hearted…not that bright maybe, but definitely compassionate. I think Louise Fletcher is to be commended because she makes Nurse Ratched a human being. This is a woman who truly wants to help her patients and is all the more dangerous for it. She doesn’t recognize that her sense of order has blended with her need for control to the point where she is abusing her power. She has the best of intentions in most cases, and that is what makes her so terrifying. There does seem to be a sense of men in the hospital fighting back against the women in their lives. There are several references, by the patients, to their conflicts with the female authority figures in their outside lives, particularly wives and mothers. The greatest thing about Fletcher, though, is that she rises above that. By making Nurse Ratched three-dimensional, she makes the film’s struggle to be about authority figures not women.

I watched this film on a recent Blu-Ray transfer. While it didn’t look as jaw-dropping as Bonnie and Clyde (which I’ll review next week), it added detail and depth to the screen. This is why I love high definition, Warner Brothers! Good job, and can I have more, please? 

A convict pretends
he’s nuts and gets sent to a
mental hospital.

O personagem Darth Vader, criado pelo realizador George Lucas para a saga “Star Wars”, foi considerada o maior vilão da história
do cinema, escreve o El País. 

No ranking elaborado pelo site Hollywood.com, Anthony Hopkins surge no
segundo posto com Hannibal Lecter.

A terceira posição é ocupada por Louise Fletcher, devido ao papel cruel em “Voando
sobre um ninho de Cucos” [obs.: nunca ouvi falar...]

O ator espanhol Javier Bardem ocupa o quarto posto com o recente Anton Chigurh, que lhe
valeu um Óscar, pela participação no filme “Este País não é para Velhos”. [isso existe mesmo ?]

Top 10 dos maiores vilões:

1.
Darth Vader – Stars Wars
2. Hannibal – Anthony Hopkins
3. Louise Fletcher – Voando Sobre um Ninho de Cucos
4. Anton Chigurh – Javier Bardem (Este País Não é Para Velhos)
5. Lord Voldemort – Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter)
6. Margaret Hamilton – O Mágico de Oz
7. Doutor Evil – Mike Myers (Austin Powers)
8. Stansfield – Gary Oldman
(Léon)
9. Hans Gruber – Alan Rickman (Die Hard)
10. O Coringa [joker] – Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

______________________________________________
É, Zé do Caixão… não foi desta vez !

Sabe aquele papo de “eu não posso morrer antes de…” que as pessoas tem mania de falar? Tipo, eu não posso morrer antes de pular de pára-quedas ou toda essa baboseira? Pois bem, meu caro. Eu te digo, com certeza: você não pode morrer, de jeito nenhum, sem assistir “Um estranho no ninho“.

Porque? Vou te explicar porque. Por um motivo simples: este é, até os dias de hoje, um dos melhores filmes de todos os tempos! É um drama intenso, visceral, que explode com todos os conceitos da psiquiatria da década de 70! Se você não toma cuidado, explode seus neurônios! Caramba, isso não é um filme, é um trator.

Jack Nicholson é, simplesmente, fenomenal, numa das atuações mais brilhantes da história do cinema. Dois Oscars pra ele é pouco demais! Como é que aquele Curinga que ele fez não ganhou o Oscar? Me ajuda aí! Não foi por nada que o American Film Institute lhe concedeu, em 1994, o prêmio pelo conjunto da obra de sua vida. A Academia comete seus erros. E quem assiste esse filme concorda que três Oscars pra esse cara não é nada!

Você sabia que Nicholson recusou o papel de Michael Corleone no primeiro The Godfather? E que Bob Kane, criador do Batman, o recomendou pessoalmente para interpretar o Curinga em 1989? Leia a biografia da vida desse cara. Sério. Ainda vai virar filme!

Bem, para quem não sabe, “Um estranho no ninho” (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, no original) conta a história de Randle Patrick McMurphy, prisioneiro que banca o louco para sair da prisão direto para o manicômio. Mas, quando ele chega lá, percebe que as coisas não são nada fáceis e que sua idéia não foi tão boa assim. Incrivelmente, ele se comunica de maneira excelente com os pacientes e eles estabelecem uma ligação maravilhosa. É triste, triste demais finalmente perceber, com esse filme, como o movimento de luta antimanicomial tem razão. É de cortar o coração as formas de tratamento que os portadores de sofrimento mental recebem. E o pior: perceber que o desajustado McMurphy é a pessoa mais humana do manicômio. É ele quem mais pensa no bem-estar dos pacientes.

Para mim, o ápice da obra é quando Nicholson concretiza a vontade presa na garganta de todos os espectadores e avança sobre a maldita enfermeira para matá-la (interpretada por Louise Fletcher). Todo mundo fica torcendo pra ele conseguir. E olha que eu tenho três amigas enfermeiras! Mas essa é pior que vilã de novela das oito.

Curiosidades:

• O filme foi todo rodado dentro de um hospital de verdade, com alguns pacientes com problemas mentais de verdade. A equipe toda praticamente morou no hospital durante a filmagem, com alguns deles tendo se relacionado com portadores de sofrimento mental para conhecer melhor o seu mundo. E as sessões de terapia em grupo representam quase todas as melhores seqüências do filme. Várias tomadas dessas terapias foram feitas com os atores nunca (eu disse nunca) sabendo que estavam sendo filmados.
• A cena da pescaria foi filmada e incluída na montagem final só depois de Michael Douglas, Saul Zaentz e todo elenco insistir muito com o diretor Milos Forman. Muitas das caras de nojo que os atores faziam eram verídicas: estavam todos com enjôo no barco, menos Nicholson. E essa cena é a única do filme que não foi filmada na sequência prevista no roteiro. O filme inteiro foi filmado na ordem em que foi montado.
• Esse filme demorou 13 anos para se concretizar graças à burocracia da Tchecoslováquia e tantos outros empecilhos. Foi uma saga enorme. Não caberia aqui. Saiba mais.
• O filme foi a estréia no cinema de três grandes atores. Brad Dourif (que fez “O Veludo Azul”, “Alien: a ressureição”, a voz do “Chucky” e ”O Senhor dos Anéis: As Duas Torres” e “O Senhor dos Anéis: O Retorno do Rei” – nesses dois últimos está irreconhecível), Christopher Lloyd (o popular professor do clássico dos anos 80 “De volta para o futuro”) e Danny De Vito ( o Pinguim de “Batman – O Retorno”, estava em “O nome do jogo” e já fez outros inúmeros filmes comédia-pastelão). O que eu não sabia é que foi a produtora de De Vito que tornou possível, nada mais, nada menos que “Pulp Ficcion”.

Enfim, se tudo isso não te convenceu, vá pular de pára-quedas. Mas lembre-se, se o Padre dos balões de festa não se salvou, o que vai ser de você hein?