Western Blog

After viewing many western movies in class it is clear that they overlap in many ways. Whether this includes the setting, the characters, the plot, the mood or the cinematic style they have many things in common.
For example the setting is often placed in a warm, dry southern town in the west. It usually takes place within the years 1860-1910. These types of settings were seen in Blazing Saddles and Stagecoach.
The characters also overlapped in both movies. They both had a hero character, that was strong and silent, and both had high morals. In Blazing Saddles –it was the Sheriff. In Stagecoach it was Doc Boone. Both movies also included roles that were very stereotypical for supporting roles. This included a town drunk, prostitutes, gamblers and the “good cowboys”.
The plot of both westerns was also similar. They both involved face-to-face show downs/gun fights. They both ended with the hero coming out on top. There were also similar themes like: frontier versus civilization, the individual versus society, and freedom versus conformity.

Behind the Scenes

In truly understanding cinematography one must be able to understand what happens behind the scenes. After viewing One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, (Milos Forman, 1976) one can see how the actors were hand picked for their roles. They were so respected for the movie itself that is won 5 Oscars, and had another 11 nominations. This includes excellent acting by Jack Nicholson, as R.P McMurphy, or Louis Fletcher playing Nurse Ratched. It was filmed in an authentic mental hospital in Oregon. Upon arriving at a mental institution, the rebellious psyche patient played by Nicholson, rallies all the patients together to take on the force of nurse. The nurse is more like a dictator than the stereotypical loving and caring nurse. In fully understanding the film, one must take a closer look at the amazing job the actors did.
Jack Nicholson is energetic and a wise guy who stands up against the establishment. His character is juxtaposed with Nurse Ratched as the establishment verses the anti-establishment. His first protest he stages in the movie is to gain the rights to watch the World Series on TV. He ends up interacting with the patients on a different level then everyone else, and this helped to create change. An example of this would be in his relationship with “Chief” Bromden (Sampson). The Chief is schizophrenic and assumed deaf; he is often ignored, yet respected due to his size. It is through the heroic and rebellious personality of R.P. McMurphy that the Chief came out of his shell. This attitude of McMurphy’s ends up being the cause of his ruin and eventual lobotomy. This symbolizes the need in society to control the uncontrollable.
Nurse Ratched (Louis Fletcher ) is the other character worthy of mentioning. She is so convincing with her stern personality that even watching she can be scary. She tries to get everyone to behave and submit to her demands. She breaks down the characters so fully that she leads one character Billy to commit his own suicide. She is the one in control, and yet in scenes like this, we question her own mental stability.
This movie is not only filled with exceptional acting, but also is a critique of society itself. After reading synopsis online, I learned that, “ It surprised everyone by becoming enormously profitable - the seventh-highest-grossing film ever (at its time), bringing in almost $300 million worldwide” (1). It is in the acting that the movie comes to life.

















Work CitedUnknown, "Synopsis for One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest." Internet Movie Database 3- 28-08
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