One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		0.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Ratched and clink.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 7, 2025

Just in time for its 50th anniversary, Warner Bros. presents Miloš Forman's seminal drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest on 4K UHD in both regular and Steelbook editions. Similar to Amadeus, it was recently restored from the original camera negative by the Academy Film Archive, with restoration funding provided by Teatro Della Pace Film and support by producer Paul Zaentz. Flanked by two lossless audio options as well as new and returning bonus features, it aims to be a definitive home video edition of the film... and while it doesn't quite achieve that goal in my opinion (and sadly lacks a Blu-ray copy), this is still a very solid release whose technical merits speak for themselves.

For a synopsis and appreciation of the main feature, please see Greg Maltz's review of Warner Bros.' 2008 Blu-ray, which took several of its cues from an earlier DVD release and was later kinda succeeded by an Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray. As my slightly higher score indicates, I'm a bit more receptive to the film's spell and recognize it as a certified classic that deserved most of its five Oscar wins; the Best Picture losers that year were Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, and Nashville, which certainly makes its biggest trophy at least somewhat debatable in many circles. Nonetheless, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest remains a uniquely bracing drama with terrific performances and still packs a massive emotional punch, and as such it's well worth revisiting via this sparkling new restoration.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: These screenshots are sourced from an earlier Blu-ray edition of the film.

For my thoughts on the new 4K restoration and transfer, see my recent review of WB's standard 4K edition.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, more information about the included audio options can be found at the review linked above.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This release ships in a Steelbook with what might be the goofiest artwork in recent memory. It's not a total AI job as it seems to be based on this shot from the movie, but Randle is now "stuck" inside the world's most easily escapable cage like a cartoon character from the 1980s. The back cover is a bunch of floating feathers (what are we watching, Forrest Gump?), while the thankfully slightly better interior is a traditional still image of "the gang" and Nurse Ratched in one of many group therapy sessions. Again, the original poster art would've been just fine, or one of its many variants as seen on previous Blu-rays; instead, an intern whipped up this bad boy over lunch break and clocked out early.

On-disc extras are identical to the standard 4K edition and listed below in name only.

• Retrospective Featurettes

• Conversations on Cuckoo: Group Therapy (13:07)
• Conversations on Cuckoo: Moviemaking Memories (10:34)

• Completely Cuckoo (86:17)

• Deleted Scenes (5 clips, 9:25)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

MiloMiloš Forman's Oscar-winning drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest turns 50 this year and remains as visceral and potent as ever, and Warner Bros.' newly restored 4K edition is largely up to the challenge of offering die-hard fans and newcomers a definitive home video edition of this classic. The visuals represent a substantial leap over earlier Blu-ray editions, the audio options are fine, and the bonus features are very good despite several important legacy items strangely not making the cut. This Steelbook has laughable cover artwork and thus doesn't much of a visual upgrade from the equally terrible cover of WB's standard 4K edition, so pick whichever one you hate the least.