The One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest ending was anything but straightforward, and also remains one of the most harrowing of any Jack Nicholson movie. The 1975 adapted the novel of the same name by Ken Kesey and received overwhelmingly positive critical praise due to director Milo Forman’s brilliant handling of the difficult subject. The movie was hugely successful at the Academy Awards and became only the second film to win all five major categories (and its legacy grew in the ensuing decades, including earning a spot on the AFI’s 100 Greatest Movies list).