Varèse Sarabande and Craft Recordings celebrate 50 years of Miloš Forman’s groundbreaking film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest with a special vinyl reissue of Jack Nitzsche’s Academy Award- and GRAMMY Award–nominated score. Widely regarded as one of the greatest films in American cinema, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest swept the “Big Five” Academy Awards at the 1976 ceremony—including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Jack Nicholson), and Best Actress (Louise Fletcher)—cementing its place in history. For this anniversary pressing, Nitzsche’s haunting score has been newly remastered (AAA) from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.
The release arrives in multiple collectible color variants. At Barnes & Noble, fans can purchase the new release on Translucent Forest Green vinyl; exclusive to the Varèse Sarabande Store is a Coke Bottle Clear vinyl; and traditional black vinyl will be available via wide release. Each edition comes packaged in a gatefold jacket.
Jack Nitzsche was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer and record producer. He rose to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand man of producer Phil Spector and went on to work with the Rolling Stones, Neil Young and others. He worked extensively in film scores including for Performance, The Exorcist and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. In 1983, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for co-writing “Up Where We Belong” with Buffy Sainte-Marie.
Nitzsche’s work on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was celebrated upon the film’s 1975 release, thanks in large part to the edginess the composer brought to the work, particularly with his use of a bowed saw during the opening and closing numbers. Nitzsche also utilizes some other…unexpected instruments, like wine glasses.
Upon release—and fast forwarding to the present day, where the score is rightfully noted as one of the most influential in modern film history—Nitzsche’s unorthodox approach helped shape the rules for what a film score could do.
As Steven McDonald noted in a review for AllMusic, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was also notable for giving director Miloš Forman a solid position in American cinema…and for giving composer Jack Nitzsche a place to show what he could do. As it is, the edgy nature of the film extends into the score, giving it a profoundly disturbing feel at times — even when it appears to be relatively normal.”
McDonald goes on to note how Nitzsche’s inimitable score helped give the film its narrative pacing and tone: “The music has a tendency to always be a little off-kilter, and from time to time it tilts completely over into a strange little world of its own (something very familiar to fans of Van Dyke Parks, with whom Nitzsche worked quite a bit).” The reviewer concluded that the score deserved a reevaluation, which it is certainly getting in 2025: “It’s a pity that this score has faded from sight over the time since its 1991 remastering; the music has certainly continued to stand up well over time.”
Miloš Forman’s film and Jack Nitzsche’s score have not only stood the test of time but have become even more celebrated in the 21st century. Long considered to be an overlooked and underrated gem in the world of soundtracks, Nitzsche’s score is finally getting a release in the format best suited for its eerie, provocative compositions.
Tracklist:
Side A
- One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Opening Theme)
- Medication Valse
- Bus Ride To Paradise
- Cruising
- Trolling
- Aloha Los Pescadores
Side B
- Charmaine
- Play The Game
- Last Dance
- Act Of Love
- One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Ending Theme)
