M*A*S*H (Special Edition) [VHS]
starring Donald Sutherland, Elliott
Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman,
Robert Duvall
A Life Changing Event For Me
Its set during the Korean War, in a mobile army surgical hospital. But no
one seeing M*A*S*H in 1970 confused the film for anything but a caustic
comment on the Vietnam War; this is one of the counterculture movies tha t
exploded into the mainstream at the end of the 60s. Director Robert
Altman had labored for years in television and sporadic feature work when
this smash-hit comedy made his name (and allowed him to create an
astonishing string of offbeat pictures, culminating in the masterpiece
Nashville). Altmans style of cruel humor, overlapping dialogue, and
densely textured visuals brought the material to life in an all-new kind of
war movie (or, more precisely, antiwar movie). Audiences had never seen
anything like it: vaudeville routines played against spurting blood, fueled
with open ridicule of authority. The cast is led by Elliott Gould and Donald
Sutherland, as the outrageous surgeons Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper
John McIntyre, with Robert Duvall as the uptight Major Burns and Sally
Kellerman in an Oscar-nominated role as nurse Hot Lips Houlihan. The
films huge success spawned the long-running TV series, a considerably
softer take on the material; of the films cast, only Gary Burghoff repeated
his role on the small screen, as the slightly clairvoyant Radar OReilly. --
Robert Horton
There are really three groups of MASH lovers. There are those who read
the book and love it. Those who loved the TV series. Those who loved
the movie. Each group has its reasons why one is better than the other. I
read Hookers two MASH books and found them funny and in the second
one,touching. I enjoyed parts of the TV series, but the movie changed me.
MASH is one of those few movies that people know exactly where they
were when they saw this movie and these types of movies are very rare. I
saw MASH in 1970 as a sneak preview to a B motorcycle movie[see my
other reviews]. The house was packed because of the first movie and
there were very few women there. The movie started and the music
began and I had no idea what the h__l was going on. As the movie went
on I found myself lost in every scene. I laugh because I wanted too, the
laughter wasnt forced. I can remember each scene clearly even today. But
as I was watching the movie, I was thinking this isnt Korea, but a jab at
Viet Nam. I slowly realized that I was being shown an anti war movie. A
very good anti war movie that wasnt beating me over the head, but softly
creaping into my mind. In the late 60s and early 70s there were many anti
war movies and they were not subtle at all. People found the m to be a big
turn off, but not this movie.
Looking back at it now, this movie pole vaulted Sutherland and Gould to
superstar status. We began to see movies with * in the titles, i.e S*P*Y*S,
which was horrible. WIFFS starting Gould was another anti war comedy, I
am joking here it was terrible. But these two did do many very good
movies, DONT LOOK NOW [best sex scene ever} and the LONG
GOODBYE.
MASH opened my eyes to power of movie making, from the great script
by Larnder, acting, filming, and theme song. I never watched this movie
again because of the strong impression it left on me. It colored my view of
the TV series and lead me to the books by Richard Hooker. Dont mention
those MASH GOES TO whatever series.
The generation now remembers only the TV series and then only a lttle.
The kids today may see the TV series on some channel in the afternoon,
but go on to something else. This is to bad because this movie still holds
up. I have listen to students, who saw MASH at their college or in a fil m
study class, rave about how funny it is and how much better it is than the
TV series. They ask me if I have seen it? I smile and and shake my head.
I have asked them, Is that all it is ? A comedy? The answer is always yes.
Today with the wars that are going on, MASH is just a comedy? Times are
achanging.
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