Rating: 
Summary: Suicide is Painless
Review: The title song sums up perfectly the mood of the film:The game of life is hard to play;
I'm going to lose it anyway;
The losing card I'll someday lay;
So this is all I have to say: Suicide is painless;
It brings on many changes;
And I can take or leave it if I please. The only way to win is cheat
And lay it down before I'm beat;
And to another give my seat
For that's the only painless feat. Suicide is painless;
It brings on many changes;
And I can take or leave it if I please.
And you can do the same thing if you please. Robert Altman's seminal film gives us an inside look at how a group of surgeons at a military base during the Korean War cope with the reality of conflict and human violence. Suicide is an apt metaphor for the stepping outside of conventions (the American way, authority and regulations, morality) the soldiers undertake in order to deal with the harshness of war. They choose anonymity, opting to forget the outside world, instead forming their own society, the mechanics of which eschew authority and convention. Altman's characters lay aside obligations, loyalties, and traditional codes of conduct. Along with them, we almost forget that these are men with families and histories; that is, until the final moments when they, along with us, are abruptly brought back to reality as they prepare to leave and go back to 'ordinary life'. The movie plays like a series of variations on this theme, many of the film's episodes functioning as allegories of human conflict and its corollaries. It certainly doesn't major on plot, but rather is sustained by a host of interesting characters, sharp and often hilarious dialogue and excellent performances. Altman brings a certain naturalism out of his actors, and impeccable timing in the more comedic moments. It would be a mistake, however, to see the comedy as a trivializing of violence and death. On the contrary, this is a deeply serious film, whose tone is clear from the outset, where Johnny Mandel's melancholy rhythms and harmonies suggest pain beneath the comedic exterior. Throughout the film, tragedy is never far from laughter. Comedy has always been the vehicle of serious comment. So it is with M*A*S*H. Not only is the absurdity of war itself brilliantly satirized, but Altman takes a poke at how Hollywood has dealt with the subject. The score frequently recalls the kind of stirring, patriotic tunes heard in old war movies, only to offset the effect by highlighting the farce of war, smashing false notions of glory and romance to pieces. This is a highly introspective film, and several of Altman's touches are there to remind us of the power of film, and perhaps the responsibility upon the shoulders of film-makers. There are frequent references to the old war movies, reminding us that M*A*S*H, at least in the eyes of its makers, stands in a different category together, a new subset of the war genre. It will be up to the viewer to decide whether Altman's new treatment of the themes of war and violence is really any more truthful than those of a few decades earlier. Some have found M*A*S*H merely offensive. Others have found it refreshing and astute in its perceptions. Watch it and decide for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: It might have been funny in 1969. It's not now.
Review: I don't know how it happened, but somehow I never saw this film, nor did I ever see any of the television episodes which were based on it. Of course, I had heard of MASH though and was looking forward to this video of the original 1969 screenplay. I expected to enjoy it completely. WRONG! Directed by Robert Altman, the screenplay was written by Ring Lardner Jr., adapted from the novel by Richard Hooker. It takes place in a medical facility during the Korean War and shows doctors working with war victims, saving lives daily in a primitive operating room. It's a comedy though, and everything is exaggerated, from the extraordinary amount of blood in the operating room scenes to the practical jokes these doctors play. They are often covered in blood and some of the scenes are not for the squeamish as they wisecrack and flirt and oppose military authority throughout, drinking and drugging and romping with the bimbo nurses. It's all is supposed to be great fun. Donald Sutherland plays Hawkeye and Elliott Gould plays trapper. They are both surgeons who use every bit of their spare time partying. Robert Duvall is also a surgeon but he sprouts dogmatic religious philosophy and blames others for his mistakes. Early on, he's eliminated after a practical joke that makes him and the head nurse, played by Sally Kellerman, the laughing stock of the company. In one of the overlapping stories, the men cure a potential suicide victim who questions his manhood by letting a nurse use her body to cure him of his delusion. And then there's a football game in which the MASH team wins by cheating. I know this is all supposed to really be about the stupidity of the Vietnam War. It's supposed to make us sympathize and identify with the hard-working doctors who have to put up with petty military rules. It's supposed to be funny. I even cracked a smile or two. But I didn't laugh when they humiliated a nurse by exposing her nakedness while taking a shower. I didn't laugh when the decision to commit suicide seemed an all-right solution for someone who thought he was gay. I didn't laugh when the MASH team won the football game because they used hypodermic needles on the opposing team. Instead, I raised an eyebrow and wondered about the mindset of people in 1969 -- when it was funny to see women as mindless, gay people has having to be cured, and drugs the answer to every question. I, myself, would have thought it was funny then. I don't now. I can't really give MASH a bad recommendation. After all, it was a classic in its time. The acting was excellent, the timing of the jokes perfect. And it certainly captured the absurdity of war. It's an interesting historical study of America then. And it's worth seeing for that alone. But then was then. And now is now. I just can't help it if it's 2002.
Rating: 
Summary: Watched the second DVD first
Review: I was always a bigger fan of the TV show than the movie (Still Am) but the special features of this film were fascinating! I had no ideas the struggles the filmmakers went through to get this movie made. An interesting documentary on the second disc also compares the film, the tv show, and the real Korean war. Interesting Stuff
Rating:
Summary: Ugly, Blasphemous, Vulgar, Mean-Spirited--and Brilliant
Review: Although M*A*S*H is probably his most audience-friendly film, Robert Altman's style of over-lapping dialogue and multiple themes provokes a divided reaction even in this early work: you either like it or you don't. Perhaps more significant, however, are expectations raised by the popular and long-running television series the film inspired: the series concerned likable characters playing situation comedy with a dramatic spin, and viewers who expect to see this repeated in the film will be disappointed--and very probably outraged as well. Like most Altman films, M*A*S*H is character-driven, and there is no plot in any traditional sense. In general, the film concerns three surgeons (Hawkeye, Trapper, and Duke, here played by Donald Sutherland, Elliot Gould, and Tom Skerritt) who are drafted to serve in Korea. Sharing a mutual fondness for martinis and a complete disrespect for all things military, they run riot through the M*A*S*H 4077, mocking the efforts of by-the-book military officers to make them toe the line and using the army's need of their skills to prevent higher authority from penalizing them for their antics. Most of the characters (including the three leads) are at best unsympathetic, and the film's comic elements are deliberately grotesque, mean-spirited, blasphemous, sexist, and vulgar. Altman clearly intends us to read the Korean setting as a metaphor for Vietnam and the disrespect for an inept military authority as a metaphor for America's increasing disenchantment with military intervention in Vietnam; at the same time, the film's graphic surgery scenes provide us with a clear vision of the human toll war requires. Because the film mixes these points of view with comic elements, it is frequently described as an anti-war black comedy--but the film is so profoundly bitter that the word comedy, even when codified as "black," is rather misleading. There are certainly comic elements and even a few laugh-out-loud moments (most centering upon Margaret "Hotlips" O'Houlihan, brilliantly played by Sally Kellerman), but the tone of the film is so bitter that the laughter induced is very rueful indeed. Seen today, M*A*S*H feels slightly uneven in execution and very much of its place and time--but even so the cast performs with an extremely compelling immediacy and Altman's dark and multi-layered vision makes a powerful statement. The DVD release features a superb restoration of the film, a rather dismissable director's commentary track, and four short documentaries re the film which are extremely interesting but often redundant. Fans of Altman in general or this film in particular will find the DVD a must-have. While I do recommend the film to newcomers, I offer the warning that response to the film varies considerably from individual to individual. Whatever the case, M*A*S*H was and is a landmark film that deserves a place in any serious DVD library.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have For All DVD Collections
Review: As a long time MASH fan I found this DVD a must have. Besides the movie being one of Hollywood's best I found that the extra footage and specials on the two-disc set were a great added value. My girlfriend who's grandfather owned the choppers in the movie and TV show got a good taste of what the film was about from one of the documentary's on the DVD. She did not want to see the entire film but she said that from what we showed her she got a good taste of the film. To me this is a great american film that shows our feelings and thoughts during the 60's and 70's.
Rating:
Summary: Reassessing MASH
Review: The DVD's attractive packaging and the chance to see this important film in widescreen don't quite overshadow the fact that some of the extras here are nothing special. There are two documentaries on the background of the film and much of the information is interchangeable. Director Altman's audio commentary is disappointing; he seems uninspired, self-congratulatory, and what he says often has little apparent connection to what's on the screen. Nevertheless, I don't want to sell this DVD short, again because it gives viewers a chance to view the film in a format that is close to what its creators intended. Having seen old TV versions of the movie, I felt like I was seeing it for the first time. Like many counter-cultural classics of its time, MASH doesn't always hold up well. It is a matter of "you had to be there": first, the cast and crew were obviously having a hell of a good time, playing to each other and Altman, not to the audience. In the context of Vietnam and free love, seeing this must have been exhilarating. Now, some of it seems mean-spirited and no more progressive than the values its makers were mocking. But, in the context of the current "war on terrorism," the film has considerable power: its message is that war is a bloody farce in which every chance to get drunk or laid must be taken.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best films of all time!
Review: "M*A*S*H" is a masterpiece of comedy set in the bleakness of the Korean War. I always enjoy watching this film. Like the TV-series that it inspired, it never gets old. This is a MUST HAVE for any DVD collection!
Rating:
Summary: Nothing like the series - This is the real thing!!
Review: First of all, let me say that I enjoy the MASH television series. But it's impossible to compare that series to the classic movie that Robert Altman made. The movie, about a surgical hospital on the front lines during the Korean War and the doctors and nurses who lived through it, was and is one of the great classics of modern cinema. Some of our greatest actors (Robert Duvall for one) are the centerpieces of this movie, and though it's portrayed as a comedy (and a very funny comedy at that), it also points out the stresses and absurdity of life at the front lines. The movie is darker than the series (you won't see any men hopping around in a dress in this movie), and the humor is certainly more sophisticated. It's one of those movies that you understand and like a little better each time you view it. This is a classic. It's hilarious, and you'll find yourself laughing out loud at some of the antics of the characters. But you'll also feel like you've met real people that you can care about, and that you feel for as they struggle with the realities and horrors of life on the front lines.
Rating: 
Summary: I DON'T CARE...
Review: ...how much extra stuff you put into this film! It'll still be AWFUL! Watch the series! It's a hundred times better than this mess of a film! Stupid and Dull! Only a few funny moments! Grade: D-
Rating:
Summary: In a word- WOW
Review: If you're a MASH addict like I am, you know the episodes and movie lines by heart and can quote all the inconsistencies in every story line from 1972 through 1983. You're going to be a little skeptical of a version of the classic movie which maybe brings more to the table than you thought possible. Don't be: this DVD is worth more than the price. Forget all the additional materials: the behind-the-scenes, the trailers, the cast union, the interview with Altman... the DVD is worth it's cost just based on the remastering of the color alone. There is a feature on the DVD which details the painstaking process the DVD producers went through to restore the decaying film frame by frame enhancing the image and sound as they went. The result is almost surreal. In the same feature, there is a demonstration of basically the "before and after" in which they show the original film image on one side of the screen and the DVD version on the other. The difference is glaring and brilliant. You will not be disappointed with this DVD.
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