Rating: 
Summary: excellent dvd
Review: i think robert altman tried to offend many long held sensibilities with this movie.
viewing it in 2002, it doesn't seem like anything too terribly offensive, but it probably had a little more bite when it was released.
it's still very funny though, and you can't help but like these characters.. portrayed much more realistically here than in the subsequent television series. it's easy to see what the targets of the film's aim were: war, religion, hipocracy, inhibition (sexual and otherwise), and almost all form of authority.. and many of the scenes are very effective in their message. particularly in a scene where a man believes he is about to commit suicide because he can't deal with the fact that he believes he might be a homosexual (he can barely bring himself to say the word).
the doctors have set up a sort of ritual to see him out of the world, and the scene is set up to look like Da Vinci's painting The Last Supper... all while one of the men plays the guitar and sings the film's theme song "Suicide is Painless". it's a richly textured scene, and the mood is so absurd and irreverent that one can't help but laugh. most of the movie has a similar tone. it was a middle finger to the state of the world at the time the film was made.. and much of it still rings true today. and besides all that.. it's damn funny!
Rating:
Summary: Rebels on and off the Screen
Review: Had Altman not given the people of Califonia a sneak-peek of M*A*S*H it would have been shelved and locked away in the Fox Vault, never to see the light of day. But Altman, like each member of the M*A*S*H cast, was a rebel. He and his cast and crew dared to tell the truth in a time when Hollywood was supposed to be a dream factory. M*A*S*H is a black comedy that takes a stab at everything from the definaition of humanity and medical ethics to the reasons and methods of war. 5 miles from the Korean Front Line, the M*A*S*H characters are violently pushed to the brink. Some break. But others survive by pushing back with humor, love and blackmail. The movie opens with the arrival of Hawkeye Pierce and Duke Forester at the 4077, a number that has been immortalized by the movie and the series that followed in it's footsteps, and follows them as they try and survive their tour of duty. The bonuses on this DVD are outstanding and are well worth watching. Make sure you have the time to soak everything in, because the interviews with Altman and the cast are filled with M*A*S*H facts that will amaze you. For example: In some night shots of the Speaker you can see the moon in the background. The night those sceens were shot was the same night American astronaughts landed on the moon.
Rating: 
Summary: They released the TV version on DVD...how sad
Review: If you're buying this DVD because you want to see MASH as it was seen at the theater...forget it. This DVD is the cut version that was use for broadcast TV. If you want to see the original MASH as seen at the movies, try to find an old VHS copy of the film. I had planned to buy this DVD for my collection, but not now. Hollywood has been doing allot of this lately...claiming the DVD is the original uncut movie when in reality the movie was butchered by a crazed editor. It is so sad because the original MASH was so funny. Luckily I have an old VHS copy of the original film.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant- A great movie and a great DVD!
Review: M*A*S*H is one of those great movies that stand up well to repeated viewings. It has humor, drama, and a rare combination of grit and wonder. This is one of the best movies made about war, and certainly one of the funniest. Robert Altman has one of his best moments here, although by all accounts, no one on the set at the time had that thought. The exploits of Hawkeye, trapper John, and Hotlips are all here, along with the raw emotions of being part of the Korea War. The transfer to video on this movie is terrific. If you have only seen this movie on VHS or on TV, you owe it to yourself to see this print. It is cleaned up and really wonderful. The color depth is terrific and it is like seeing the movie for the first time. The extras on the DVD are enertaining and informative as well. This is a terrific package. M*A*S*H belongs on any list as one of the top films of the past 40 years and is a worthwhile addition to any collection.
Rating:
Summary: A Landmark Film Showing the Dark Side of War in a Funny Way
Review: When most people think of "M*A*S*H", they often think of the 1970's television sitcom that ran for 11-years on CBS and continues to be aired in syndication to this day. The series acquired and continues to maintain millions of fans, but many of the fans have never seen the original film that inspired the series. The original film is much darker than the series. From the 1960's atmosphere of cultural revolution, civil rights, the Cold War and anti-war sentiment exacerbated by the carnage of the Vietnam War, the director Robert Altman created a brilliant and realistic vision of the human tragedy of war in his film "M*A*S*H", but in a very humorous way. Unlike its war film predecessors, "M*A*S*H" does not glorify generals, battles, or politicians. Instead, "M*A*S*H" portrays the lives of doctors and nurses at Mobile Army Surigcal Hospital 4077 attempting to maintain their sanity while struggling to save the lives of the young soldiers fighting and dying in the Korean War. "M*A*S*H" opens with the well-known theme song, but it includes lyrics that may take many by surprise: "suicide is painless, it brings on many changes". We then see the initial arrival of Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce (portrayed by Donald Sutherland) in Korea at a military airbase that is very dirty, muddy and gray. When he arrives at MASH 4077, we see a very hairy Captain Francis Xavier "Trapper John" McIntyre (portrayed by Elliot Gould) sitting in the mess tent. Hawkeye and Trapper John find their irreverance for the military and authority in common and become close friends as time passes, and that friendship is also shared with Captain Augustus Bedford "Duke" Forrest (portrayed by Tom Skerritt). Duke was the only major film character that was not included in the TV series. Two majors at MASH 4077 don't share the irreverance for authority that Hawkeye, Trapper & Duke have: Major Frank Burns (portrayed by Robert Duvall) who is often seen reading from the bible, and military-career-minded Major Margaret "Hot Lips" O'Houlihan (portrayed by Sally Kellerman). On the surface, each of the majors is quite dedicated to their belief in the military, but the reality is that each is quite hypocritical. They give in to their passions one night (Frank is married), but it does not go unnoticed; and Margaret earns her knickname of "Hot Lips". In command of this motley group is the inept Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake (portrayed by Roger Bowen), who is assisted by the faithful company clerk Corporal Walter "Radar" O'Reilly (portrayed by Gary Burghoff--the only film cast member to play the same role in the long-running TV series). The brilliant collage of scenes, including the bloody operating room scenes, and the stark cinematography create a powerful message from the mind of Robert Altman--war is a mixture of death, physical suffering and emotional torment, not all glory and honor. If you're a long time fan of the television series and have never seen the original film, there is a good chance that you won't like the film; but if you're a serious cinema aficionado, "M*A*S*H" should be in your collection because it is probably one of the best films of all time. The rendering of the film on DVD is very well done and the commentaries and documentaries on the second DVD are a great bonus. I highly recommend this 2-DVD set.
Rating:
Summary: I've Been Drafted Into The Army Of "M*A*S*H" Fans
Review: The Robert Altman style, so familiar to moviegoers over the last thirty years, was unleashed from the womb here. The documentary-style camera work, laying back from the action but given license to zoom in and out as it sees fit, works its wonders best in the operation scenes. Three tables of patients and doctors, all acting at once, and the camera still manages to capture every piece of relevant information, without making the whole mess confusing. The overlapping dialogue, which I imagine gave those charged with subtitling the DVD version fits, works in much the same way. No one would ever confuse "M*A*S*H" for anything but a Robert Altman film. Despite the absence of battle, "M*A*S*H" is not devoid of blood. The surgery sequences are filled to the brim with the red stuff, and serve as a stark contrast to the movie's more goofy comedic moments. Sometimes within the same scene. One notable example: Hawkeye, with a note of apprehension on his face, must saw off a wounded man's leg. After a few strokes back and forth -- complete with cringe-inducing, nails-on-the-blackboard-style sound effects -- he asks the nurse for a clamp. What for? she asks. To scratch his nose, he cheekily replies, and the laugh they share perfectly diffuses the horrific moment. This scene, to me, is "M*A*S*H" in a nutshell. When thinking of the characters who inhabit "M*A*S*H"s landscape I am reminded of the realization I had while watching George Cukor's "The Philadelphia Story". It's a film that makes its audience root for the stuck-up rich girl and the spoiled rude millionaire layabout, two character types often cast in roles of villainy, while fostering resentment towards a man who earned his fortune by pulling himself up by his bootstraps, usually the hero. It's a neat trick that that movie pulls off cleanly. And so does this one. Hawkeye, Trapper, Duke, et al., are terribly mean men. They are type-A personalities all, unwillingly to accept anyone who doesn't conform to their lofty, intellectual standards, or their well-developed sense of anarchy. But just as the humour of the film is a defense mechanism against the insanity of war, this cruelty also serves a purpose. Anyone without a strong character and an affinity for the kind of team these men are building must be weeded out and destroyed. It's this realization that allows the audience to sympathize with the tormentors rather than the tormentees. And it allows you to let down your moralistic guard and like them just the same. Still, there are some moments here that go so far over the line that even a liberal observer like myself, one who can casually accept immorality in movies because art must exist in an amoral state, gasping. "Can I still like these men, given their actions?" I often found myself asking. There are facets of the film that embrace casual sexuality bordering on harassment and casual racism worn as a badge of honour. An example of the former is the way the men treat Hot Lips, "army clown" that she is, as an object of both desire and ridicule. An example of the latter can be found in some of the self-imposed nicknames the men give themselves: Painless Pole, Dago Red, Spearchucker Jones, etc. True, the obscenity of warfare is a much harsher villain than the obscenities the men practice ('obscenity' is too judgmental a word for my tastes, but I'll let it stand in the absence of anything better), which is why the film is allowed to go to such lengths. But be warned that much here is designed to make the audience uncomfortable, and to question their beliefs. Balancing this discomfort is a dramatis personae full of characters that are wonderfully likable despite their flaws. Hawkeye Pierce is probably the most developed character, brought to life by some witty dialogue and some fine acting by then-unknown Donald Sutherland. Hawkeye is a man of many mannerisms: he calls everyone "Babe", he's constantly hiding behind his downturned cap and thick spectacles, and, with apologies to Karen Silkwood and Woodward & Bernstein, he's cinema's greatest whistleblower, punctuating each moment with the same simple three-note phrase. There's a casual elegance that Sutherland brings to Hawkeye (and every other role he's ever played) that shines through even the swampiest of settings here. Elliott Gould's Trapper is a Zen-like shaggy dog, ravenous in his appetites but dedicated to his surgery. Gould has a calmness about him that belies the man's manic nature, but it all fits together so well. Hawkeye and Trapper are one of film's greatest subversive comedy teams; they seem to share a brain, so easily are their plans hatched and executed. The rest of the cast, primarily made up of unknowns, are mostly spotless. Duvall, as Frank Burns, brings dignity and composure to a man who is supposed to be inept as a surgeon and as a man. Sally Kellerman is loud and abrasive and stiff as Hot Lips Houliahan, a woman who, despite her sexy exterior, is supposed to be loud and abrasive and stiff. Tom Skerritt brings some southern charm, and a hint of incongruity, to Duke Forrest, Hawkeye and Trapper's cohort in cruelty. Roger Bowen, Rene Auberjonois, Gary Burghoff, John Schuck and Bud Cort all get about the same amount of screentime, fill up the backgrounds admirably, and do yeoman's work when they're called to the front. Robert Altman, a director whose work and style I've never been able to give my heart to, managed to craft a wonderfully satiric and entertaining little anti-war picture, that I can wholeheartedly endorse. To top off this particularly tasty confection, he's added one of the most self-aware closing credit sequences ever put on film. They are meta-credits, if you'll allow me to coin a phrase. "Attention," comes the squawk of the loudspeaker, "tonight's movie has been 'M*A*S*H'." Before introducing the ensemble, Altman and Co. soften the blow and provide one final laugh.
Rating:
Summary: Poor Quality
Review: I Am A BIG fan of MASH, but I was very unhappy with the Quality of MASH the first season on VHS. DO NOT BUY IT. The DVD version is more than worth it , and I stongly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: The Movie That Started It All.....and still a comedy classic
Review: Whether it is the PG or R rated version, the classic anti-war comedy MASH is still a barrel of laughs. Not only was it an excellent film about the madness of war, it was also a comedy full of zany hysterics, and a social comment about the United States and England being involved in a war that neither country had no business being involved in. The 1970 film came out at a time when the United States was being blown apart in political and social upheaval, the massacre at Kent State University erupted, and films like Patton, Tora.Tora.Tora, Kelly's Heroes, The Ballad Of Cable Hogue, The Cheynne Social Club, Start the Revolution Without Me, Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, the re-releases of 2001:A Space Odyssey and The Wild Bunch, along with the X - rated comedy Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, were hitting the big screens all across the nation. Director Robert Altman, along with a cast that consists of Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Rene Auberjonois, Robert Duvall, Fred Williamson, Gary Burghoff, and countless others make their mark on cinema history, with a film that really hits the subject of war on the dot. Not only is it an excellent film with explosive moments, it is also a film that pokes fun at the current state of war, and what people will do to survive such brutal madness. If you enjoy war films and comedies, then come pay the MASH 4077th a visit. Not only is the film a classic, it is a film that started the Emmy-Award winning television series that made entertainment history.
Rating: 
Summary: Dated, looks poor today
Review: This movie aged faster than a fruit fly. Poorly filmed (it looks grainy in parts), strained humor, Altman's usual messy direction (or is it his non-direction?), all conspire to create a film that was topical for about a month and then corny, and then over-the-hill. The tv series is funnier.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Anti Military Bureaucracy Movie
Review: Robert Altmam gathered a great cast in this groundbreaking movie. It is not so much anti-war, as it is anti-military and the bureaucracy that it all entails. These doctors just want to get the job done. If they have fun along the way that's okay too as the poster indicates!
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