M*A*S*H (Five Star Collection)

Rating:
Summary: Hijinks Among the Gore
Review: Though I do not agree with the politics of director Robert Altman, I am a great admirer of his artistry and most of all the independence of his from the cookie-cutter style of film-making that is prevalent in Hollywood. Though he's hit more singles than homeruns, his films are rarely un-interesting. One of the few times that he tackled a studio product, "Popeye", he made it seem like an independent film. Those not familiar with the theme of this film or the long-running TV series based on this film, it involves the hi-jinks of a group of army surgeons during the Korean War trying to cope with the horrors that surround them. This film does not so much have a story but a series of comic vignettes (the shower scene, the football game, etc.) These comic episodes are effectively juxtaposed with the operating room scenes that illustrate why these surgeons have to engage in such outrageous behaviour; if they weren't laughing, they'd be crying. Altman gathers an impressive cast here, many making their film debuts. Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye, Elliott Gould as Trapper John, and Sally Kellerman as Hotlips are effectively funny in the leading roles. Altman gives an excellent commentary here as he has done on other DVDs. Altman states in his comments his distaste for the TV series that spun-off from this film. I echo the same sentiment because I found that show pompous and sanctimonious. I would have granted this film 5 stars but I dock it one because I find the suicide scene that parodies the last supper to be extremely offensive to my sensibilities.

Rating:
Summary: The missing link between "Dr. Strangelove" and "Porky's"
Review: The passage of time has had interesting effects on the legacy of Robert Altman's 1970 war satire. On the one hand, you could point to "M*A*S*H" as an irreverent black comedy with serious political/social undertones; culmination of a sub-genre launched in the 1960s with Stanley Kubrick's pointedly satirical "Dr. Strangelove", and continuing with the more abstract European anti-war films "King Of Hearts" and "How I Won The War". On the other hand, you could also say that "M*A*S*H", with its generous helping of bawdy frat-boy sex pranks and expletive-rich insult humor (something American audiences hadn't seen much in major studio releases up to that point in time) also could have helped pave the way for the likes of "Porky's", "Caddyshack" and the "American Pie" franchise, i.e. the general "dumbing down" of Hollywood. (I have to chuckle at some of the younger reviewers making comments to the effect of: "This movie is weird and boring-its not ANYTHING like the TV show..." I rest my case.) "M*A*S*H" is the first truly "Altmanesque" film that Altman made- a huge cast, overlapping (and frequently improvised) dialogue, busy set pieces and a patented mix of high and low comedy. Also notable for launching the careers of Bud Cort, Tom Skeritt, Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy, and at least a half dozen more actors whose names are credited with the phrase "And introducing..." The single-disc 2004 DVD version released by Fox features a sparkling widescreen transfer, decent sound and director commentary. Altman's commentary track is sporadic but worthwhile for film buffs. Along with "Nashville" and "McCabe & Mrs. Miller", this is "must-see" Altman.

Rating:
Summary: MASH is hot.... Altman is not.
Review: The movie is 5 stars. The restoration job was beautiful. The AMC special is great.

Now let's move on to Altman. Here lies the question, "Does one film make a director great?" Appearantly Altman thinks so. Look at a list of his movies. The only noteworthy one is MASH (which goes to show that even a bad director can get lucky sometimes).

What is really bad is that TCFHV decided to let Altman do the commentary on the film. He talks about how his film saved Fox, how if he would have known that Southerland & Gould would have wanted him fired he would have retired, how the 2 stars acted like prima donnas, how Fox tried to railroad him every step of the way, how he made the film under budget, and (most importantly) how he hated the television series and thought that it was racist. He builds himself up as if he was Hitchcock, while shooting everyone else down. Now I know where the Frank Burns character came from.

If you want to really enjoy this film, do NOT listen to the commentary. Altman should remember 2 things. 1) The television series of MASH ran a record 11 seasons, and 2) I have yet to see anyone breaking down doors to watch his other films.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant black comedy
Review: If you are only familiar with the TV version of M.A.S.H. you will find the film very different, but very funny. Donald Sutherland (Hawkeye) and Elliot Gould (Trapper) are both brilliant as the crazy surgeons trying to keep sane among the chaos of war. The tone of the film is wilder than in the TV series, of the original movie cast only Gargy Burghoff (Radar) went on to star in the Tv version. These days I find I prefer Donald Sutherland's Hawkeye, Alan Alda's unrelenting niceness gets on my nerves a bit. In the film version there are two other surgeons who share Trapper and Hawkeye's anarchic activities, Duke Forrest and Spearchucker Jones (you will recall there was a halfhearted attempt to make Spearchucker a regular character in the early TV episodes, but he soon faded from view). I love the bit in the movie when Duke, a southerner is told they are going to be sharing their accomodation with a black surgeon and he remarks plaintively "It's bad enough having to share with you two Yankees". Uptight army nurse Margaret Houlihan is subjected to much rougher treatment than she gets on TV, as in the scene where her all is exposed when the doctors cause the shower to collapse while she's using it, in order to settle an argument over whether she is a natural blonde or not. Then there's the grand climatic football match, where some very dirty tactics are brought into play to make sure the M.A.S.H. team win. Dirtier, edgier and more cynical than the TV series, this is a very different M.A.S.H., but in some ways it's even better.