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Wouldn't you know there was as much chaos and conflict behind the scenes of M*A*S*H as in front of the lens? Enlisted: The Story of M*A*S*H, a meaty original documentary that pulls together most of the stars and many of the filmmakers for all new interviews, paints a crazy portrait of the confusion and studio politics that almost shut the production down. The shorter AMC Backstory is mostly redundant, but it challenges screenwriter Ring Lardner's claim that he respected the improvisations of Altman and his cast; according to this documentary, he hated them. M*A*S*H: History Through the Lens contrasts the film's anarchy with the real-life experiences of doctors and nurses from Korean War MASH units. Though a stirring director, Robert Altman is less than inspiring on the commentary track and his sporadic insights largely echo the documentaries. --Sean Axmaker
Amazon.com Essential Video
It's 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 that 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). Altman's 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 film's huge success spawned the long-running TV series, a considerably softer take on the material; of the film's cast, only Gary Burghoff repeated his role on the small screen, as the slightly clairvoyant Radar O'Reilly. --Robert Horton
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
They released the TV version on DVD...how sad,
By
This review is from: MASH (Widescreen) (DVD)
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.
1.0 out of 5 stars
I guess you had to be there.,
By Straight Shaun (the poorhouse) - See all my reviews
This review is from: MASH (Widescreen) (DVD)
Heresy or not, all I can say is that a large segment of today's population must be comprised of nostalgic, angry ex-hippies, if this film can still glow for so many when examined under modern light. The rampant, idiotic sexism and ill-natured tone of the film is just sickening, not because of any duty to political correctness, but for the simple reason that a jerk is a jerk, no matter what the era(!). And this film really is shockingly ill-willed throughout. Trapper and Hawkeye (not to mention Skeritt's stomach-turning Duke Forrest) have to be among the most repulsive "protagonists" you'll ever see. They aren't just "anti-authority", as the spun marketing would have you believe, they are just complete, utter, cretins. Seriously, before the movie's half over, you'll be HOPING they get shot or hit by a bomb or something. It's beyond belief. This is certainly in contrast to the TV show, which was terrifically good-natured while still managing to portray hellish war conditions, and which I think was light-years superior to this "original". All of the hype aside, this film is just so ignorant and offensive (sexism, racism, the hateful and angry tone, etc.) that I think its main, if not only, fans are primarily those who grew up with the film and are conveniently blinded by nostalgia. Its "popularity" (if it even really exists anymore) will be infathomable to most modern viewers. It makes for ugly, distasteful viewing, on many counts. And it reminded me why just about everyone I grew up with from my generation never looked up to most of our flower-child precursors except with a healthy chunk of disdain. What a shame.Now that I write this review and actually notice this film's cover graphic for the first time instead of paying attention only to the endless lauding by reviewers, I have to admit: who can be surprised by any of this. Blech. Not for my DVD collection, thanks. And not for yours either, unless you grew up revelling in the passive-aggressive anger of the 60's/70's and never learned to let it go. Do yourself a favor and pass (or at the very least, rent first), especially if you loved the TV show. Viewers who think "Dr T and The Women" is the only cinematic reason Altman ever gave to make them want to punch him in the face, just haven't seen this horribly overrated (and just plain horrible) film, yet.
1.0 out of 5 stars
If only it was as good as the theme song...,
By GeoX "GeoX" (Men...Of...The...Sea!) - See all my reviews
This review is from: MASH (Widescreen) (DVD)
Well, I have to say, "Suicide is Painless" is a really great song, even more so when performed by the Manic Street Preachers. But the film itself...um. Okay, so it was very rarely funny. That in itself isn't necessarily a deadly sin. But...man alive, the breathtaking misogyny of the whole affair! Christ almighty (allegedly), am I the only one who found all the "Hot Lips" stuff beyond offensive? Is this funny? Was it EVER funny? Am I meant to be amused? In the seventies--maybe. I wasn't around then. But this, gentlemen, is the nineties, and this sort of supposed humour is simply not tolerable in this day and age--indeed, I'm somewhat baffled by the fact that, in my cursory inspection of the other reader reviews, nobody seems to have even MENTIONED this, given that it more or less spoiled whatever good qualities the film might have otherwise possessed. It elevated the main characters from the status of bland to actively repulsive. You people aren't bothered by this? Geez. What's good about the film other than the theme song? Well, as a sometime DS9 fan, it was sorta cool to see Rene Aberj...I'm not even going to TRY to spell that. But I liked seeing him. Other than that...I'm kinda drawing a blank. The film may have been groundbreaking and all that in its time, but now it's just embarrassing.Addendum: Tsk, tsk...looks like some people can't stand having their sacred cows slaughtered thusly. Actually, looking back on it, I think I was too lenient with the film. By fixating on the one standout misogynist bit (though it would've been hard not to, given how shockingly offensive it was), I may have downplayed the film's overall unpleasant nature. About as funny as a minstrel show. One star.
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