M a S H (1970)

Editor's Note With the release of Robert Altman's M*A*S*H in 1970, a new form of comedy was born, one that would help to forever change the face of cinema. Altman's audacious film reflected the American counterculture's growing distrust of religion and government in the late 1960s and early 1970s, resulting in one of the biggest box office smashes of its time. Introducing the techniques he would employ throughout his storied career--overlapping dialogue, a constantly moving camera with a heavy amount of zooming, and a bold combination of frank subject matter with cynical humor--Altman immediately vaulted himself to Hollywood's upper ranks. Based on the novel by Richard Hooker, M*A*S*H follows a group of Mobile Army Surgical Hospital officers as they perform surgery and pass the time just miles from the front lines of the Korean conflict. Led by sardonic captains "Hawkeye" Pierce (Donald Sutherland) and "Trapper" John McIntyre (Elliott Gould), the film has the feel of an absurd three-ring circus. Other characters include the uptight nurse "Hot Lips" O'Houlihan (Sally Kellerman), the confused Major Frank Burns (Robert Duvall), the troubled Captain "Painless" Waldowski (John Shuck), and the simpleminded Captain "Duke" Forrest (Tom Skerritt). Altman's decision to present his film as a series of loosely connected vignettes rather than a traditionally unfolding narrative perfectly captures the freewheeling spirit so unique to early-'70s cinema.

	Donald Sutherland
	Elliott Gould
	Rene Auberjonois
	Robert Duvall
	Roger Bowen
	Sally Kellerman
	Tom Skerritt
	Danford B. Greene - Editor
	Harold E. Stine - Cinematographer
	Ingo Preminger - Producer
	Richard Hooker - Based On Novel By
	Ring Lardner Jr. - Screenplay
	Robert Altman - Director

"I wonder how a degenerate person like you could have reached a position of responsibility in the Army Medical Corps."----Hot Lips (Sally Kellerman) to Dago Red (Rene Auberjonois)|"He was drafted."----Dago Red's reply to Hot Lips

Total Film
"...[An] inspired, skittish conflict comedy....Subtle, underplayed and poignant..." 07/01/2003 p.137

Entertainment Weekly
"M*A*S*H* is still funny..." -- Grade: B 04/21/2006 p.61

Premiere
"[I]t still boasts a splendid ensemble...[and] a breezy antiestablishment attitude..." 08/01/2006 p.67