MASH (1970)

The staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and hijinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war.

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Richard Hooker (from the novel by), Ring Lardner Jr. (screenplay)

Stars:

Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt

Won 1 Oscar. Another 17 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Donald Sutherland	...	Hawkeye Pierce
Elliott Gould	...	Trapper John McIntyre
Tom Skerritt	...	Duke Forrest
Sally Kellerman	...	'Hot Lips' O'Houlihan
Robert Duvall	...	Maj. Frank Burns
Roger Bowen	...	Col. Henry Blake
Rene Auberjonois	...	Father John Mulcahy
David Arkin	...	Sgt. Major Vollmer
Jo Ann Pflug	...	Lt. 'Dish'
Gary Burghoff	...	Corporal 'Radar' O'Reilly
Fred Williamson	...	Dr. Oliver 'Spearchucker' Jones
Michael Murphy	...	'Me Lai' Marston
Indus Arthur	...	Lt. Leslie
Ken Prymus	...	PFC. Seidman
Bobby Troup	...	Sgt. Gorman

Storyline

Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. That's where two young surgeons, Duke and Hawkeye end up during the Korean War. There is no plot as such, but instead a series of episodes during which they put their stamp on the camp including a football game against a larger unit with thousands riding on it, a trip to Tokyo to operate on a congressman's son and play a little golf, and finding out if the head nurse is a natural blonde.

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Plot Keywords:

surgeon | mobile army surgical hospital | korean war | golf | nurse | 

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Taglines:

You're not a real M*A*S*H fan until you've seen the original. (1982 re-release)

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Genres:

Comedy | War | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese Korean

Release Date:

March 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

M.A.S.H.

Filming Locations:

Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$81,600,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aspen Productions (I), Ingo Preminger Productions, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 112 min (PG)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening title sequence has a text that identifies the place as Korea. This was added at the insistence of the studio after director Robert Altman had removed every reference to Korea, intending it to be mistaken for Vietnam, which would reinforce the anti-war statement.

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Goofs

When O'Houlihan has a discussion with Hawkeye in the mess tent shortly after her arrival, there is a shot over Hawkeye's shoulder where you can see that his glasses have appeared back on his face even though they were off in the previous shot.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lt. Col. Henry Braymore Blake: Radar.
Cpl. Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly: Yes, sir. I'll get ahold of Major Burns...
Lt. Col. Henry Braymore Blake: I want you to get a hold of Major Burns...
Cpl. Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly: ...Tell him to hold a couple day surgeons over into the night shift.
Lt. Col. Henry Braymore Blake: Tell him we're going to have hold a couple of surgeons over from the day shift out of the night shift.
Cpl. Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly: I'll put in a call to General Hammond in Seoul...
Lt. Col. Henry Braymore Blake: Get General Hammond down there in Seoul, tell him to send us those new surgeons right away.
Cpl. Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly: ...I hope he sends us those two new surgeons. We're sure gonna need'em.
[Leaves]
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Robert Altman cast so many unknowns in the movie that after one or two known actors, the cast credits all say "Introducing"

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Suicide Is Painless"
(1970)
Music by Johnny Mandel
Lyrics by Mike Altman
Sung by an unidentified chorus during the opening credits
Also sung by Timothy Brown (uncredited) during the last supper scene

User Reviews

Important? Perhaps. A masterpiece? Not quite.

"M*A*S*H" is continually lauded as an important American film and I suppose that it has a valid claim to that title. However, I think that apart from historical significance the film is not particularly exceptional.

Robert Altman's direction is interesting but to be honest I just didn't appreciate some of his techniques very much. The frequent use of zoom wasn't very attractive and while the overlapping sound may have enforced realism I would rather have had clearer dialogue. Nevertheless, there is one particularly impressive scene: Painless's 'last supper', framed & shot in irreverent manner by Altman. That scene and the opening credits also feature "M*A*S*H"'s well-known theme song "Suicide is Painless".

The cast of then-unknowns is pretty authentic and do their jobs well. Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall & Sally Kellerman, among others, populate the story with vivid characterizations. Nevertheless, the film is still a bit lacking in terms of character development, which isn't surprising given the breadth of the cast.

As for the story, I'm unclear as to how exactly this is to be construed as an anti-war film. It's certainly not pro-war but it seems to me to be too escapist to tackle any stance whatsoever. Yes, there are gruesome scenes in the operating room which are contrasted with the zany antics of the surgeons. However, these merely suggest the aim of maintaining sanity in an insane situation. The plot (what little of it there is) is as rambling and chaotic as the war itself, which doesn't help to make the filmmakers' points any clearer. There are indeed some memorable episodes but overall the story just seems to lack substance.

While I wouldn't say that the film lives up to its reputation I do consider it worth watching. Altman & company are successful more often than not and do indeed create some memorable moments. Unfortunately, those memorable moments are surrounded by other, not so memorable moments.