Mesmerizing dialogue
My first taste of M*A*S*H, much like many other people of my time, was through the television show. I had no idea until the late 80s/early 90s that the show was based off a single movie. Who would have guessed? When I saw the press release for the blu-ray cross my email, I had to give it a shot. Having saved myself for this film for many years, it was to be one of the best experiences of my life.
Robert Altman’s classic redefined how war movies were made. Instead of serious thoughts of death and violence, you were able to desensitize yourself with subtle humor in regards to heavy subjects that the war brought about. While certainly “…..Hilarious!” as Leonard Maltin points out on the front cover, the humor really did hide the concerns that most soldiers at that time were going through. For example, having to be away from loved ones for such a long period of time brought about the funny, spontaneous sexual behavior in the film. No sexual behavior is more notorious than the one between a tense/stuck-up Frank and Hot Lips! Two of the most hardheaded characters who detest everything that goes on at the 4077 end up fulfilling their loneliness through each other. It’s humorous, but also it shows a very real side to the effects of Vietnam on soldiers.
Of course, the two main characters are Hawkeye (Donald Sutherland) and Trapper (Elliott Gould) is two carefree martini drinking surgeons who are making the best of their situation. This film came out in 1970 and the soldiers in the war needed to see life this way more than ever. Altman, and crew, provided a way out of the tense, dark death that was war.He showed people how to make the best with what they had. To say the least, this movie’s comedy (while vulgar in some areas) was golden. What really drew me to this, as most Altman films do, is how the dialogue flowed. You will never see such a more fluid, human set of dialogue in a film. People talking quickly over people and reacting quite naturally is something that you generally don’t see in movies these days. Typically, an actor will spout dialogue while the other actors wait for him to finish so they can begin theirs. This movie is cleverly written and acted to sound as human and natural as possible.
Is there anything wrong with this film? No. It’s perfect.
If people can look at this film and laugh, plus understand that the humor is just the building blocks to what really bothered soldiers during that time, then you’ve got what Altman was trying to accomplish.
As for it being on Blu-ray, it looks positively gorgeous. For a movie that is nearly forty years old, it shines in HD. It benefits from the dreary background, the playfully dark colors and the open field in which it was shot. The audio also reminds us how loud and ridiculous the audio was for that time period. The dialogue flows naturally with the blaring announcements and Japanese music. All of it sounds horrifyingly beautiful coming through 5.1 speakers.
As for features, you’ve got an entire unit of them:
– Complete Interactive Guide to M*A*S*H
– Commentary by Robert Altman
– AMC Backstory: M*A*S*H
– Documentaries
– Remembering M*A*S*H: 30th Anniversary Cast & Crew Reunion
– Original Theatrical Trailer
– Still Gallery
– Portuguese Trailer
An excellent set of features accompany a brilliant, beautiful film. There’s plenty here to spend your money on.