mash

Rating: 7/10 (12 July 2006)

From Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated director Robert Altman (Nashville, Gosford Park, A Prairie Home Companion), I remember seeing this film the once, but I guess I didn't pay the fullest attention, as I didn't remember a single moment, so it was right I see it again, which I did. Basically, set in 1951 during the Korean War (it feels similar to the Vietnam War though), and it looks at the MASH - Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. It starts with the Hospital shaken up by the arrival of Capt. Benjamin Franklin 'Hawkeye' Pierce (Golden Globe nominated Donald Sutherland) and Capt. Augustus Bedford 'Duke' Forrest (Alien's Tom Skerritt), two good young surgeons but a pair of lousy soldiers. There is also the arrival of renowned chest-cutting surgeon Capt. John Francis Xavier 'Trapper John' McIntyre (BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Elliott Gould), and together they deal with the constant carnage with incoming patients, but they also seem to make their stamp at the Hospital with their other antics. There seems to be no plot, but there are some witty discussions before, during and after surgery operations, including some mucking about with staff members. This includes catching Maj. Margaret 'Hot Lips' O'Houlihan (Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Sally Kellerman) while having a shower, and placing a microphone in the room Maj. Franklin Archimedes 'Frank' Burns (Robert Duvall) and her female partner are having sex in and playing it out to the whole camp. The other moments include a game of mini golf during work, a trip to Tokyo to operate on the son of the congressman playing a big football game against another unit before the end of the film when there are some goodbyes. Also starring Jo Ann Pflug as Lt. 'Dish', René Auberjonois as Father John Mulcahy, Roger Bowen as Col. Henry Blake, Gary Burghoff as Corporal 'Radar' O'Reilly (the only cast member to also appear in the TV series), David Arkin as Sgt. Major Vollmer, Fred Williamson as Dr. Oliver 'Spearchucker' Jones, Michael Murphy as 'Me Lai' Marston, Kim Atwood as Ho-Jon, Timothy Brown as Cpl. Judson, Indus Arthur as Lt. Leslie and John Schuck as Capt. 'Painless' Waldowski. Sutherland gives a good confident performance, Gould gets his witty remarks, Skerritt does alright in his part, and Duvall gets his small moments, I found myself laughing at the obvious points, such as the shower reveal, and the over the microphone sex, I guess in most scenes it was a clever script, I don't know if I'd see it more than once, but it I suppose a worthwhile wartime black comedy. It won the Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, and it was nominated for Best Film Editing and Best Picture, it won the BAFTAfor the UN Award, and it was nominated for Best Film, Best Film Editing and Best Sound Track, and it won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy, and it was nominated for Best Screenplay. It was number 22 on The 100 Greatest War Films, it was number 22 on The 50 Greatest Comedy Films, it was number 7 on 100 Years, 100 Laughs, it was number 56 on 100 Years, 100 Movies, and it was number 73 on The 100 Greatest Films. Very good!