Classic war comedy

Rating: 10/10 (6 December 2009)

Having watched the television series in the seventies I was keen to see the original film, when I first watched it on television many years ago it seemed strange not to see the familiar cast however I enjoyed it enough to buy the DVD when I saw it on sale recently. I'm glad I bought it as it was even better than I remembered, causing me to laugh out loud several times.
The film is fairly episodic but didn't seem any weaker for that. As it follows Capt. Hawkeye Pierce and his colleagues Trapper John McIntyre and Duke Forrest through their time at MASH 4077 during the Korean war. These doctors may have been drafted into the US Army but they have no time for military procedure. This aversion to the military way sets them at loggerheads with sticklers for the military way Majors Frank Burns and Margaret "Hot Lips" O'Houlihan. This is a conflict that can only end badly for the two majors. Other episodes involve a dentist who is convinced that his womanising ways were just a cover for latent homosexuality when he "fails to perform" with a nurse, a trip to Japan to perform surgery on a senator's son and a football match that is played in a less than sportsmanlike manner.
The acting was great through out, making it hard to pick out any particular actor for praise although leads Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt and Sally Kellerman as Hawkeye, Trapper John, Duke and Hot Lips really need mention as their characters carry the film. Robert Altman's directing style initially made it hard to get into as he had several characters talking at once which while realistic took some getting used to, once I'd got used to it however this style gave a realistic feel to the film even during some of the more slap-stick moments.