M.A.S.H. (1970)
Directed by Robert Altman

Film Review

The abject lunacy of war has probably never been conveyed more effectively, nor with such biting wit, than in this superlative black comedy - the film which established Robert Altman as one of the leading directors of his generation and inspired a long-running television series that ran for 251 episodes over 11 years.  Few films manage to evoke the spirit of their era more vividly than M.A.S.H. does.  It was made at a time when anti-establishment sentiment in America was at its height, fuelled by the seemingly interminable Vietnam War which was slowly but surely draining the country's lifeblood and self-confidence.  M.A.S.H. captures the moment brilliantly, and with a satirical edge so razor-sharp that you could almost shave yourself with it.

One consequence of the cultural revolution that resulted from this tide of anti-authoritarian feeling was the dramatic shake-up taking place in Hollywood.  Firebrand filmmakers with something to say began to take over the moviemaking industry and for once were overwhelmingly driven not by huge profits but by artistic and political motives.  Robert Altman was part of this American New Wave, a maverick whose unconventional techniques were put to good use in M.A.S.H., his first truly great film.

With still much to learn about the process of filmmaking, Altman was not loved by his actors or his technical crew and the making of this film was a fraught experience for all concerned.  The animosity between the director and his star Donald Sutherland was so strong that the two were barely on speaking terms throughout the making of the film.  None of these off-screen tensions is apparent in the film, which succeeds in just about every department and was a worthy recipient of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970.  Ring Lardner Jr won an Oscar for his screenplay, which effectively garnishes the inescapable tragedies of war with bucketloads of mordant off-the-wall humour.  Another beneficiary of the film was Altman's 14-year-old son Mike who wrote the lyrics for the title song Suicide is Painless and reputedly earned more from publishing royalties than Altman himself earned from directing the film.

M.A.S.H. (the film) has a much darker edge to it than its spin-off TV series and it does not take may viewings of the film to see just how thin and brittle its veneer of anarchic humour is.  Virtually every other scene in the first half of the film shows us the mangled remains of young soldiers being carried on stretchers or cut open in grisly Technicolor detail on makeshift operating tables.  These images of gore-soaked visceral nastiness would merit an R-rating if seen in a contemporary horror film but here they serve merely as an incidental backdrop to the story, which is essentially about a group of army surgeons who have to resort to frivolous hippie fun and games so that they can survive the gruelling experience of wartime service.   The natural reaction of the spectator to the horrors of war is in stark contrast to the attitude of the protagonists in the film, who seem to have become completely desensitised to such sights as a human being with half his face blown off.

By the time M.A.S.H. was released in 1970, public opinion in America had already turned against the Vietnam War so it is hard to gauge what impact the film may have had.  Tellingly, explicit references to the Korean War are very few and far between in the film, so most audiences would have seen it for what it was, a blatant anti-Vietnam War statement.  The film's enormous popularity (to date it has grossed 82 million dollars) shows that it struck a chord with the American people, who had by and large accepted the futility of the Vietnam War long before their political leaders were able to disentangle the country from the conflict.  Forty years on, with America once again locked into another intractable and aimless war, M.A.S.H. has an obvious resonance, reminding us that the reality of war is no laughing matter.

Film Synopsis

During the Korean War (1950-53), Captains Hawkeye Pierce and Duke Forrest create a stir the moment they arrive at the American Mobile Army Surgical Hospital to which they have been assigned.  Despite being first rate surgeons, Hawkeye and Forrest have a fierce rebellious streak which proves to be more effective in eroding military discipline than the entire North Korean army which they are supposed to be fighting.  With the unit's commanding officer away, Hawkeye and a recently arrived thoracic surgeon, Captain Trapper John McIntyre, reduce the camp to a state of virtual anarchy in next to no time.  This so offends the chief nurse, Major Margaret Houlihan, that she drafts a letter of complaint to her superiors, assisted by Major Frank Burns, who has also fallen out with Hawkeye.  No sooner have they done this than Houlihan and Burns succumb to an uncontrollable urge of shared carnal desire, which ends up being broadcast throughout the camp over the loudspeaker system.   Having cooled Hot Lips Houlihan's ardour, Hawkeye then comes to the aid of the camp dentist, Painless Waldowski.  When he fails to prove his manhood with a visiting nurse, Painless becomes convinced that he is succumbing to dormant homosexual tendencies and decides that he must kill himself.  Hawkeye comes up with a plan to restore the dentist's self-esteem and libido, with a fake suicide pill and a re-enactment of the Last Supper.  Then he faces an even bigger challenge.  To win a twenty dollar bet he has made with Duke, Hawkeye must figure out a way to prove that Hot Lips is a natural blonde.  It's a tough life in the army...