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Released by: Fox
Released on: 9/1/2009
Director: Robert Altman
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Roger Bowen
Year: 1970
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The Movie:
An understandably beloved film from one of American cinema's finest legacies, M*A*S*H remains one of the finest anti-war films ever made. Without ever preaching or talking down to the audience it succeeds in making its case and, amazingly enough, stays entirely entertaining along the way. Credit has to go to not only director Robert Altman and Oscar winning writer Ring Lardner Jr. (working from Richard Hookers novel of the same name) but also to the talented ensemble cast wrangled up for the film.
Set in 1951 during the Korean war, we meet a pair of doctors named Trapper John McIntyre (Elliott Gould) and Hawkeye Pierce (Donald Sutherland) who ship off to the 4077th unit, serving the wounded taken from the frontlines which are only a few miles away. Set under horrible conditions and burdened with a pretty considerably workload, these two, with some help from Duke Forrest (Tom Skerritt), effectively make their own fun in a world where there realistically shouldn't be any to be found.
Soon enough, the three doctors find themselves in continual hot water with those in charge of the camp - Major Frank Burns (Robert Duvall), Major “Hot Lips Hollihan (Sally Kellerman), and Colonel Henry Blake (Roger Bowen) - as they try to live some semblance of a normal life against the all too real horrors of the war playing out all around them.
A film that works on a few levels, M*A*S*H manages to be clever without ever feeling condescending and it makes its points in sometimes blunt but always effective ways. Often times bordering on the ridiculous, the mere sight of the extents that the three core characters will go to is on the surface rather hilarious - it's what's happening all around these educated frat boys that drives the point home. Altman doesn't need to come out and tell us that war is bad, because we know that already, but showing us the way he does here, if nothing else, gets us to think. We can relate to these characters because in a lot of ways they're like everyone else. They have the same wants, needs and aspirations as any average Joe, they just happen to be in the worst place on earth to go after them.
Donald Sutherland steals the show here, playing Hawkeye Pierce perfectly and bringing that odd mischievous grin of his to the screen to wonderful effect while his sincerely believable camaraderie with Gould and Skerritt rounds things out incredibly well. Of course, Duvall, Kellerman and Bowen as the authoritative types are just as impressive, and hey, Fred 'The Hammer' Williamson even shows up here, years before he became a drive-in superstar.
Some might say the plot is too meandering or that the film feels sloppy in spots, but it gives things a natural and realistic feel that works in the movie's favor. The pacing is strange, but that's life, right? The film remains a classic for a reason - it's just very well made in pretty much every way that it needs to be.
Video/Audio/Extras:
M*A*S*H has always looked muddy. It's the way it was meant to look and that's the way that it looks here, in AVC encoded 1080p 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen. While the image definitely looks cleaner and more detailed than it ever has on DVD, it still looks like M*A*S*H* so yeah, don't expect reference quality here because it's just not going to happen. There's a softness to the entire film that, when combined with the intentionally flat looking colors, doesn't result in much of a visual 'wow' but you'll definitely notice the lack of compression artifacts, the improved detail and the slightly more natural qualities inherent in the high definition transfer.
HD audio enthusiasts will enjoy the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track, in English, that's been supplied while the rest of us will probably opt for the original Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono mix. Dubbed tracks are provided in Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, and French with subtitles available in English, English (SDH), traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, and Thai.
The 5.1 track spreads the effects and the score out a little bit here and there but stays true to the sound and the feel of the original mix, changing just enough that you'll notice it but not so much that it's likely to really distract you much. Dialogue is clear if flat at times and everything is nicely balanced. There aren't any problems to note and the film sounds fine.
Fox has carried over all of the extras from the previous DVD special edition release starting with the commentary by Robert Altman in which the late director talks about working on this picture and how he feels about it in hindsight. Altmans' always been an interesting guy and he tells some great stories here making this well worth a listen for fans of the director or more specifically of this film. There are far too many quite spots here, and as such, some might find themselves drifting off, but when Altman pipes up, he's absolutely worthy of your attention.
Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is The Complete Interactive Guide to M*A*S*H which serves as a sort of interactive guide to the cast, characters and history of the film that you can dig into as the movie plays out. The buzzer that goes off from time to time when this is enabled gets old fast, but it's kind of an interesting way to watch the film and learn more about the various players that comprise it.
The rest of the supplemental material has been carried over from the previous DVD release, and it's all presented here in standard definition. M*A*S*H: History Through the Lens (44:08) which is a very thorough look at how the book spawned the film which in turn spawned the television series. Narrated by Burt Reynolds, this does a good job of explaining why M*A*S*H was as successful as it was and how it struck a chord with its audience. Enlisted: The Story of MASH (40:53) is a lengthy making of documentary that takes a look at how the film was put together and which features some great cast and crew interviews. Much of the footage that is here also shows up in the shorter AMC Backstory M*A*S*H (24:27) which makes that featurette a little redundant. Remembering M*A*S*H (30:02) is a neat piece where Robert Altman receives the Fox Movie Channel lifetime achievement award before he sits down with the original cast members for a panel on the film, it's legacy and its impact.
Rounding out the extras are a few trailers, a still gallery, animated menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
M*A*S*H holds up incredibly well. It's a clever and funny film with some career defining performances, a great score, and Fox has done a very nice job on its Blu-ray debut delivering improved audio and video and while there isn't a whole lot here in the extras department that you won't find on the SD release, the interactive guide is at least something.