Movie · 1970 · Comedy, Drama, War · 1h 56m · R · English
Curator score: 5.9/10 (152.1K ratings)
M*A*S*H Gives A D*A*M*N.
Overview
One of the world's most acclaimed comedies, M*A*S*H focuses on three Korean War Army surgeons brilliantly brought to life by Donald Sutherland, Tom Skerritt and Elliott Gould. Though highly skilled and deeply dedicated, they adopt a hilarious, lunatic lifestyle as an antidote to the tragedies of their Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, and in the process infuriate Army bureaucrats. Robert Duvall, Gary Burghoff and Sally Kellerman co-star as a sanctimonious Major, an other-worldly Corporal, and a self-righteous yet lusty nurse.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.9/10
IMDb: 7.3/10
Letterboxd: 3.51/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Metacritic: 80
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
Robert Altman
Production
Ingo Preminger Productions, 20th Century Fox, Aspen Productions
Cast
Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Roger Bowen, René Auberjonois, David Arkin, Jo Ann Pflug, Gary Burghoff, Fred Williamson, Michael Murphy, Indus Arthur, Ken Prymus, Bobby Troup, Kim Atwood, Timothy Brown, John Schuck, Dawne Damon, Carl Gottlieb
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A landmark anti-establishment war comedy with inventive ensemble filmmaking, loose-jointed energy, and a sharp eye for military absurdity. It’s also very much a product of its era: the sexism and casual cruelty are hard to ignore, so the film lands best as a historically important, uneven satire rather than a universally easy recommendation.
Best for
fans of 1970s American cinema
viewers interested in Robert Altman’s early style
people who like anarchic ensemble comedies
watchers curious about influential anti-war satire
Skip if
you’re sensitive to misogyny and bullying-as-comedy
you want a straightforward, emotionally sincere war film
you prefer tightly plotted storytelling
you don’t enjoy improvisational, overlapping dialogue
Overview
M*A*S*H is one of those movies that feels like a turning point in American film comedy: shaggy, rude, anti-authority, and constantly testing how far a joke can be stretched before it curdles. Altman’s overlapping dialogue and ensemble looseness give it a lived-in, chaotic rhythm that still feels fresh, and the film’s reputation as a key 1970s breakthrough is well earned.
Worth noting
At the same time, the movie’s rebelliousness comes bundled with a lot of ugly behavior that the film often treats as charming. Its treatment of women, in particular, can be abrasive enough to overwhelm the satire for some viewers. If you’re watching for historical importance, tonal audacity, and the early shape of Altman’s voice, there’s plenty to admire; if you’re looking for a comedy that has aged gracefully, this is a tougher sell.
Bottom line
The result is a film that is significant more than it is consistently pleasurable. It’s worth seeing as a cultural artifact and as a blueprint for later ensemble comedies, but it’s best approached with clear expectations about how rough its humor can be.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Tasha Robinson (1★) · 1435 likes
Groundbreaking, era-defining, and culturally significant in its time. Also hateful, sexist, racist, and endlessly pleased with the protagonists for their bad-boy behavior of bullying the entire military (and especially, endlessly, women) and getting away with it. I hated the whole experience of watching this, in spite of the incredible cast, the haunting opening song, and the chance to see Robert Altman developing his voice. Roger Ebert's 1970 review said the film is "true to the unadmitted sadist in all of… more Groundbreaking, era-defining, and culturally significant in its time. Also hateful, sexist, racist, and endlessly pleased with the protagonists for their bad-boy behavior of bullying the entire military (and especially, endlessly, women) and getting away with it. I hated the whole experience of watching this, in spite of the incredible cast, the haunting opening song, and the chance to see Robert Altman developing his voice. Roger Ebert's 1970 review said the film is "true to the unadmitted sadist in all of… more
Karsten (3★) · 712 likes
sometimes you just gotta watch M*A*S*H
Patrick Willems · 669 likes
I wonder if, years later, Robert Altman watched American Pie and felt a huge swell of pride knowing this kind of movie wouldn’t exist without him
Aaron (5★) · 559 likes
“I wonder how a degenerated person like that could have reached a position of responsibility in the Army Medical Corps!” “He was drafted.”
To show it is to sell it. That’s the thrust of the oft-quoted notion, attributed to François Truffaut, that it’s nearly impossible to make an anti-war film. The depiction cannot help but ennoble and romanticize, even if the intent is to do anything but. The solution? Don’t show the war at all.
Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H, which contains… more
Matt Singer (2.5★) · 488 likes
1970s audiences were so dazzled by the formal innovations and the undeniably chummy vibe that they barely registered (or willfully overlooked) the grotesque sexism running through this film. The same exact story could serve as the basis for an exposé about rampant misogyny in the Army — but M*A*S*H is a raunchy comedy that treats unrepentant abusers as plucky, underdog heroes who are rightly sticking it to a priggish, pompous system. And then it ends with ... a wacky football game? Complete with slide whistle sound effects?!?