Review of M*A*S*H (1970) by Mike L — 06 Sep 2009
A movie very much of its time. Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould are the good ol' boys (they reminded me of Bo and Luke Duke) who are constantly pulling hijinks and questioning authority, and are the heroes because of that. There is "free love" throughout this movie, and no doubt that this movie was such a hit, because the Vietnam War was at its peak at the time. I am not sure if it stands up after all of these years. There is nothing wrong with anyone's performance, and Robert Altman firmly establishes his style, with his overlapping dialogue and fantastic tracking shots. But it rubbed me the wrong way when Sutherland and Tom Skerrit's characters mock Robert Duvall's character simply for being religious, and this is before Duvall's character's dispicable qualities are revealed. In fact, often Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John come off as assholes, yet are constantly held up to the audience as heroes. And Hot Lips' character really changes inexplicably by the time the football chapter of the movie begins.
This movie served as the world's introduction to Robert Altman, but he would go on to make far greater movies than this.
This review of M*A*S*H (1970) was written by Mike L on 06 Sep 2009.
M*A*S*H has generally received very positive reviews.
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