MASH

 Directed by Robert Altman 

 

"That suicide is painless
it brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please."

With those sublimely dark and twisted words, sung in a ballad ever so sweetly, I was introduced to the world of MASH, a laugh out loud dark comedy satirizing war plus the politics and policies behind war. 

As a child of the 1980's, I was of course aware of M*A*S*H the television series, despite the fact no on in my home ever watched it, as far as I can recall. It was just one of those shows everybody seemed to know. I have long been interested in giving it a go, and now after loving the film which inspired it, I am even more intrigued.

The film, directed by Robert Altman early in his career, is set during the Korean War in the early 1950's and centers around a group of surgeons, nurses, and other personnel at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, or MASH.

MASH begins with the arrival of two new surgeons to the unit, Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce (Donald Sutherland) and Captain Augustus "Duke" Forrest (Tom Skerritt). The two men have a lot in common - drinking, recklessness, disdain for authority, and a general boy's club mentality - and become fast friends. It's not long before they're joined by another wildcard - Captain John "Trapper John" McIntyre (Elliot Gould). The three men are definitely not standard issue Army, but they're wonderful surgeons and inspire most of the crew around them. Within a short time, they become the unofficial leaders of the camp, much to the chagrin of the straight laced Major Frank Burns (Robert Duvall) and the chief nurse Major Margaret Houlihan (Sally Kellerman). Even the actual leader of the camp, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake (Roger Bowen), mostly defers to the wild group of boys.

The supporting cast includes many memorable characters who compliment the main group perfectly. Among them: Father Mulcahy (Rene Auberjonois), Captain Walter "Painless" Waldowski (John Schuck), Captain Oliver "Spearchucker" Jones (Fred Williamson), Captain Ezekiel "Me Lay" Marston (Michael Murphy), Ho-Jon (Kim Atwood), and Corporal "Radar" O'Reilly (Gary Burghoff).

The film isn't concerned with an overreaching plot like most are. Instead, Altman decided to structure the narrative as more of a series of vignettes - and it works very well. I think it helps to show how everyday life is in this particular and unorthodox unit. Most of the time, it's hilariously jovial with the guys ribbing each other back and forth, but other times it is painfully realistic and dramatic. I don't think anyone would ever classify MASH as a serious film, but there are undoubtedly serious moments contained within. Most of these moments occur inside the surgical tent as Hawkeye, Duke, and Trapper John tend to the wounded and dying men from the front lines. There are a couple moments of intense drama as the surgeons fight against the odds, with blood spurting and bones being sawed through.

With the exception of Burns and Houlihan, almost everyone in the camp has a easy going attitude and Colonel Blake allows his staff to operate on a level that approaches hedonism at times. I think it makes sense that these men and women, who have to deal with death and despair all day and night while working, are allowed to blow off steam when they can. Hawkeye, Duke, and Trapper John are extremely skilled surgeons - often times succeeding where less talented or less motivated doctors may have failed - and perform their duties with the utmost care and understanding, but when they're off duty they mostly behave like drunken frat boys. It's an interesting dynamic and I loved watching it unfold.

MASH succeeds on nearly every level and a lot of that success can be attributed to the wonderful work of the fine cast. The three leads are practically perfect, with Sutherland, Gould, and Skerritt playing off each other with the ease of real life best friends. Sutherland is probably the standout and Hawkeye is definitely the most interesting character, but Gould runs a very close second. Both inhabit their characters to such an extent that it's easy to forget you're watching two men act and that may be the highest praise available. When I get around to the series, it's going to be a very tough act to follow in these two's footsteps.

Duvall, one of the most talented actors of his or any generation, is predictably great, but I would have liked to see more of his character. Burns is such a different kind of doctor and person and, despite him being just an average surgeon and a hypocrite, I was disappointed to see his character sent away at about the halfway point of the film. He provided a perfect foil for Hawkeye and company to torment.

Of the supporting cast, I'd like to highlight two performances: Burghoff's Radar and Auberjonois' Father Mulcahy. Radar is given some terrific lines and moments to shine and I particularly loved his interactions with Colonel Blake. You can tell immediately that Radar has been assisting the Colonel for a long time as he anticipates all his needs and questions, answering them before the Colonel even finishes asking. Burghoff has a fantastic deadpan delivery and had me laughing rather consistently. I usually have a hard time seeing Auberjonois without thinking of his character on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but now I might immediately think of Father Mulcahy first when I see him next. Mulcahy is a sweet, gentle man who does his best to care for the spirits and souls of the men and women in his camp, but also understands they don't need to be judged or condemned for their actions. Auberjonois has such an expressive and caring face and he uses it to embody Mulcahy was an instantly likeable charm. A good portion of the script was improvised and Auberjonois added at least one memorable moment on his own - when Mulcahy blesses a Jeep before some men depart the camp - after reading about a real life chaplain who routinely did the same. It's a small moment, but an effective one. It shows the lengths that Mulcahy will go to to protect the people in his charge.

The only weak link in the principal cast is Kellerman, which is a shame as Houlihan is a rather substantial character. I just think her performance is a little too over the top, especially concerning several moments where she breaks down crying. I don't think Kellerman was terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but when you're surrounded by a cast that rarely hits the wrong note, any slight miscue is going to be glaringly obvious. I was quite surprised when I discovered Kellerman was the only cast member to be nominated for an Academy Award. She lost, but I can't believe she was even nominated. I guess it's good the cast was at least represented at that year's Oscar ceremony. Side note: both leads of the terribly cheesy and horribly acted Love Story were nominated, so maybe it goes to show the mindset of the voting body that year.  

Altman's direction seems effortless as it's not flashy in the least, but I think his style perfectly fits the film. One of his trademarks as a director is having overlapping dialogue in the scene and this technique is used exquisitely in the operating tents in MASH where three or four groups of surgeons and nurses have to tend to their patients while sharing a cramped working space. It makes everything seem life like - chaotic, stressful, and inherently busy. The film's cinematography, from director of photography Harold Stine, has a somewhat gritty look and I think it works really well. In conjunction with the overlapping dialogue, the cinematography gives MASH the slight feel of a documentary, as if a camera just happened to capture the wild antics of the unit.

The soundtrack is filled with little snippets of different songs - some of them in Japanese played over the camp's PA system and some of them actually sung by the characters on screen - and the combined effect was very funny and pleasing. The most notable part of the soundtrack, though, is the aforementioned theme song, "Suicide is Painless" which was written specifically for MASH. The song is strangely catchy, darkly funny, and nicely sang by an unspecified chorus over the opening titles and then again by cast member Timothy Brown (as Corporal Judson) during the hilarious "fake suicide" scene. I was amused to read that Altman wanted "the dumbest lyrics possible" and set out to write them himself, while Johnny Mandei wrote the music. Altman wasn't up to the task, though, so he asked his 14 year old son, Mike, to take a crack at it. Five minutes later, the song was finished and the elder Altman was pleased. Since the song was also used in the television series, Mike went on to earn over $2 million in royalties over the years. Not bad for five minutes worth of effort as a teenager! It's also funny to me that Robert Altman was paid $75,000 to direct MASH, but his son would earn over twenty five times that amount for writing "the dumbest lyrics possible".

Though it is set during the Korean War, and Korea is mentioned several times to drive home this point, the intent of the film is to work as a satire of the Vietnam War - which was in full swing while the Altman and his crew were making the film - and it accomplishes this task beautifully. MASH shows the horrors and absurdity of war, but does so in such a fun way as to make it palatable to general audiences. The subtext of Vietnam isn't hidden, either. Just take a look at how the characters are dressed or how they wear their hair or even at their general attitudes and demeanor - these types of people didn't exist in the 1950's. I think it's a testament to the cast and crew that they were able to construct such an entertaining and thought provoking film that still resonates 46 years later.

I do have a couple criticisms and both stem from a final act that was a step down from the excellent material which preceded it. A large set piece near the end centers around a football game between two different units and, while it's consistently funny and well done, it just didn't fit in with the rest of the film and dragged on for a bit too long. The other major sticking point for me was Houlihan's sudden and drastic transformation from outcast and agitator to willing participant in the lunacy. I would have liked a bit more with her character, just to show her mindset a little more clearly.

In the end, though, those are very minor quibbles as the film as a whole is a rousing success.

MASH had a fairly interesting, and often contentious, production. Right from the start, filming fell behind schedule due to Altman's unique shooting style. The script went through a lot of changes - scenes were moved around, characters altered, and a lot of the dialogue was improvised - so much so that screenwriter Ring Lardner, Jr. practically disowned the film, complaining that Altman altered too much. During filming, Sutherland and Gould both approached the studio and attempted to get Altman fired because they were so upset he was focusing a lot of screen time to minor characters. They wanted to be the main attractions (which they were) and seemed jealous of any other actor getting a proper showcase. Thankfully, the studio rejected their pleas - probably due to indifference as they didn't think MASH would result in anything significant and were more concerned with their other war picture, Patton, to pay much attention - and Altman stayed on to finish the film.

Lardner changed his tune after MASH went on to become a critical and commercial hit, though, and gladly accepted the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Gould would later apologize to Altman for his behavior and the two went on to be friends. Sutherland, on the other hand, never reached out to Altman. Gould would go on to appear in several of Altman's films (most notably, starring in The Long Goodbye), but he never cast Sutherland in anything else.

One other little bit of trivia: MASH was one of the first major studio films to contain the word "fuck" spoken aloud. It wasn't scripted, but during the football game an actor improvised a line with the then-taboo word and it made the film's final cut. As it's my favorite curse word, I find this bit of cinematic history to be interesting.

Besides winning the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and being nominated for Best Supporting Actress, MASH was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Film Editing, but lost to Patton in each category. In 1996, the Library of Congress deemed MASH to be "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. In 1998, the American Film Institute placed MASH at #54 of the Top 100 American movies of all-time.

It is a classic film in every meaning of the word and one I wished I would have watched ten or fifteen years ago. It's slightly disappointing to think how many times I could have re-watched it by now if I had discovered it sooner.