Movie of the Week – MASH

This week’s movie: MASH (1970)

MASH follows the hijinks of the staff of a Korean War field hospital (specifically by the surgeons). The use of humor allows them to keep their sanity amidst the horrors they face daily.

The film was directed by Robert Altman. It was one of his first features, and stands as one of his best. For fans of his work, also check out: McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The Long Goodbye, Nashville, 3 Women, Short Cuts, The Player, and Gosford Park (MASH is my favorite of his work, followed by Gosford Park). Altman worked with composer Johnny Mandel, cinematographer Harold E. Stine, and art directors Arthur Lonergan and Jack Martin Smith on the film.

Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould star with Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Roger Bowen, Rene Auberjonois, David Arkin, Jo Ann Pflug, Gary Burghoff, and Fred Williamson in support.

MASH is a great and very funny comedy; but more so, it is a strong piece of antiwar cinema. Altman does not mention that the film takes place during the Korean War at any point during the film, actively wanting the audience to associate it with the Vietnam War which was in full effect at the time of the film’s release. 20^th Century Fox ended up attaching a title at the beginning of the film announcing it as taking place during the Korean War to somewhat mitigate the politics of the film. It is a strange piece overall, one that many seem to take quite an issue with – the idea of setting a goofball comedy (akin to something like Scrubs – you know, because of the medical connection – or almost any summer camp movie, as it feels a lot like one) in a situation of intense and dire consequences to human lives is a bit too much for some. And yet, how else can one cope in such a situation without losing themselves? The film spun-off a very successful TV adaptation M*A*S*H, which is probably better known today than the film. It is a must-see for fans of goofball comedy (and summer camp movies) and war films, as it lends a different perspective.

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray and Video On-Demand

Top 100 Films of the 20th Century – Part 11: 55-51

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Rank: 55

Title: Nashville

Release Year: 1975

Genre: Music/Drama

Director: Robert Altman

Cast: Ned Beatty, Karen Black, Ronee Blakley, Keith Carradine, and Henry Gibson

Plot Summary: An ensemble drama telling the stories of various people associated with the music business in Nashville in the days leading up to a big political convention/concert.

What Makes It Special: Nashville is a standout film for its music alone, which captures the glory days of country and western music. However, what makes it a classic is its ability to display such a range of characters, each feeling developed and whole. The film speaks to a feeling or attitude in America at the time, a mixture of hope for the future and apathy that nothing really changes. It is at the same time honest and a satire.

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray

Rank: 54

Title: Children of Paradise

Release Year: 1945

Genre: Drama

Director: Marcel Carne

Cast: Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur, Pierre Renoir, and Maria Casares

Plot Summary:  Claire Reine, who goes by Garance, is loved by many men, but she only loves a theater mime named Baptiste. However, after she is falsely accused of stealing a man’s watch, she flees Paris under the protection of another man. Both Garance and Baptiste toil in loveless relationships until one day, she finally returns to Paris.

What Makes It Special: Children of Paradise is a French epic that features almost everything cinema has to offer as a medium. It blends visuals, music, and emotion fluidly. Each aspect of the film seems to meld together creating almost a dream-like experience of wonder. The film is often referred to an allegory for the French Resistance against German occupation (Garance the purity of France’s soul), as it was made during the occupation. It is a grand film, achieving artistry unlike any film before or since (something that can also be said about Barrault’s performance).

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray

Rank: 53

Title: Goodfellas

Release Year: 1990

Genre: Gangster

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Lorraine Bracco

Plot Summary: This is the story of Henry Hill, an outsider who worked his way up through the mob only to rat them all out, and his friends – their rise and fall.

What Makes It Special: With Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese made a gangster film that feels both classic structurally and modern stylistically. It is hyper-violent, yet hip and cool. It takes terrible, bad men and makes them extremely likable and engaging, only to slowly warp that perception. In many ways it is not just a gangster film, but also a look at the cultural change that America underwent from the 1950s through the late 1970s. Goodfellas defines the gangster genre, while irreparably altering it forever.

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray and Video On-Demand

Rank: 52

Title: Metropolis

Release Year: 1927

Genre: Dystopian Sci-Fi/Drama

Director: Fritz Lang

Cast: Alfred Abel, Gustav Frohlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, and Brigitte Helm

Plot Summary: A futuristic city is divided between the controlling city planners and the anguished working class. However, salvation might finally be at hand for the working masses when the son of the city’s mastermind falls in love with the working class’s prophet – a young woman, who predicts that such a savior will arise.

What Makes It Special: At the time of its release, Metropolis was maybe the most visually ambitious film ever made (rising to the heights of D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance) – its production design is still a marvel even today. It is also one of the most influential films in cinema history, setting the baseline for sci-fi in popular culture going forward. The film is ripe with social, religious, and philosophical ideas and overtones. It is a film that simply cannot be missed for those intrigued by the genre and film’s history.

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray and Video On-Demand

Rank: 51

Title: The Seventh Seal

Release Year: 1957

Genre: Drama

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Cast: Max von Sydow, Bengt Ekerot, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Nils Poppe, and Bibi Andersson

Plot Summary: During the black plague, a knight seeking the meaning of life and answers about the existence of God plays a game of chess against the Grim Reaper.

What Makes It Special: The Seventh Seal is a visual poem, shouting in the darkness, grasping for anything of substance and meaning. It expresses man’s fear that his life has no meaning, that death is inevitable and final, and that faith may have no validity. This is all beautifully played through the story of Antonius Block, a knight returning from the Crusades (a Holy War waged in the name of God) to find his homeland plunged into despair and death with the onset of the Black Plague. Ingmar Bergman’s mortal struggle is breathtakingly visualized and stunningly ambitious in regards to its intellectual engagement with the viewer.

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray and Video On-Demand

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