MASH
The unusual phenomenom of trying to ârecreateâ popular movies into the realm of weekly TV shows was one that was almost always destined for failure, which is perfectly understandable when one watches a TV series where beloved movie characters are now being played by lesser TV actors (or minor characters played by the same actors getting a more beefed up role) along with the now sanitized nature of the original material and premise just NOT translating well at all to the small screen and guaranteeing a short, worthless run of a season or two at best. The one exception was the TV version of this classic, groundbreaking 1970 film (and Best Picture Oscar Nominee) directed by Robert Altman, which arguably turned out to be the most popular and successful TV show of all time, running for 11 seasons and seeing its series finale break all time ratings records which still stands today even as it still carried the same flaws of other so called TV âadaptationsâ of popular films and if anything actually cheapened the legacy of Altmanâs Unsung Masterpiece, of which it can be argued that only The Player is really a better, more entertaining piece of work by him. Based on a novel recounting the real life experiences of Korean War surgeons which was then turned into screenplay form by the admitted Communist writer Ring Lardner Jr., Altman chose to break all of the rules right away by throwing out the script at the start of filming and encouraging the actors to completely improvise their roles, thus making for a looser, more carefree filming environment that nonetheless still caused tension between him and the other performers, most notably Donald Sutherland. Ironically, this might be Sutherlandâs single best role ever as Captain Hawkeye Pierce, living up to the original idea of the character as being a nasty, caustic, yet utterly hilarious and miserable bastard unlike the ultra smarmy nice guy that Alan Alda rode on to stardom with the show. And really, the cheap laughs filled sitcom that was the show (complete with that AWFUL preprocessed laugh track) will always truly pale in comparison with what we have here, a loosely constructed, non linear plot that in and of itself is very episodic in nature as it drifts from one major storyline to the next, with the connecting thread being the idea that the drafted doctors and surgeons forced into duty in Korea (though Altman has conceded that it might as very well be Vietnam, the current war at the time) to work 12 hour shifts on a constant merry go round of gruesomely wounded American soldiers while living in squalid conditions had to in order to maintain both their sanity and humanity in such a situation resort to being complete donât give a shit anarchists when supposedly off the clock, engaging in binge drinking, possible (but never seen) drug use, random acts of strange behavior, and lots of roundtable sex with the female nurses and workers on the base (despite the fact that they all had spouses waiting for them back home) on the premise that if they were all really stuck there in such a shitty place that they didnât want to be in, then all sense of decorum and vows back home were basically suspended temporarily in order to engage in such debauched behavior so that they could basically survive all while knowing full well that everything that they did at the base stayed at the base when the time came to return home to their families, and more than anything else having the strict regiments of military protocol be damned since their gifted abilities at being much needed doctors on the battlefield gave them plenty of leverage to throw their own weight around when it came to having to follow orders like regular soldiers. Into this environment comes Sutherlandâs Hawkeye along with Tom Skerritt as Duke Forrest (a major character here who was NOT brought over into the show) and shortly after is the arrival of Elliott Gouldâs Trapper John McIntyre, the best character (and performance) in the film and the pinnacle of Gouldâs run of major stardom in the 70s for those who only know him best as a cannon fodder character actor in the 80s and 90s. We meet other characters along the way, some familiar (Gary Burghoffâs Radar OâReilly being the only holdover actor and character to make it onto the show) and some not so much while Altman manages to keep a soft, hazy glow over the whole affair with the cinematography (as if the characters are angels of mercy working in a place that very much resembles Hell) as he also maintains a surprisingly mean spirited attitude even among the so called main âlikableâ characters (something which the show never dared to do) even allowing for ample portions of political incorrectness and rampant sexism (this IS the 50s after all) which still remains a sore spot and sticking point for certain sensitive types even today. This is most apparent with the treatment of Head Nurse âHot Lipsâ OâHoulihan (Sally Kellerman racking up a Best Supporting Actress Nomination) who waltzes onto the base with a holier than thou attitude openly questioning the lack of any social discipline only to find herself be singled out, stigmatized, and humiliated until SHE finally learns to loosen up in this place if she is going to survive AND be accepted by the others. But the real cancer in the place is Major Frank Burns (Robert Duvall), a completely humorless Bible Thumper type who shoves his judgmental beliefs in other peopleâs faces while also having the temerity to openly berate and belittle the younger guys in the operating room when something goes wrong with a patient (a rather unethical tactic) and ultimately proves himself to be a total hypocrite as well when he screws around with Hot Lips (cheating on his wife back home in the process) and realizes that their sexual escapades have just been broadcast on The Armed Forces Radio Network for all the troops to hear (Trapper John listening to the broadcast : âAw, he is a VERY loving man.â) which also explains exactly how Hot Lips got her famous nickname. Other segments / storylines explored include the lothario dentist of the group (John Schuck) becoming suicidal upon his âfailure to performâ with a woman and have the others agree to stage a mock suicide in his honor (where we learn the origins of the famous theme song used on the show), Hawkeye and Trapper (reportedly the best cardiac surgeon back home in the States) going on special assignment in Japan to operate on a Congressmanâs son along with getting into other shenanigans, and best of all, a final football game between the unit and a group of Army grunts led by a gung ho general / coach that Altman claimed was actually a metaphor for the futility of war but taken on its own terms is probably the single funniest football game in the history of cinema, with the unit pulling every dirty trick in the book from subtlely drugging the teamâs best player during a pile on tackle to bringing in an ex pro âringerâ (real life NFL legend and blaxploitation action movie star Fred âThe Hammerâ Williamson) to surprise their rivals when the second half starts. Meanwhile, Altman makes frequent use of overlapping dialogue during crowded scenes, and while not every little bit or character trait works quite right (like Sutherlandâs annoying little whistle) the film still deserves to be remembered for Gouldâs towering Trapper John always standing up to The Man, for Kellermanâs Hots Lipsâ annoyingly endearing rant about the othersâ mistreatment of her, and for the flip, blasĂ© attitudes that these people take on to keep their minds in the right place for this important line of work, making fucking off into an art form that only they in a rotten place like this can get away with in a film that deftly combined comedy and drama and stunned audiences at the time with just the overall effectiveness of it all, a morbid black comedy about war whose true tone and actual spirit could never have been properly condensed into the format of a TV sitcom, even if itâs one whose own major success made television history all while the original movie still stands alone as being a groundbreaking, ballsy enterprise that even the late, great Robert Altman could never have quite toppedâŠ
9/10