M*A*S*H may be the ultimate tool for reigniting a passion for Donald Sutherland’s career. As he got into his later years Donald took on increasingly drab roles that had him sporting the bushy white moustache and leaving all the real work to the younger starlets he was inevitably paired up with. In the days of M*A*S*H, Donald Sutherland was that younger star – that bright burning talent that electrified each cell of film with a presence and humor without which the film would have been insufferable. Donald Sutherland ought to credit M*A*S*H as his acting opus and yet it begs the question whether or not Robert Altman was the only director who ever knew how to get a truly brilliant performance out of him. Sutherland never gave a better show in the years after and most certainly never in his films before M*A*S*H.
If you’ve never seen the movie, there’s a good chance you’re still familiar with the film’s basic premise: soldiers make merry amidst the depressing conditions of a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (thus the name M*A*S*H) during the Korean War. Created as a thinly veiled jab at the politics of the Vietnam War. Sutherland plays the roguish Hawkeye Pierce with Elliott Gould and Tom Skerritt backing up his antics as Trapper John McIntyre and Duke Forrest, respectively. The three play all sorts of shenanigans with the lesser folks in the camp and run afoul of more than a few (Frank Burns played by Robert Duvall among them). Sex and alcohol play the butt of many of the film’s jokes but it stays quite whimsical and carefree for the first half until it devolves into a whole different animal ending finally with a football game. It’s an odd twist and turn for the plot to take but Altman directs Sutherland and the rest through it in such a way that it’s all tragic and hilarious at the same time.
The transfer of the film to Blu-ray wasn’t a perfect process and the film quality still leaves a little bit to be desired. However, the slightly below par Blu-ray visuals are nothing to gripe about in comparison to the film’s poorly remastered audio which frays and distorts a few too many times to forgive. It’s nice to have this comedy classic on the new format, but more work should have been put into the presentation if they really wanted it to be a viable hi-def contender.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
While Fox didn’t take the hi-def presentation of the Blu-ray format to heart, they did at least remember that they could cram a boatload of extras onto the disc without sacrificing anything. And so, the disc comes packed with most all of the extras that have ever graced previous releases of the film. Among them are “The Complete Interactive Guide to M*A*S*H” which is the only one that even comes remotely close to utilizing the capacity of Blu-ray for a more immersive experience in the disc’s back-end. The AMC pseudo-documentary “Backstory: M*A*S*H” presents an excellent viewing experience and will entertain any fan of the film (or series, despite the actor discontinuity). Chances are though that your average M*A*S*H fan already bought the disc on DVD and has either seen this featurette multiple times on TV or from their own personal collection. It’s still nice to have it on the disc, but you can’t help but feel the average avid fan of the film won’t be too impressed by its non-hi-def presentation. Then we come to the typical collection of featurettes which are retrospectives (because it didn’t occur to people in 1969 that people would care enough to want lots of supplementary footage). The featurettes are again interesting, but are not unique to this Blu-ray release; so again you’ll be hard pressed to rationalize the purchase. There’s a cast reunion which is interesting for about the first 40 seconds and then wears out its welcome. The last little nugget is a truly terrific commentary from Robert Altman. The man made a lot of great films and his perspective on M*A*S*H isn’t to be missed.
Now, if you’ve never seen it before you’re missing out on a truly great comedy experience. Should you put down the $20 for the Blu-ray or opt for the bargain bin $5 copy? For a $15 step up it’s worth considering – even more so if you’re a longtime fan who already owns a copy. In which case weigh the extras offered on your DVD version against the ones collected here and be the smart consumer that you are. But again, newcomers – check it out, DVD or Blu-ray either way it’s a great film.
"M*A*S*H" is on sale September 1, 2009 and is rated R. Comedy, War. Directed by Robert Altman. Written by Ring Lardner, Jr. (screenplay), Richard Hooker (novel). Starring Donald Sutherland, Elliot Gould, Rene Auberjonois, Robert Duvall, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman.
