Director:Robert AltmanScreenplay:Ring Lardner Jr., based on Richard Hooker’s novel “MASH”
MASH takes us to 1951, to some of the fiercest and most difficult days of the Korean War. After an introduction like that, you would naturally expect a drama or a war film. Instead, MASH serves up a mixture of absurd comedy, anti-militarism and a generous helping of hedonism. It is a remarkable film that tells, with humour, the experiences of three doctors conscripted and sent to a field hospital stationed in one of the war’s most intense areas. The film was released in Turkey in 1973 as “Cephede Eğlence,” or “Entertainment at the Front.” Of course, I don’t know how well it was received here at the time. But even after all these years, sitting down to watch it again is enough to understand why it became a cult film. Donald Sutherland’s performance back when he was a tall, skinny young man really deserves admiration. MASH also contains plenty of criticism of religion and military discipline. The dramatic side lies in these doctors, sent to the front against their will, trying to make their situation bearable as they treat a never-ending stream of soldiers wounded in the fighting.
In a sense, MASH shows us the mindset that might make an atmosphere bearable when human ethics have disappeared, people keep dying and limbs are being torn off. The film was so well loved that a television series followed and ran for 11 seasons. I would definitely make room for MASH in your comedy collection.