The Movie
A genuine landmark from the Easy Riders, Raging Bulls generation of maverick filmmaking, Robert Altman's M*A*S*H was revolutionary not merely in its apparently-looser style (actors speak over one another, bump into things), but by taking a genre to an entirely new level. It's not a "dark comedy" as we know that term today, rather a seamless blending of gut-busting humor and heavy drama, plus buckets of blood: The title is an acronym for "Mobile Army Surgical Hospital," after all.
With the Korean conflict as a backdrop--and with the war in Viet Nam still raging in the real world at the time of the movie's release--the characters in the 4077th had license to misbehave in their downtime, because their duty hours were spent nobly patching up wounded G.I.'s, a stark contrast that somehow worked. The sexual hi-jinks and general mischief of Hawkeye, Trapper John, Hot Lips et. al. are now legendary, and what they couldn't show on the smash-hit weekly TV series is on parade in all its R-rated glory here.
The Picture
Grain appears to have been minimized on the 2.35:1 image, which does not absolve it from a layer of video noise which varies throughout the movie. Compression takes its toll on the backgrounds, sometimes with a noticeable twitch. The glow around the lights in the operating room, or off the head and shoulders of a brightly-lit doctor in his white scrubs can generate a bizarre digital halo, one of a few anomalies in this high-definition master. Strangely though, the severity is rarely so bad that it distracts from this very engaging film.
The Sound
An army hospital three miles from the front lines of a war is a busy place, and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundstage does a good job conveying the almost non-stop activity. Re-channeling from the original mono achieves a real three-dimensional quality. There aren't a lot of hard surrounds or discrete effects, but some subtle pans and modest rear-channel activity for the helicopters, and a couple of quick flyovers of unseen jets. The many odd, spontaneous sounds are captured in credible detail, and with so many people talking at the same time, we welcome the enhanced clarity of high-resolution DTS-HD MA. Johnny Mandel's boisterous score is bigger than ever, too.
The Extras
All of the features here but one are ported over from the two-disc special edition DVD from several years ago, all in their original standard definition. The audio commentary is delivered by the low-key director Robert Altman who, among other asides, refers to the eleven seasons of the top-rated spin-off as "that TV show... that series." The M*A*S*H episode of AMC Backstory (24-and-a-half minutes) and "Enlisted: The Story of M*A*S*H" (41 minutes) lavish praise amid all of the wonderful interviews, while "M*A*S*H: History Through the Lens" (a.k.a. "Comedy Under Fire," 44 minutes) goes further, delving into the movie's (and TV show's) relation to the real Korean conflict and the men and women who lived it.
"Remembering M*A*S*H: 30th Anniversary Cast & Crew Reunion" (30 minutes) was the culmination of a Robert Altman retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in July 2000, sponsored by Fox Movie Channel which bestowed upon him their first-ever Legacy Award. It was attended by the stars and other insiders from the movie, an incredible turnout, and they join Altman on stage for a live Q&A session after the screening.
New to this edition is the Blu-ray-exclusive feature, The Complete Interactive Guide to M*A*S*H. Ostensibly to help us keep track of the ensemble cast of characters, each is given a thumbnail ID photo at the bottom of the screen (or top too, when it gets crowded), while a rotating assortment of symbols (with sound effects!) provides running updates of their on-screen activities in a number of categories, including fights, court-martial-worthy offenses, hookups and martinis. Kind of fun, especially if we've seen the movie a few times before.
Final Thoughts
Rediscovering M*A*S*H on Fox's new Blu-ray was a pleasure, with more-than-adequate picture and sound, an archive of worthy old bonuses, and a hot new one only possible with next-gen technology.
Product Details
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