MASH, the movie, was pretty daring for its time and continues to be one of the best antiwar films ever to come out of Hollywood.
Video:
The picture is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio, about 2.13:1 across a normal television set. The print is a new high-definition THX transfer painstakingly restored and color matched to the source material. Interestingly, Altman used several filters to achieve the desaturated colors he wanted throughout the majority of the film, so you´ll find most of the hues purposely faded looking, right up until the football sequence, which suddenly comes alive with brilliant colors. Apparently, Altman wanted the movie´s visual image to match the film´s content and theme in tone and accomplished the task nicely. Don´t be dismayed, then, by the slightly washed-out look of the film´s first three-quarters; there´s design behind everything Altman does, even when it doesn´t look like it.
Audio:
Likewise, the audio may also at first blush appear less than ideal. It´s meant to be that way. Altman wanted to capture the sounds of real people in real conversations, so he encouraged the use of overlapping dialogue and miked each of the actors separately. The result is somewhat thin, nasal, and rough by the standards of audiophile sonics, but it is quite natural by the standards of human hearing. What´s more, Fox engineers have taken the original three-track monaural sound and not only restored it but opened it up to stereo. It´s rather limited stereo, of course, but it does give the audio a broader, more expansive quality. For purists, Fox also offer the film´s mono soundtrack.
Extras:
The two DVDs in the set contain quite a lot of material, so let me start with disc one, where you´ll find the film itself, plus several excellent bonuses. The first bonus is an audio commentary with director Robert Altman, whose quiet, sparing, yet highly informative notes are a lesson in economy. Next, there´s a twenty-four-minute documentary, "Backstory: The Making of MASH," which contains the usual assortment of filmmaker interviews. Then, there´s a still gallery, a THX Optimode series of audiovisual calibration tests, a healthy forty chapter selections, and a widescreen trailer. English and French are offered for spoken language options, with English only for subtitles.
Disc two includes four documentary items, all of them worthwhile. The first is a forty-minute feature called "Enlisted: The Story of MASH," which contains even more filmmaker interviews than the documentary on the first disc. Some of it may seem redundant, but you´ll learn more about MASH than you could ever hope for. The second, forty-four-minute feature, "MASH: Comedy Under Fire," documents the lives of some of the real doctors and nurses serving in Korea during the war. The third feature is a half-hour bit called "MASH Reunion," a filming of Fox´s July, 2000, Legacy Award show honoring Altman. Most of the old cast reassembled to talk and reminisce on stage about their experiences making the film. Finally, there´s a segment on the restoration of the picture and sound on this new transfer of MASH, complete with before-and-after comparisons.
Parting Thoughts:
For a low-budget film, MASH did all right for itself, especially considering its relatively unknown director at the time and its relatively unknown stars. It managed to win an Academy Award for its screenwriter, Ring Lardner, Jr., who had long before been blacklisted in Hollywood for his stand against McCarthyism. Ironically, the film almost got an X rating for a single instance of the "F" word (how times change!), and Lardner complained early on that Altman had changed or deleted most of his script. I suppose the Oscar helped assuage his feelings. Furthermore, the movie was nominated for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Sally Kellerman), Best Director, and Best Film Editing (Danford B. Greene). This is a hard comedy to resist.
The picture is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio, about 2.13:1 across a normal television set. The print is a new high-definition THX transfer painstakingly restored and color matched to the source material. Interestingly, Altman used several filters to achieve the desaturated colors he wanted throughout the majority of the film, so you´ll find most of the hues purposely faded looking, right up until the football sequence, which suddenly comes alive with brilliant colors. Apparently, Altman wanted the movie´s visual image to match the film´s content and theme in tone and accomplished the task nicely. Don´t be dismayed, then, by the slightly washed-out look of the film´s first three-quarters; there´s design behind everything Altman does, even when it doesn´t look like it.
Audio:
Likewise, the audio may also at first blush appear less than ideal. It´s meant to be that way. Altman wanted to capture the sounds of real people in real conversations, so he encouraged the use of overlapping dialogue and miked each of the actors separately. The result is somewhat thin, nasal, and rough by the standards of audiophile sonics, but it is quite natural by the standards of human hearing. What´s more, Fox engineers have taken the original three-track monaural sound and not only restored it but opened it up to stereo. It´s rather limited stereo, of course, but it does give the audio a broader, more expansive quality. For purists, Fox also offer the film´s mono soundtrack.
Extras:
The two DVDs in the set contain quite a lot of material, so let me start with disc one, where you´ll find the film itself, plus several excellent bonuses. The first bonus is an audio commentary with director Robert Altman, whose quiet, sparing, yet highly informative notes are a lesson in economy. Next, there´s a twenty-four-minute documentary, "Backstory: The Making of MASH," which contains the usual assortment of filmmaker interviews. Then, there´s a still gallery, a THX Optimode series of audiovisual calibration tests, a healthy forty chapter selections, and a widescreen trailer. English and French are offered for spoken language options, with English only for subtitles.
Disc two includes four documentary items, all of them worthwhile. The first is a forty-minute feature called "Enlisted: The Story of MASH," which contains even more filmmaker interviews than the documentary on the first disc. Some of it may seem redundant, but you´ll learn more about MASH than you could ever hope for. The second, forty-four-minute feature, "MASH: Comedy Under Fire," documents the lives of some of the real doctors and nurses serving in Korea during the war. The third feature is a half-hour bit called "MASH Reunion," a filming of Fox´s July, 2000, Legacy Award show honoring Altman. Most of the old cast reassembled to talk and reminisce on stage about their experiences making the film. Finally, there´s a segment on the restoration of the picture and sound on this new transfer of MASH, complete with before-and-after comparisons.
Parting Thoughts:
For a low-budget film, MASH did all right for itself, especially considering its relatively unknown director at the time and its relatively unknown stars. It managed to win an Academy Award for its screenwriter, Ring Lardner, Jr., who had long before been blacklisted in Hollywood for his stand against McCarthyism. Ironically, the film almost got an X rating for a single instance of the "F" word (how times change!), and Lardner complained early on that Altman had changed or deleted most of his script. I suppose the Oscar helped assuage his feelings. Furthermore, the movie was nominated for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Sally Kellerman), Best Director, and Best Film Editing (Danford B. Greene). This is a hard comedy to resist.
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