M*A*S*H* Blu-ray
M*A*S*H* comes to Blu-ray almost 40 years after the movie hit theaters and even years after the series finally ended but the film still has that punch and quality that set it apart from other large films.
Film making 23/25
Video 21/25
Audio 20/25
Bonus Features 18/25
Total 82/100
MASH, or M*A*S*H* as they have it titled, is the documentary styled look at the Korean war and the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital just behind the front lines. The movie follows the antics of doctors as they patch up wounded enough to save lives till they can be moved further along the medical chain.
Donald Sutherland, Elliot Gould and Tom Skerrit star in some of their earliest roles as doctors of the 4077th MASH outfit. The film is in a documentary style and runs along the time from the arrival of two of the doctors and jumps through several months of their stay in Korea.
Directed by Robert Altman the film had plenty of ups and downs including being filmed while two major pictures, Tora Tora Tora and Patton were being filmed at the same studio. Robert Altman was a new comer to film making and two of the stars even tried hard to get him fired but the film proceeded to theatres regardless.
Main plots include the arrival of the two new doctors, Hawkeye Pierce and Duke Forrest and continue on with a couple of new arrivals later and more scenes. The main story of life at the MASH unit is well recreated with the use of careful zooms and a lack of following the screenplay.
Conversations are often overlapping and you can clearly hear others going about their daily business while main conversations continue in the foreground. Other main cinematic effects and filming irregularities are the use of tight zooms as well as actors filling in script adlib while following the main storyline.
The film MASH is a great movie and well worth watching even years after it hit theatres with a great reception and despite its very low budget. The Blu-ray release is great and has an expected grainy appearance since it was filmed in 1970 but this grain and other effects make the film more realistic and very acceptable.
The Blu-ray release has very good video with understandably drab colors but blood and some colors here and there such as Japanese kimonos in one scene do appear vivid and bright. The high definition video looks good and about as good as you could expect from a film shot in 1970 but the audio is also dated but acceptable.
Audio is in DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround Sound and was very well transferred to Blu-ray with great positional sound and well done center for conversations. Some of the conversations are a bit muddled but with a film this old it is quite understandable to have some technical problems.
Overall both audio and video are good and above average on the Blu-ray release as you could expect and the Blu-ray has a pretty good smattering of extras as well. Bonus features include a complete interactive guide to MASH, Commentary track, AMC Backstory MASH, Documentaries The Story of MASH and MASH History Through the Lens and more.
The interactive guide shows icons onscreen to help keep track of characters and interactions like fights, love and even courts-martials. It’s not all that great but a bit of fun and does add something but the other features are much better.
The AMC Backstory MASH feature is a great take on the film some 39 years after the film hit audiences with not only casting and filming but post production and even the first audience viewing. The feature is a documentary on the documentary style film that shows all about the film mostly from director Robert Altman.
Enlisted: The Story of MASH is another feature and a making of from script and director Altman’s start in the film and on through casting, to various scenes and on to the finish and a look back after thirty years. MASH History Through The Lens is yet another look at the film but as a look at War and the real stories behind the film and real MASH units but does end up covering some of the same ground as the other features.
Probably not the most entertaining feature is the look back with the 30th Anniversary of the film and a reunion of cast and crew. Robert Altman won the first Fox Movie Channel Legacy award and the event was attended by many of the film’s stars to honor his great works in cinema.
The Blu-ray release of M*A*S*H* is a must have for comedy fans and is a great film even 40 years after its initial start. M*A*S*H* Blu-ray is a great film and about as good as your going to get in high definition with plenty of extras to make it worthwhile if you don’t own the film.