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The 1970’s masterpiece about a military surgical unit and their dark humor is on Blu-ray!

Robert Altman wasn’t yet an established director with his own unique shooting and cutting style when M*A*S*H went into production. He had a handful of known actors amid a sea of unknowns - most of whom were on drugs (according to Donald Southerland). He had a script he would play with unabashedly and a need to create a quality film. What would happen when all of these things came together would be instant success and the birth of a franchise.

Welcome to the Korean war. The 4077, a mobile army surgical unit, is in need of two new doctors, and they get Captain Hawkeye Pierce (Donald Southerland) and Captain Duke Forest (Tom Skerritt). They are notorious skirt-chasers with wit as sharp as their scalpels and no regard for the rules. They are also insanely talented surgeons. They fight with their roommate, Frank Burns (Robert Duvall) and have a thoracic surgeon, Captain Trapper John McIntyre (Elliot Gould), transferred in. Hawkeye spends a good chunk of time trying to figure out where he’s seen Trapper John before, and it turns out that he’s a somewhat famous college football player.

And then comes Hot Lips Houlihan (Sally Kellerman), which provides countless distractions for Burns and an immense amount of fun for Trapper John. When Burns and Houlihan give into their uptight passions, the name Hot Lips is born. And the Hot Lips torture doesn’t end there: while trying to determine if she’s a natural blonde, the boys drop the walls of the ladies’ shower and expose her for the whole world to see.

The antics don’t stop; between a trip to Japan where they mischievously run amok (blackmail with prostitutes, for example) and staging a fake suicide (the only person who is duped is the guy trying to off himself) then topping it off with a football game, the boys and girls of the 4077 sneak some wholesome anti-establishment humor into what would otherwise be a bleak subject matter. The movie is more episodic than one continuous plot, and therein lies some of its charm. There is no room for discussion: M*A*S*H is a film of considerable talent and undeniable longevity. The Blu-ray version comes with commentary from Altman, an interactive guide, and a handful of featurettes from a making of to the history of the film. This DVD is a good, solid buy; you won’t regret it.

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