M*A*S*H is a 1970 American dark war comedy film directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner Jr. It is based on Richard Hooker's 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. The film is the sole theatrical release of the M*A*S*H franchise.
The film features a group of medical staff stationed in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) during the Korean War. It stars Donald Sutherland, Tom Skerritt, and Elliott Gould, as well as Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, René Auberjonois, Gary Burghoff, Roger Bowen, Michael Murphy, and professional football player Fred Williamson making his film debut. Although the Korean War serves as the film's main backdrop, the subtext is the Vietnam War, which was a current event at the time of filming. Doonesbury writer Garry Trudeau, who saw the film in college, claimed M*A*S*H was "perfect for the times, the cacophony of American culture was brilliantly reproduced onscreen".
M*A*S*H was one of the most successful pictures of the early 1970s for 20th Century-Fox, and it is now regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. It also won the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film, later known as the Palme d'Or, at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival. The film earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 1996, M*A*S*H was selected in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry that were deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation. The Academy Film Archive preserved M*A*S*H in 2000.
The film inspired the television series M*A*S*H, which aired from 1972 to 1983. Gary Burghoff, who played Radar O'Reilly, was the only major character actor to appear in both the film and the television series. Altman loathed the television series, describing it as "the antithesis of what we were trying to do" with the film.
Cast[]
| Character | Actor | ||
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Capt. Hawkeye Pierce
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Donald Sutherland | |
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Capt. Trapper John McIntyre
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Elliot Gould | |
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Capt. Duke Forrest
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Tom Skerritt | |
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Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" O'Houlihan
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Sally Kellerman | |
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Maj. Frank Burns
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Robert Duvall | |
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Lt. Col. Henry Blake
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Roger Bowen | |
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Father John Mulcahy
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René Auberjonois | |
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Sgt. Major Vollmer
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David Arkin | |
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Lt. "Dish"
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Jo Ann Pflug | |
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Cpl. "Radar" O'Reilly
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Gary Burghoff | |
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Dr. Oliver "Spearchucker" Jones
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Fred Williamson | |
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Capt. "Me Lay" Marston
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Michael Murphy | |
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Lt. Leslie
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Indus Arthur | |
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Sgt. Gorman
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Bobby Troup | |
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Ho-Jon
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Kim Atwood | |
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Cpl. Judson
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Timothy Brown | |
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Capt. "Painless Pole" Waldowski
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John Schuck | |
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Capt. Storch
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Dawne Damon | |
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Capt. "Ugly John"
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Carl Gottlieb | |
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Brig. Gen. Hammond
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G. Wood | |
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Pvt. Boone
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Bud Cort | |
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Capt. Murrhardt
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Danny Goldman | |
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Capt. Bandini
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Corey Fischer | |
International versions[]
| Language | Title | |
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Czech | M*A*S*H |
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French | M*A*S*H |
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German | M*A*S*H |
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Hungarian | M*A*S*H |
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Italian | M*A*S*H |
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Japanese (Trans Global Co., Ltd.) |
M★A★S★H マッシュ |
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Japanese (Tohokushinsha Film Corporation) |
M★A★S★H マッシュ |
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Portuguese (Brazil) | M*A*S*H |
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Spanish (Latin America) | M*A*S*H |
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Spanish (Spain) | M*A*S*H |
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Thai | unknown |
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Turkish | Cephede Eğlence |