Inspiring Films: M*A*S*H

So I'm writing this play that's partially influenced by the films of Robert Altman.  As research, I have been watching some of his films over again.  I realized that I probably started watching his films in the nineties when I was a kid.  Films like The Player and Short Cuts were big and I liked them. But then I started watching more of his films.  I knew he was a legendary director, but the films I was watching weren't the ones who made him known to millions of people.  They were a part of a second act or a resurgence.  The film considered to be the one that made his career is Nashville.  But I wanted to see what he was like before Nashville and then what Nashville made him as an artist.  I was interested in him.  Not just in the films.  So I'm going to share my thoughts on the films, starting with M*A*S*H.  

Just finished watching M*A*S*H.  Great, great film.  I loved how episodic it was and how irreverent it was.  I also appreciated that characters weren’t introduced all at once.  You had characters come in and be introduced and then they became the main characters of the film.  But they were gradually introduced.  It just seemed a little more realistic instead of in the first five minutes…HERE ARE THE STARS OF THE SHOW!

I admire Bob’s ability to be bold and irreverent in his storytelling.  He’s also not interested at all in doing anything conventional and he stands behind that in the film.  It was forcefully entertaining the whole way through while telling a story that was political, liberal and thought-provoking.  But the sense of fun and the joy of telling a story was never lost.

Here you saw the beginning of that over-lapping dialogue style, which gives the film a very verite feel. 

He had the device of using the loud-speaker announcements as a sort of throughline since there wasn’t a plot in the movie. 

I also noticed that the film wraps up quickly with Hawkeye and Duke going home.  It was an incredibly quick and unexpected resolution.  But I guess that’s like war, it seems to go on and on and on until it’s over.  And then you’re out.

It also has this great way of blending tone and genre and feel.  Going from comedy to tragedy to farce to emotional moments to sexy time.  In watching M*A*S*H, you see an experienced, but young (in experience) filmmaker start to realize his powers.  You see someone who is beginning to flex his muscles and enjoy the gifts he has.  He’s kind of like Spider Man while he’s enjoying all of his glory and abusing his power before his Uncle Ben dies.

M*A*S*H is rebellious and incredibly human all at once.  I’m taking that spirit with me as I craft these ideas about what I want to write and how I want to write it.  I take the spirit of Bob Altman with me, starting with that audacious first step.