Why oh why do I keep falling for the same trick?
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ExplorerDS6789 — 12 years ago(April 10, 2013 12:15 PM)
What irks me is that Altman went against Ring Lardner's screenplay, and it was a good screenplay too, and just let the actors ad-lib to their hearts' content. He just set up the cameras and said, "say whatever the hell you want."
"It's a loosely weaved bunch of slapstick skits where misogynistic guys sexually harass every female in sight, tell dick jokes and treat a young Korean boy as a slave. If they had only dropped the N word the rainbow of racism and sexism would be complete."
To be fair, that wasn't all Altman's idea, it came from the MASH book where, believe it or not, Hawkeye, Trapper and Duke are even bigger scumbags than they were in the movie. -
HowYaLikeDemApplesWill — 12 years ago(August 04, 2013 08:05 AM)
If the Academy voters didn't like the movie version, whether it "stuck" to the screenplay or not, Lardner would never have won the Oscar for Best Screenplay.
It is pretty common for authors of novels to not be happy with how Hollywood has turned their baby into a movie: they didn't stick to the story, they trimmed parts of the book that don't translate well to the screen, etc
It is also fairly common that there is often tension between screenwriters and directors, in that the ultimate vision for a movie is in the hands of the director, not the screenwriter. Also, many directors are also themselves screenwriters, so will then apply their own "edits" to a screenplay, whether they wrote it or not.
Here is what the author of the book MASH Richard Hooker had to say in April 1977:
I thought the movie was great but the television thing isn't my kind of humor. It's someone else's idea of what medical humor is supposed to be.
So apparently the author of the original material that the screenplay was based upon, thought it was great.
Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it? -
HowYaLikeDemApplesWill — 12 years ago(August 05, 2013 05:56 AM)
Interesting, never heard the 80% before, although it is clear with the overlapping dialogue much is ad-libbed.
From Wikipedia, although without citation:
The screenplay, by Ring Lardner, Jr., is radically different from the original novel; in the DVD audio commentary, Altman describes the novel as "pretty terrible" and somewhat "racist" (the only major black character has the nickname "Spearchucker"). He claims that the screenplay was used only as a springboard. However, the screenplay itself reveals that, while there is some improvisation in the film, and although Altman moved major sequences around, most sequences are in the screenplay.
Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it? -
GBDaddy — 12 years ago(January 01, 2014 10:57 PM)
Frankly, I could give a rat's patooty about Altman's style or abilities. This film was about the characters and actors, as someone else pointed out.
I don't know factually (apart from what I'm guessing as true from the above post) how much was ad-libbed, but the film certainly felt like there was a fair amount of improv. Sutherland and Gould are certainly capable of good improv (as are a few other actors). Duvall, of course, has serious acting skills and likabilityalthough I don't recall any particular improv history.
Although Kellerman's character (and/or her) got on my nerves early on, I ultimately enjoyed the character in the end. Maybe she just has one of those faces and styles you grow into.
I've watched this film many times over the last 2 decades. It seems that with each watching (and as I age), I find different things funny. The humor is not simply slapstick and crude. There's is actually some quick wit that some might not pick up on. -
porfle — 12 years ago(June 14, 2013 11:14 AM)
I finally read Lardner's screenplay yesterday, and I think Altman did him a big favor. I found it pretty stodgy and dull compared to Altman's loose improv approach which breathed life and vitality into the story.
hkfilmnews.blogspot.com
porfle.blogspot.com -
max-silver — 12 years ago(June 10, 2013 09:49 PM)
Apparently, he made the movie the way he did because he went to Saigon and was "disgusted" at what he saw.
What did he see? Ground troops for the first time ever?
Because he was a co-pilot of a B-24 Liberator and flew over Dutch East Indies and Borneo. -
HowYaLikeDemApplesWill — 12 years ago(August 04, 2013 08:07 AM)
And Painless was going to kill himself because he was afraid that he was a "Fairy", and thus was going to perform some "mortal sin".
Virtually every stereotype was displayed.and then skewered in this movie.
Lighten up, Francis!
Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it? -
Adam60z — 12 years ago(December 31, 2013 03:35 PM)
I think the real point of this film is that people gripe about the "N" word (actually they DID use "coon" if you recall) and Hotlips' cheerleading while millions die in Korea and (contemporaneous with this film) Vietnam. Kind of like Borat outing the idiots who take the bait in his films.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of Hollywood (;-p)