Why oh why do I keep falling for the same trick?
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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) -
Disardor — 11 years ago(July 19, 2014 12:04 PM)
Did you miss the part where Hot Lips had started sleeping with Duke, OP? I think so. And I think along with missing that you also missed a lot more about the movie. For example how the doctors of MASH are under extreme amounts of pressure and have to treat mangled soldiers under circumstances that could be considered fairly primitive, so their reaction to the incredible stress of their jobs is to act ridiculously everywhere but in the operating room.
And as for Altman being "a terrible director with one shot in his bag of tricks," I don't even know where to begin. Have you ever seen The Player? It starts off with one of the most intricately designed shots this side of Touch of Evil. Have you ever seen McCabe & Mrs. Miller? No less an authority on shot composition than Stanley Kubrick telephoned Altman after watching the film and asked him how he got the shot of Keith Carradine's theater crossing a bridge. Have you ever seen The Long Goodbye? Roger Ebert in the years before his death did a series of lectures where he provided shot by shot analysis of the entire film to highlight how brilliantly composed it is. In summation, you're completely ignorant about the subject at hand and should try paying better attention to the things you watch so that you might be able to discuss them intelligently instead of completely and totally misunderstanding and misrepresenting them. -
maxi13 — 11 years ago(December 10, 2014 03:52 PM)
i don't like "MASH"
but i love "Short Cuts".
"Short Cuts" is so much better than "Magnolia",
and the last one is somewhat a copy of the first.
Altman is very good in ensemble-films.
don't judge about a director just because of some movies,
he has made very much films.
though i also dislike MASH a lot
(and i am not a blockbuster-kid, just if someone likes to insult on others who don't agree with their opinion) -
wylierichardson-966-922691 — 9 years ago(April 06, 2016 12:14 AM)
If you dont think that Altman has a flair for narrative, I would refer you to his ensemble dramas "Nashville" and "Short Cuts". Both movies deftly weave in interweaving and interlocking characters and story arcs, to capture a certain time and place in America.