February 1, 1970 | 5 weeks at #1
Seen by Martin before? Yes
What did I expect? I’ve seen this movie many times, so I knew what to expect. What interested me on this viewing was whether the “juvenile,” “bullying,” even “cruel” aspects of the main characters’ behavior would bother me more than it had on prior viewings.
What did I get? I continue to find M*A*S*H uncommonly, sheerly, inexplicably wonderful. There’s something about the messy, overlapping, offhand style and the senseless-yet-sensible goings-on that resonates with me very powerfully. As I watched the movie this time, several times I became a bit misty and emotional in a way that has nothing to do with the content of the movie. There’s something difficult to define about the form and the purpose of M*A*S*H that — for me — is close to the Platonic ideal of what a movie should be and how a movie should work, and I find it profoundly… moving. It’s jammed with meaning, it’s genuinely funny, it takes itself seriously but is really about not taking yourself too seriously…. I don’t know. It works wonders on me. Continue reading
