M*A*S*H-ish 9: MASH Film 30th Anniversary Reunion (2000)

January 25 marks the anniversary of the release of M*A*S*H (1970) in theaters across the United States. When the movie was released, it was not expected to perform well, and its low budget was evidence of that. However, events of the late 1960s and early 1970s, specifically the Vietnam War, led to the dark satire of war to become a surprise hit and a cult classic. Twentieth Century Fox would spin the success of the movie into an even more successful series on CBS, but when Robert Altman directed the film, there was no guarantee the film would find an audience. Last year, I reviewed the script for M*A*S*H, and this year I wanted to highlight the movie with a very interesting bonus feature on a specific DVD set: a cast and crew reunion in 2000.

For the film’s 30th anniversary in 2000, Fox Movie Channel (FMC) gathered members of the M*A*S*H cast and crew at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for a screening of the film with an on-stage reunion to follow. As part of the festivities surrounding the anniversary, FMC presented Altman with the inaugural “Fox Legacy Award.” The 30 minute reunion was dubbed Remember M*A*S*H: 30th Anniversary Cast & Crew Reunion, and those in attendance included:

• Robert Altman (Director)
• Ingo Preminger (Producer)
• Elliott Gould (Captain “Trapper” John McIntyre)
• Sally Kellerman (Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlian)
• John Schuck (Captain “Painless” Waldowski)
• Fred Williamson (Dr. Oliver “Spearchucker” Jones)
• Rene Auberjonois (Father John Mulcahy)
• Bud Cort (Private Boone)

After the presentation of the award to Altman and the screening of the movie, the cast and crew were on stage with film critic Andy Klein to answer questions that had been submitted by members of the audience. They discuss the origins of the film, working with Altman, and working with each other. I was really struck by how they talked about working together as an ensemble cast. They trusted each other, and they trusted Altman. This is something we still hear from the cast of the M*A*S*H television series today, so it was interesting to hear that the same happened on the set of the film. The series is mentioned in the special. It is fairly well known that Altman did not like the series, and he made that very clear. He points out that when most people think of M*A*S*H, they think of the show and don’t even know there was a movie. The series overshadowed the movie. He is not wrong, and the movie has to compete with an eleven year long series, so perhaps it isn’t fair. But the series would not have existed had it not been for the surprise success of the film.

Sadly, this special is not available anywhere online. This reunion is available as a bonus feature on the M*A*S*H Five Star Collection DVD set that was released in 2002. That is where I found it, and I highly recommend picking up a copy of this DVD set if you can find one. Not only does the DVD set include the reunion, but it includes other features including an episode of Backstory, two M*A*S*H documentaries, and a comparison of the original footage of the movie along with the restored version. These extra features dive into the backstory of the movie and what led Fox to create the series we all know and love.