MASH is 40 years old this year and AMC or TMC was playing it.
Anyway, today, i put on the DVD and watched it again. Love the movie. One of the best comedies of all time in my opinion. I just love everything from its lack of plot to its characters to its dialogue and editing.
However, I had forgotten just how “dirty” the comedy really is.
Was it shocking for its day? Were people appalled? Or did it just fly along without raising any eybrows?
As I recall, it was considered pretty edgy.
It was mentioned, but the anti-war message got more attention. People were used to sex in movies by then.
There was also some cursing, some sexual innuendo (especially in regard to the Dentist and his problem) and scenes of drug use during the football game. It’s as if they took every possible taboo they could think of and inserted it into the movie somewhere.
I don’t know if this is an urban legend or not, but the theme song, “Suicide is Painless” had the lyrics removed for the TV show for being too controversial.
Original lyrics (find an old episode of M.A.S.H. and sing along!):
Through early morning fog I see
visions of the things to be
the pains that are withheld for me
I realize and I can see…
[Refrain]:
That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please.
[[SHORTENED EXCERPT FROM LYRICS]]
ps. To anyone who opened this thread to post this: PBBBBTTTTH!!
We just watched the movie on DVD last night (after catching most but not all of it on TNT or whatever) and then watched the Special Feature on the making of the film.
Apparently, there were two other big war movies being made by the studio at the time, Tora! Tora! Tora! and Patton. Altman seized this opportunity to make MASH as subversive as possible, knowing the producers would be distracted with their big films and ignore his little one. He made many script changes without telling anyone, the biggest one probably being that he eliminated all references to Korea or the Korean War, creating the impression that it was a movie really about Vietnam, without actually coming out and saying so. Staying quiet and out of the suits’ attention mostly worked, until the cast and crew started going a little nuts, partying all the time…prompting a couple of the leads to go complain to the studio, much as Margret and Frank try to complain about the loose morals and slack leadership of the 4077th to HQ in the film! But he still managed to finish shooting several days early and half a million under budget (not too shabby for a 3.5 million budget!)
When they saw the final footage, however, there was much uproar amongst the suits, and most funnily, by the screenwriter. Turns out part of Altman’s strategy for edginess was to get his cast giddy* and let them improvise a lot. There were many, many lines not in the script that made it onto the screen, which of course seriously pissed off the writer…although he still accepted the Academy Award for “his” script! (The only Academy Award the movie won.)
Anyhow, yes, it was fairly shocking, although more for the anti-war sentiments than the sex or drugs. Remember, this was post Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, but only one year post Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.! Audiences were prepared for salaciousness and even comedy about war, but not so much for subversiveness or anti-Americanism.
*ahem. I’m not saying they were drunk or on drugs of course, but…it was the late '60s…
Were there protests trying to ban it? People refusing to see it in droves?
I know that sounds wild, but it seriously struck me as the kind of movie, at that time, that “civilized” people might get offended by.
I was only 13 when it came out, but I was news-aware for someone that age, and I don’t remember hearing anything about protests. Not against that movie, I mean. There were plenty of protests during that time, but few if any of them were about movies. Most were anti-war protests, or pro-drug or ERA.
I remember the Houlihan shower scene being scandalous for a mainstream movie.
I remember a friend of my parents telling them that he went to the movie and was so offended by it he walked out. He would have been in his sixties, I think.
“God damn Army.”
(grind)
“God damn Army jeep.”
It caught the attention of most males who were part of the draft.
You are making me feel very old. This was 1970. Bonnie and Clyde, which was rather more edgy and pushed the limits more, had been out for years, Everyone did nudity - more than MASH. Everyone did cursing. It was an anti-war movie (far more than the book) but in 1970 not being an anti-war movie would be far edgier. I remember discussion of the overlapping dialog, and the anti-war bit, but I saw it with my girlfriend sophomore year and we were far from shocked. This was New York sure, not Alabama. 1970s movies were far edgier than ones today. Look at Midnight Cowboy, Clockwork Orange, and the movies which would be rated X today and not be shown, unless the nasty bits get cut.
Kids today! You didn’t invent sex - we did. 
Subversive? MASH? With scenes like cheerleaders chanting “69 is divine!”?
Please remember our copyright policy and don’t post the lyrics to more than approximately one verse of a song. If you want people to see the full lyrics, please link to another site.
That’s the only part they play during the show opening anyways. I took the time to learn it on Piano of all things.
He also put the natives into slope hats, which were common in Vietnam and unknown in Korea.
My father took me and my sister to see a double feature of Patton and MASH*. I was 10 and she was 12. We sat through Patton, with the profanity and the violence and the soldier-slapping, and then MASH* with the profanity and the sex. When the shower scene came on and Houlihan was naked, he frantically tried to cover both of our eyes with his hands at the same time.
Apparently we weren’t supposed to see a naked woman.
Actually, they play the entire song during the “Last supper” scene (when Painless Potter is planning suicide).
Interesting sidenote: the lyrics of the song were written by Mike Altman, Robert’s son. When MASH was made into a TV series, Robert Altman didn’t get a penny, but Mick was paid royalties for using the song on every episode (even though they were never sung).
Walt Waldowski, the Painless Pole. The best equipped dentist in the Far East.