I only saw this film after having seen many series of the television spin-off, and was expecting a rather sit-com style romp through the bloodshed and horrors of war. Whoops - got that one wrong. This is, without a doubt, a comedy film, but the humour is so black it is sometimes possible to forget that.
The film centres around the same characters as the TV series (i'm assuming that most people have seen at least one episode of this - it seemed to run for longer than any war in the last century or so). However, rather than being affable, sane doctors who have a mild disagreement with the wat, Hawkeye and BJ are driven close to insanity by their position, having been drafted into the army.
Their refusal to acknowledge authority, the heavy consumption of alcohol, and the frequesntly cruel pranks are born out of disgust as much as boredom, and their attempts to ignore the reality of the war occurring all around them show the desperation of the conscientious objector rather than any naff fondness for practical jokes.
All that having been said, this film is still a product of its time, and seems to blatantly ignore the beginnings of feminism a hundred years ago or so.
Overall, if you can allow for the 1970s outlook, this is a bleak, dark and disturbing comedy, which, somehow makes you think that we need more sullen, self centred protestors to point out the injustices in the world. And if nothing else it shows up the TV series for the lame, anodyne travesty it was. Alan Alda, hang your head in shame.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Comedy - Director: Gareth Carrivick - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Kathryn Drysdale, Sheridan Smith, Natalie Casey, Will Mellor, Ralf Little
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
The film was different from the series, but good. Nice review. ~Liz
MAFARRIMOND 13.10.2004 22:16
I enjoyed both the film and the series. Maureen
grannycroft 02.09.2001 16:04
good op. the point you make about being a product of its time, is it a bad thing: does it not represent what was common feeling of that time? ive never actually seen the film i dont think (well, not in its entirety any way) but the TV series was pretty good i thought. having said that, it is a long time since ive seen it, but i always remember liking it. will have to catch the film and watch the tv series again sometime. cheers, simon:-)
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