M*A*S*H (1970)

Ebert finds the film funny because it is desperate, set in a gory surgical hospital where surgeons cope with war through heartless practical jokes and cynicism. He praises the direction's timing and tone, the underplayed performances by Gould and Sutherland, and how the gore and cruelty serve the story's logic.

The critic calls it the finest American comedy since Some Like It Hot, crediting Altman's superior direction, Lardner's script, and the improvisational delivery of a talented ensemble cast for its fresh, spontaneous quality amid gory surgery scenes and bawdy humor.

Kael calls it a marvellously unstable comedy that is tough, funny, and sophisticated in its burlesque of military attitudes while also being a tale of chivalry. She singles out its generous and romantic qualities, low-keyed American humor, and status as the best American war comedy since sound films.

The critic highlights the film's unexpected box-office success and its role in empowering directors in 1970s Hollywood, crediting Altman's innovative overlapping dialogue, zoom shots, and ensemble storytelling. It praises how the lewd comedy and graphic surgery scenes capture war's insanity while delivering a political anti-authority message.

The critic acknowledges the film's misogyny and bullying but defends its value through the raw, shocking surgery sequences and gallows humor that capture the war's absurdity, while noting the protagonists receive too much admiration without enough critical distance.

Greenspun notes that the film is the first major American movie to openly ridicule real belief in God while blending humor with unprecedented operating-room gore. He highlights its admission of the cruelty in its comedy and its overall provocative mix of elements.

The review finds the film slightly below its lofty reputation, lauding Altman's overlapping dialogue and loose structure as a blueprint for his later work but faulting its ritualized degradation of women and lack of distance from the male characters' chauvinism.

The review finds the result an uneven brew with excesses that may provoke controversy, though it could succeed commercially with careful handling. It praises the low-keyed cast led by Gould, Sutherland, and Skerritt for their believable, bitingly funny performances that rescue the film.

The film gave Altman a major career boost after he turned a rejected script into a hit, showcasing his signature style of overlapping dialogue, eccentric characters and vignette structure in a Korean War setting standing in for Vietnam. It is frantic and clever but its easy targets and cynical tone feel hollow next to the director's later, more humanist work.

The critic praises Altman's direction as still brilliant in this darker anti-war sex comedy, while noting its dated attitudes and cruelty toward certain characters.