Silver Screen in a Red Envelope: A Diary of Time Wasted

 Obscure. Obscured. Obscuring. MASH seemed blurry, unnecessarily complicated, and difficult to unpick, like some three-pound knot entirely in thread. I had an extremely difficult time understanding the significance of several of the shots - even to the point where some of them seemed like abstract photography, without the innate art value. This film has undisputed cultural significance for the seventies, and the career of the director, but thematically, several elements emerge as gallingly un-PC. The sexism specifically appalled. It really sort of explains bra-burning, which I never quite understood. Again, just like in Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry I find myself sympathizing with the obvious antagonists. Major Hoolihan may have been written as a ridiculous and limited character, but the indignities she suffered at the hands of her co-workers could never be justified, even to protest a war. And when she acts justifiably hysterical, she is ignored by her superiors, and mocke...

Other than Roger Ebert and the New York Times, this movie is a beloved cult classic. Last night, a Sunday, I finally had little else to do but torture my little teenage sister as she attempted some last-minute homework for her least-beloved teacher. I decided a little nostalgia was in order. I had forgotten how often this film made me laugh. The expressions Bud Cort (as Harold) makes to the camera sent me into paroxysms. The anti-war jokes, the auto theft, the priest's marital advice. . . riotous. This time around, I noticed a peculiar visual balance, and not just when Harold imitated his psychiatrist. The scenes, when not asymmetrical head-shots and close-ups, were often balanced symmetrically between either opposing symbols (order and chaos, death and life, horror and humor, etc), or contained a symmetrical object that symbolized some kind of bridge between two oppositions. This fits brilliantly with the films odd-couple themes and extreme images. I used to hesitate to recomm...