Rare Screenplay Movie Script of M*A*S*H, One of the Most Important Films of the 21st Century

Altman, Robert

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Robert Altman & Ring Lardner Jr. Original script of the film dubbed "perfect for the times [.] the cacophony of American culture brilliantly reproduced onscreen." January 1969. Quarto. Mimeographed typescript, bradbound in printed studio wrappers. Original owner s name on upper wrapper. Wrappers show a faint damp discoloration from the spine and a bit of creasing. A fascinating collaboration between two of the most influential American cinema artists of the 20th century, director Robert Altman and screenwriter Ring Lardner. Lardner s Hollywood blacklisting, a result of the Red Scare of the 40s and 50s, had only recently lifted. M*A*S*H won the Palme d'Or at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival and five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won for Best Adapted Screenplay. M*A*S*H , which stars Donald Sutherland, Elliot Gould, Robert Duvall, and Sally Kellerman, was an instant success despite the controversial political message. Though set in Korea, M*A*S*H was one of the only critiques of the Vietnam war to be released by a Hollywood Studio at the time. The film s most critically acclaimed, innovative concept, the abrupt juxtaposition of comic scenes with the grim reality of war, comes straight out of Lardner s screenplay; The effect of bloody violence, "viewed individually and at close range [.] is almost unbearable." Altman s distinct style of directing, in which the actor s were encouraged to improvise for naturalistic effect, creates a fascinating interplay between the script and the completed film. The commitment to naturalism was not only artistically innovative: The frank treatment of military racism in M*A*S*H is as radical now as it was in 1970. The film premiered to rave reviews, with Pauline Kael of the New Yorker writing, "I don t know when I ve had such a good time at a movie. Many of the best recent American movies leave you feeling that there s nothing to do but get stoned and die, that that s your proper fate as an American. This movie heals a breach." That year it won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 1996, M*A*S*H was deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Marginal paper clip marks and a few passages nealy underscored in red ink, otherwise very good. One of the most influential, innovative screenplays of the 20th century. Seller Inventory # 16297

Bibliographic Details

Title: Rare Screenplay Movie Script of M*A*S*H, One...
Binding: Soft cover