MASH

Altman’s next film, M*A*S*H (1970), was a phenomenal success. Released at the height of the Vietnam War, this brilliant black comedy was set during the Korean War but transparently was a reflection on the more recent conflict. The performances by Elliott…

(Altman’s M*A*S*H [1970] provided a novel comedic coda to the quintet.) The films were unequal aesthetically (the first three being major revisions of their genres, the last two canny exploitations of the prevailing mood), but all shared a cynicism toward established values and a fascination with…

…was based on the 1970 motion picture of the same name directed by Robert Altman. The show enjoyed excellent ratings and critical acclaim, with its final episode drawing the largest audience to date for a television episode. M*A*S*H won 14 Emmy Awards over its run, and it received a Peabody…

…self-righteous Major Frank Burns in M*A*S*H (1970) and the business-minded Mafia attorney Tom Hagen in The Godfather (1972) and its sequel, The Godfather, Part II (1974). The original 1972 role earned Duvall his first Academy Award nomination, for best supporting actor.

…in the satirical war classic M*A*S*H (1970). Another war film followed, the comedic Kelly’s Heroes (1970). In the taut Klute (1971) and Don’t Look Now (1973), he played characters who develop obsessive streaks while investigating the disappearance of a friend and the death of a daughter, respectively.