Parents' Guide to M*A*S*H (1970)

Very much a product of its time, Robert Altman's comedy was a savage satire of institutional thinking, and its gleeful irreverence—even if it has since become commonplace—is still hard to resist. Written by Ring Lardner Jr., one of the blacklisted screenwriters known as the "Hollywood Ten," and based on the book by Richard Hooker, M*A*S*H the movie is overshadowed in pop culture by its enormously popular TV spin-off, which ran from 1972 to 1983. Indeed, if viewers are only familiar with the show, the movie will seem quite different. But it's hard to understate the movie's impact: It slammed the door on polite, stodgy studio filmmaking of the 1960s and opened the door for limitless possibilities. It also used its Korean War setting to skewer the United States' futile, then-current involvement in the Vietnam War. Characters who mindlessly follow orders or other established rules are mercilessly ridiculed, while free thinkers and rule breakers are celebrated.

And Altman brought his unique style to the project. He liked to shoot from a distance and zoom in on whatever he deemed most interesting, while recording and mixing audio and dialogue from all over, rather than just the actors speaking. This resulted in a rambling, chaotic feeling that seemed to match the material. But the terrific cast thrived in that environment, creating memorable characters out of the mayhem. Certainly some of the jokes, like exposing a showering "Hot Lips" Houlihan to the camp, or Williamson's character's racist nickname ("Spearchucker"), are problematic, but they're also connected to the movie's undying spirit of anarchy. Bottom line? Today, M*A*S*H may be more historically important than straight-up entertaining, but it's still worth talking about.