M*A*S*H - Goodbye, Farewell & Amen (1972)

This classic comedy completes its tour of duty for the loyal MASH collector with this three-disc DVD Collector's Edition of the series finale, "Goodbye, Farewell & Amen".

The final disc

Like other reviewers I have collected all the M*A*S*H discs only to find I was missing one of the more interesting dvd's that contained interviews with the performers. I have rated the disc(s) highly with 2 of the 3 discs containing tons of extras and interviews, all of which I found most interesting. I think they could easily have sold this DVD minus the final episode, which I haven't even watched, since I have already seen it before. High marks for interviews and content but minus a point or two for including an episode already released - even if it was a great episode. October 21, 2008

Yeah!!! Mash!

I missed the last episode of Mash when it was first shown, and every time it was on again, something happened, and I missed it again. Now I've seen it - all of it - and it was WONDERFUL! The ending was true to the characters and the situation. As usual with this show, the acting was terrific. And now I can see it whenever I want! October 7, 2008

A must have dvd

This dvd is just what I expected. If you liked the Mash series you will want this dvd.IT makes you fell that you were there.A great end to a great series .Five Star dvd. October 2, 2008

long live mash

I looked all over for the final episode and I finally found it. It is still a tear jerker at the end to this day. They say all good things must end but with this dvd mash will live on forever September 29, 2008

Alternate vision of the final episode.

I remember seeing the MASH final episode when it was aired for the first time. It was a major event that EVERYONE was looking forward to. It was being viewed in living rooms and bar-rooms across the country. MASH was and remains one of my favorite TV shows that I haven't purchased on DVD because the series is still shown so much on TV in reruns.

On the whole, however, I find the final episode disappointing. Much of it seems predictable, and the coicidences are too "on the nose". Hawkeye goes nuts at the same time that Klinger gets married at the same time that Father Mulcahy goes deaf and Winchester becomes traumatized to classical music.

The marriage of Klinger to Soo-Yi was contrived and seemed to be a long way to go just so that he could make the joke: "I can't believe that I am stying in Korea". Much of the episode (including the marriage of Klinger) seems to also be a prelude to the long-forgotten spin-off AFTERMASH, which is unfortunate since that show was a shameless failure from the start.

What my major complaint concerning "Goodbye, Fairwell, Amen" is, I guess, the lack of subtlety. In war people loose a part of themselves; sometimes literally (as in Father Mulcahy going deaf) or mentally (as in Hawkeye going nuts and Winchester becoming traumatized); but those are themes that could have been explored without having to show the audience in sprawling detail.

I would have prefered a shorter final episode along the lines of the outstanding two part "dream" episode, where during surgery it is announced over the intercom that the war has ended. Each character imagines coming home. Winchester fulfills his dream of being made head of thoracic surgery at Mass General Hospital. Klinger returns to his buddies at a bowling alley in his beloved Teledo. Hawkeye is seen hugging his father as he returns to him in his dear old Maine. Potter returns to Mildred at his little home in Missouri. BJ is estatic to see Peg and Erin at an airport in San Fransisco.

MASH is like "Gilligan's Island" in a way. We all want to see them GET BACK HOME TO THE PEOPLE AND THE PLACE IN AMERICA THAT THEY LOVE. After all, the families of the MASH cast such as Winchester's sister Honoria; Hawkeye's dad; BJs wife and daughter; Potter's Mildred; Klinger's Uncle Abdul and Rizzo's wife Zola and baby Bubba; had become real enough character's to the audience even if they were never (or hardly ever) actually seen.

In my vison of the final episode, after the character's imagine thier homecomings, reality sets in and the audience is abrubtly taken from these joyful homecomings. They're still in the operating room and have work to do. quietly the scene fades out and we see a seriousness in the faces. At the end of the war there is no cheering, just sadness. The audience would have been left to wonder: was the final operating scene the reality or the memory of those who have returned? Without saying it directly: a part of each of them will always be left behind in Korea. What they have always imagined (and what we, the audience, has been waiting for all these years) could never completely come true because of the sacrifices they have made for their country.

And for we, the audience, THEY NEVER GET HOME. Which is in itself poingant since we, the faithful fans, will watch them in reruns years to come.

June 8, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...