M*A*S*H - Goodbye, Farewell Amen (1983)
Burt Prelutsky: Writer
David Isaacs: Writer
David Pollock: Writer
Dennis Koenig: Writer
Elias Davis: Writer
Everett Greenbaum: Writer
Gene Reynolds: Writer
James Fritzell: Writer
Fox Home Entertainment
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DVD Details:
- Starring: Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, Loretta Swit, Jamie Farr, William Christopher
- Director:
- Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
- Rated: NR (Not Rated)
- Studio: Fox Home Entertainment
- Theatrical Release Date: Sep 17, 1972
- DVD Release Date: May 15, 2007
- Run Time: 120 minutes
- ASIN: B000OT6V1E
- UPC: 024543439110
- Sales Rank: 4652
Editorial Review from Description:
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".
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    Alternate vision of the final episode., 2008-06-08
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.
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br /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.
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br /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.
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br /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.
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br /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.
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br /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.
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br /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.
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br /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.
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