AMC To Premiere The Digitally Restored, Widescreen Version Of 'M*A*S*H' On Sunday, May 29

Network To Air Robert Altman's 1970 Academy AwardÆ-Winning Film As Part Of Its Memorial Day Movie Festival; First Time Letterbox Version Of Movie To Be Aired

25-May-05

AMC will premiere the digitally restored version of Robert Altman's Academy Award-winning satirical comedy M*A*S*H on Sunday, May 29 at 8 PM ET/PT. Celebrating its 35th anniversary and shown commercial free, the film will be televised in widescreen for the first time ever, and in its original form. Throughout the Memorial Day Weekend on air, members from the original 1970 cast, including Sally Kellerman, Tom Skerritt and Rene Auberjonois, will talk about their experiences from their film. In addition, the festival will also feature the AMC original special, HOLLYWOOD VIETNAM. AMC's broadcast of M*A*S*H is part of the network's ""Memorial Movie Festival,"" which includes the films ""Apocalypse Now Redux,"" ""Midway"" and ""Sands of Iwo Jima"" other war-themed films (full schedule attached). A Twentieth Century Fox film, M*A*S*H stars Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould and Tom Skerritt as three surgeons in the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital whose biting humor serves as a distraction from the horrors of the Korean War. During its original theatrical release, M*A*S*H enjoyed widespread critical acclaim, winning an Academy Award(R) for Best Screenplay, the New York Film Critics Best Picture Award, and Palm D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The release of M*A*S*H also highlighted the turning point of Altman's career, establishing him as a major director. The restoration of M*A*S*H included the original visual and sonic elements, and was a collaborative effort between the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film Archive and the Preservation Department of Twentieth Century Fox. About The Restoration The visual restoration of M*A*S*H began with careful inspection and testing of every film element. Since the original camera negatives were not available, new color separation masters were prepared, which captured the color record on black and white film stock and, unlike the original negatives, will not fade over time. The new negatives were subsequently color-timed to restore the film's original hues and color schemes. After viewing the new answer print, director Robert Altman commented that the restored print looked just as good as his 1970 original. Restoring the film's soundtrack also required considerable effort. Facing severe deterioration of the 30-year-old magnetic mix track of which some portions of the original three-track mono mix of M*A*S*H were so deteriorated that they simply could not be played back accurately, the restoration team transferred and re-transferred the element until everything that could be utilized from the original mix element was salvaged. The restored track element was then carefully re-mastered to accurately play back on modern Dolby(R) theater and home theater equipment, capturing the brilliant sound design that Altman treated audiences to more than 30 years ago.

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