The Essential 713, made interactive

Find your next
great film.

Search 713 spoiler-free recommendations from 1916 to 2026. Filter by the night you want—not the list you’re supposed to finish.

Direct film viewShowing master rank #470 on its own—not above the ranking.
Refine this collection

Your canon

Back up / restore my film dataLoading your progress…Saved only in this browser
Artwork
DirectorAll directors

Most represented · 6+ films

More recurring directors · 3–5 films54
All directors · surname A–Z438
ActorAll actors

Most represented actors

Big Three membership
Major award winners

1 selected film

Master Rank balances Greatness, Engagement, and Ease. Sort by Greatness for the artistic-canon view.

Director:
Cast:
View M*A*S*H film page
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

Three irreverent army surgeons use jokes and rebellion to cope with the chaos of a mobile hospital during the Korean War.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Army surgeons Hawkeye Pierce, Duke Forrest, and Trapper John McIntyre arrive at a mobile surgical hospital during the Korean War. Between relentless operations, they answer military hierarchy and trauma with pranks, football, sex, and irreverent group rituals.

Why it belongs

Through overlapping dialogue, loudspeaker announcements, ensemble improvisation, and humor used as damaged survival, M*A*S*H makes institutional chaos audible.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

The comedy remains inseparable from blood arriving by aircraft. Tent walls, operating tables, helicopters, PA broadcasts, overlapping conversations, football formations, and abrupt tonal shifts make the unit communal and unstable.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20

Plus 1 additional win

No headline-category win to name

Plus 1 additional win

No headline-category win to name

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Institutional reference ranks

Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250—AFI 10054
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness8.8
Engagement8.5
Ease7.8

English · Not Rated
Narrative Feature
Mood: Funny & Bittersweet