Quentin Tarantino has named Robert Altman’s *M*A*S*H* as his favourite film released in 1970, recalling that it made him laugh harder than any other film he saw that year. His choice illustrates the early influence of irreverent, adult-oriented cinema on the director’s tastes and later filmmaking.

Tarantino singled out comic scenes involving Hot Lips Houlihan, played by Sally Kellerman, and the camp’s prank-filled treatment of her affair with Frank Burns. He also described enjoying the experience of watching the film with adults laughing in the cinema, while noting that he did not connect with the subplot concerning the camp dentist, Painless.