Two questions about the movie

1) What made it a big hit was a combination of things. The times certainly helped; the film was ostensibly about the Korean War, but we all know it was really about Vietnam, and it was released at a time when Vietnam War protesting was at an all-time high. It was also Altman's style; there was no one like him. He was just audacious, he did what he wanted and didn't give a damn what people thought. There's a reason he was known as "The Maverick". He didn't do things the way most filmmakers did.

2) No offense, but this is kind of a silly question. It's a matter of personal taste. What I liked most about the film was how it took on a very serious subject with humor, without diminishing the seriousness of its subject matter, and also how brazen it was. You have to realize that things were different in 1970. Altman did things in this film that other directors wouldn't have dared to do. To say "I didn't understand why the humor was funny"... again, it's personal taste. Some people think Jim Carrey is hilarious; I think he's annoying as hell. To each his (or her) own. The whole point was that these surgeons used humor as a defense against the carnage all around them. Something to keep them human, to make life seem at least somewhat normal. To keep from going crazy due to all the blood and pain and death they had to deal with every day. THAT was the plot.

Let us take the risks of peace upon our lives, not impose the risks of war upon the world.