LeonLouisRicci This is a Review of the Film. Not the Novel, whose Numbers are by Book Standards Stratospheric (still sells thousands of copies every year).The Source Material may be Sacrosanct to those who have Read the Vietnam Era, Counterculture Icon and Love to Belittle its Cinematic Representation for Not Including......Fill in the Blank and Consider the Movie Not Worth Considering are in the Wrong Space. This is IMDb...Key Letter "M" (Movie).But Any Movie that takes on as its Source a Novel that so many People Find Endearing and a Significant Part of Their Maturation Process or at Least a Significant Part of Their Literary Litany, is Asking for it.It Doesn't Matter who is Directing, Writing, or Starring in the Film. It Doesn't Matter how Much Money is Spent on the Production. You Don't Mess with a Person's "Favorite" Book. It's Insane that Anyone would even Try (second time director Mike Nichols).The Insanity of War is what this Satire is Offering. The Film is Beautifully Shot, well Scripted (Buck Henry), and is Overall Funny, Depressing, and Well Made. The Movie is Long and makes it Message Meaningful if Elongated.Sputtering a bit by the End, the Heavy Handed Need for the Hammering Home of what Amounts to the "Horror" of War and the Military Industrial Complex it could be Said that it Cannot be Overstated.So it's a Deep and Disgusting thing to Contemplate, considering the Suffering. It's one of those Dilemmas. Laugh or Cry. Can You do Both at the Same Time? If that's Possible, this Movie does what it does just Fine and You Should See it.See the Movie.....Read the Book...Entertainment to be had from Both.

SnoopyStyle Captain Yossarian (Alan Arkin) is a WWII bombardier desperate to quit the war by claiming to be crazy. However Dr. Daneeka explains that there is a catch-22. People who are willing to fly the risky life and death missions are crazy. He is bound to release crazy people as long as they make a request. However if they ask, then they don't want to fly and therefore by definition are not crazy. Colonel Cathcart (Martin Balsam) is the callous commander who keeps increasing the missions required to go home. Tappman (Anthony Perkins) is the incompetent Chaplain. Captain Major (Bob Newhart) is given the squadron command seeing that he's the only Major around except Major is just his name and not his rank. Dobbs (Martin Sheen) is the bomber pilot. Milo Minderbinder (Jon Voight) is using various items in convoluted trades with wide ranging places taking the silk parachutes from the planes.This is very similar in tone with MASH. This is much more surreal. They're both anti-war black comedies. They both came out around the same time and of course, Catch-22 got crushed by the better MASH. The story feels like a bunch of disjointed skits. Some of it is hilarious. Alan Arkin is especially funny in his mania. Some of it is less funny. I would like a more straight forward story concentrating on fewer characters or maybe only Yossarian. I'm not a fan of the various 'dream' sequences since they usually stalls the movie. Later, it devolves into a series of Kafkaesque dream scenes. Most of it doesn't really work but it does recover somewhat.

Chase_Witherspoon I read Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" at school of my own volition after watching the movie, and at the time, neither made sense. Having now seen the film subsequently, I appreciate it a lot more but you really need to pay attention such are the subtle scene interchanges, characters that fade in and out of shot mid dialogue and the underlying narrative can at times be hard work to follow. But if you can remain focused, you should be rewarded.It's intriguing watching Arkin battle the myriad of crack-pots with whom he comes into contact, all the stars of brass coming and going like revolving doors, each of them displaying a manic neuroticism that in turn makes Yossarian look decidedly stable. Perkins, Voight and Benjamin to me appeared all subtle variations of the same personality, whereas Grodin was the standout point of difference, displaying trademark ambivalence. Surprisingly expansive cast also includes Martin Balsam, Orson Welles, Art Garfunkel and Buck Henry. The ladies' roles (Mrs Benjamin - Paula Prentiss, and Collin Wilcox) are minor and little more than bit parts.There's a couple of scenes that will resonate, not least of all Yossarian's recurring vision in the cockpit of a stricken fighter, or the sight of the lusty (and starkers) nurse swimming toward him from the pontoon, but it's still an effort to absorb the copious two hours of dialogue. Perhaps more conducive to a few viewings over time to fully appreciate the layers. Made at the same time as "MASH" and "Suppose They Gave a Way and Nobody Came" which were of very similar ilk if you enjoyed "Catch-22".

pontifikator Directed by Mike Nichols, the screenplay by Buck Henry is totally brilliant. The novel by Joseph Heller is itself brilliantly written, with nuances and subtleties many readers miss. Henry caught the gist of the novel and got it on screen, using the device of returning again and again to an airplane with a scene we don't fully see, showing us a little more each time, then fading to white as we get the voice over of the next scene. We get the circularity of the novel and the scattered sanity of Yossarian as he struggles to keep his shredded reality less tattered if not totally intact.The cast is incredible. Nichols gives us an all-star cast without the drivel of such disasters as "A Bridge Too Far" and "The Longest Day." The cast includes Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Buck Henry, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Paula Prentiss, Martin Sheen, John Voight, and Orson Welles, among many, many others.Henry had to make a movie out of the novel, so he made some hard choices, excising characters and situations that some find disappointing. My suggestion is to see the movie as the movie without comparing it to the book; on the other hand, I'm astounded at how well Henry captured the essence of Heller and his work. Jon Voight is chilling as Minderbinder, who is in my very humble opinion the lynchpin of the movie. When Minderbinder tells Yossarian, "Then they'll understand," the full impact of World War II (and who's the real enemy) shatters Yossarian's weakening sanity.For me the end of the novel and the end of the movie are unsatisfying, but the ride is still worth it.Trivial notes concerning the people involved in the movie. Mike Nichols also directed "The Graduate," with Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman. Charles Grodin (Arfy Aardvark) was supposed to play Benjamin, but couldn't agree on a salary with Nichols, so Bancroft suggest Dustin Hoffman to Nichols - she'd heard about Hoffman from her husband, Mel Brooks, who had just signed Hoffman for his movie "The Producers." Hoffman bailed on Brooks and did "The Graduate" instead. Norman Fell (Sgt. Towser) played Benjamin's landlord in a short scene (also involving Richard Dreyfus) in "The Graduate." Bob Balaban (Capt. Orr) was in "Midnight Cowboy" with Jon Voight (and Dustin Hoffman, of course). Buck Henry wrote a TV series for Richard Benjamin (Major Danby), who is married to Paula Prentiss (Nurse Duckett). Orson Welles (General Dreedle) did the voice-over narration for Mel Brooks's "History of the World." Mel Brooks and Buck Henry developed "Get Smart." Bob Newhart (Major Major Major) and Peter Bonerz (Capt. McWatt) were in The Bob Newhart Show together. And Susanne Benton (Dreedle's WAC) had a completely unrelated role in the totally unrelated "A Boy and his Dog." Hollywood is a small town.