Catch-22 (1970)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Fantastic!

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

WW2, the Mediterranean theatre. Captain Yossarian is the bombardier of a B-25 medium bomber. His squadron's missions largely involve bombing targets on the Italian mainland. A veteran of countless missions, he has become cynical about the war and pessimistic about his chances of surviving. He should have been rotated home a long time ago, but the Wing's Commanding Officer, Colonel Cathcart, keeps raising the number of missions required to rotate out. Yossarian hits upon a plan to get sent home. However, there's a catch.Great satire on the insanity and inanity of war, based on Joseph Heller's brilliant novel. Very funny, showing the silliness of bureaucracy, military rules and leadership and inept leadership in general. Over-the-top in its amping up and criticism of these structures. Some good general humour too.It's not all comedy though. Shows the consequences and casualties of the rules and ineptitude and does so quite dramatically.Great performances from an all-star cast. Alan Arkin is superb as Yossarian. Supporting cast are a who's who of the entertainment industry: Martin Balsam, Orson Welles, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Martin Sheen (in his third movie), Art Garfunkel, Jon Voight, Norman Fell, Bob Balaban.However, helps if you haven't read the book. I first watched this soon after having read the book and wasn't impressed. The novel is one of my favourite books of all time and the movie didn't capture what made the book so great - the clever, funny descriptions of situations. The movie tries to replicate these through visual gags and dialogue but, while these work fairly well, they don't quite have the impact. The movie suffers badly if compared directly to the book. Rewatching the movie now, more than 20 years since reading the book, I now appreciate how good the movie is in its own right.

Disappointing movie based on the hilarious anti war novel. It has some very funny moments, most of which occur in the first half.Considering the talents involved, it should have been a lot more entertaining. But mostly it crawls at a funeral pace and is rather dull. Still Arkin is perfect as Yossarian. For his performance alone, it's worth seeing at least once.

This movie is funny until Art Garfunkel dies, then it is just depressing.The first half of the movie has a dark humor to it, but it is funny.Somewhere about halfway through the movie, it loses the humor, and simply becomes dark.From this point onward, the movie Is simply depressing, and the very end is almost funny and almost not depressing.My advice is to watch until the scene where everything is blowing up, then stop the movie and never watch the ending.

Despite it's 42 years since initial release, still one of the best films ever made and directed about the insanity of 'creating' war - and the mindlessness and trauma suffered from its consequences of both those conscripted to engage in it and neither more nor less than the civilian victims of it's long-time aftermaths. Warfare's far-reaching ramifications touch us, individually and globally, even into the 21st Century and beyond. Being philosophically cogent of war's deep-seated egoistic, bizarre and greedy nature of those who foment it may not get you a Pulitzer, but perhaps you may garner a 'Catch 22' medal from those of us who've managed to live through them. Mike Nichols et al, within this film, remind us of war's senselessness and of it's bitter and long-effected remains. Superb, finely crafted, and in my sense, a must-see for 2nd and 3rd generation adults.