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Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Art Garfunkel, Jack Gilford ... see more see more... , Buck Henry , Bob Newhart , Anthony Perkins , Paula Prentiss , Martin Sheen , Jon Voight , Orson Welles , Bob Balaban , Susanne Benton , Olimpia Carlisi , Marcel Dalio , Norman Fell , Charles Grodin , Austin Pendleton , Peter Bonerz , Elizabeth Wilson , Evi Maltagliati , Richard Libertini , Jon Korkes , Liam Dunn , Gina Rovere , John Brent , Seth Allen , Wendy D'Olive , Felice Orlandi , Jack Riley , Phil Roth , Collin Wilcox-Horne , Alan Alda , Bruce Kirby

Director Mike Nichols and writer-actor Buck Henry followed their enormous hit The Graduate (1967) with this timely adaptation of Joseph Heller's satiric antiwar novel. Haunted by the death of a young ... read more read more...gunner, all-too-sane Capt. Yossarian (Alan Arkin) wants out of the rest of his WW II bombing missions, but publicity-obsessed commander Colonel Cathcart (Martin Balsam) and his yes man, Colonel Korn (Henry), keep raising the number of missions that Yossarian and his comrades are required to fly. After Doc Daneeka (Jack Gilford) tells Yossarian that he cannot declare him insane if Yossarian knows that it's insane to keep flying, Yossarian tries to play crazy by, among other things, showing up nude in front of despotic General Dreedle (Orson Welles). As all of Yossarian's initially even-keeled friends, such as Nately (Art Garfunkel) and Dobbs (Martin Sheen), genuinely lose their heads, and the troop's supplies are bartered away for profit by the ultra-entrepreneurial Milo Minderbinder (Jon Voight), Yossarian realizes that the whole system has lost it, and he can either play along or jump ship. Though not about Vietnam, Catch-22's ludicrous military machinations directly evoked its contemporary context in the Vietnam era. Cathcart and Dreedle care more about the appearance of power than about victory, and Milo cares for money above all, as the complex narrative structure of Yossarian's flashbacks renders the escalating events appropriately surreal. Confident that the combination of a hot director and a popular, culturally relevant novel would spell blockbuster, Paramount spent a great deal of money on Catch-22, but it wound up getting trumped by another 1970 antiwar farce: Robert Altman's MASH. With audiences opting for Altman's casual Korean War iconoclasm over Nichols' more polished symbolism, the highly anticipated Catch-22 flopped, although the New York Film Critics Circle did acknowledge Arkin and Nichols. Despite this reception, Catch-22's ensemble cast and pungent sensibility effectively underline the insanity of war, Vietnam and otherwise. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Flixster Users

73% liked it

9,605 ratings

Critics

87% liked it

23 critics

R, 2 hr. 1 min.

Directed by: Mike Nichols

Release Date: June 24, 1970

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DVD Release Date: May 22, 2001

Stats: 717 reviews

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Chaplain Catch-22 Dobbs Yossarian John Voight and Anthony Perkins Catch-22 Catch-22 Catch-22 Catch-22 Catch-22
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Flixster Reviews (717)

  • brooklynspo
    April 4, 2007
    brooklynspo
    I have not read the book, which seems to be a prerequisite for enjoying this movie, which I do, immensely
  • fb100002359227440
    March 20, 2012
    fb100002359227440
    An terrific surrealist dark antiwar satire.
  • jennifxu
    April 28, 2011
    jennifxu
    No better, no worse than the book itself.
  • deano
    July 25, 2010
    deano
    This release stars Alan Arkin as a soldier in World War II most interested in avoiding the insanity of combat. It's sarcasm alone is enough to sustain interest.
  • pier007
    August 21, 2009
    pier007
    In the sandy landscapes of the mediterranean sea coast, a madhouse is located. A place that, in order to take democracy to that dark region of the earth; has artillery, airplanes and willing superiors; but is a little short of sacrificial lambs.

    An excellent cast, led by Alan Ar... read morekin, forms the insane mob that seems to be straight out of "alice in wonderland"

    Even though it is hilarious, it also delivers a sad and crushing anti war message.
  • tsigur
    April 1, 2009
    tsigur
    I loved every second of this movie. From the absolutely stunning opening shot (one of the best openings ever in my opinion) to the fantastic ending, I was really captivated by this film. I loved the dialogue and the performances by a really cool cast. Alan Arkin proves once again... read more that in his heydey he could carry a film with the best of them. His performance here is funny, sad, and the perfect tour guide through the hell that is war. One of my other favorite performances was from Richard Benjamin who is hilarious. (Hell, even Bob Newhart and Orson Welles are in this movie and where can you go wrong with them?) The strength of the cast and the entire success of the adaptation has to be attributed to Mike Nichols who I am becoming a huge fan of after watching his earlier work.
  • moonrivers
    March 6, 2009
    moonrivers
    what if no one on the planet ever really connected to anyone else, but only pretended to in order to get what they wanted? it's a question to think about, but i'm not doing that cause i'm busy or something.

    watch alan arkin beg for mercy, for humanity, from everyone he mee... read morets, to no avail...

    a commentary on modern times...? naaaah, that'd be too easy...
  • flixsterman
    January 2, 2009
    flixsterman
    Underrated and all but forgotten. I'm not a "huge" fan of Mike Nichols but this is a satirical masterpiece.
  • garyX
    February 18, 2007
    garyX
    A heavyweight cast struggle in a slapdash effort to bring Joseph Heller's classic novel to the big screen. Has some fantastic moments, but unfortunately does not gel as a whole; it is consistently exasperating as far too much of the nonsensical goings on are left completely unexp... read morelained. Arkin is eminently watchable as ever, though.
  • mjgildea
    November 20, 2006
    mjgildea
    Not a great adaptation of Heller's novel, but also not a terrible movie. Not amazing, but not terrible.

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Critic Reviews

Clint Morris
October 26, 2008
Clint Morris, Tsunami Magazine

If you liked M*A*S*H, You'll love this!

Rob Gonsalves
October 13, 2008
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

What a strange and mesmerizing folly. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 22, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Released during the Vietnam War, the movie was a commercial failure, but seen from today's perspective, its black humor holds up well. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
May 30, 2005
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Still positively chilling. Full Review

Luke Y. Thompson
May 13, 2004
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times

Starts out pretty funny, gets incredibly weird by the end.

Ken Hanke
August 13, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Flawed, but frequently brilliant.

Nell Minow
June 19, 2003
Nell Minow, Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

A mess, occasionally a fascinating one.

Scott Weinberg
July 26, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Can't capture the brilliance of the source material ... but does a pretty good job all the same.

Dan Jardine
August 30, 2001
Dan Jardine, Apollo Guide

Ambitious though flawed adaptation of Joseph Heller's searingly satiric novel. Full Review

John J. Puccio
June 14, 2001
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis

...the movie version that some people said couldn't be made. Well, in all candor, some people were right...You know, there's always a catch.

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  • Alan Arkin (Yossarian): Let me see if I've got this straight: in order to be grounded, I've got to be crazy and I must be crazy to keep flying. But if I ask to be grounded, that means I'm not crazy any more and I have to keep flying.
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Catch-22 Trivia

  • What film is based on the book Catch 22?  Answer »
  • ***Which Anti-War Film Begins With A Sunrise And The Sounds of Crows And Barking Dogs***  Answer »
  • In the movie Catch-22, which character received a commendation medal in the nude?  Answer »
  • Which of the following movies was based on the novel by Joseph Heller?  Answer »
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