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Rating:  - "Help him, help him" "Help who?"
The story is mostly flashback on flashback. The basic story is of Capt. John Yossarian (Alan Arkin), World War II bombardier, who wants to get out of the war. However it gets real complicated with many characters that are players by a bevy of character actors. There is plenty of subtle comedy mixed with some scenes that can make you sick.
A lot of what looks like disjointed and irrelevant scenes with becomes one cohesive story by the end. Even the frontal nudity scene fits. If you like this sort of film you should watch "Jacob's Latter."
With all the effort and great filming this film still has no exceptional or socially meaningful message. Luckily the film is complete and we can understand what is being cut out of TV versions.
My favorite part was the part where when Yossarian first sees Luciana (Olimpia Carlisi) in white walking by and they play "Also sprach Zarathustra" Written by Richard Strauss
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Improper Channels Starring: Alan Arkin, Mariette Hartley
Rating:  - You either Love it or Hate it...
Sitting down to watch Catch-22 after finishing the novel, I was curious how the movie was going to work. The anti-war comedy novel is filled with many more characters, and storylines, than what would feasibly fit into a feature length movie. Understanding this, I was thoroughly impressed with the liberties that were taken with the story to make it into a movie. Furthermore, I had such a comical picture of Yossarian in my head after finishing the book, I thought that the theatrical representation of the main character would be severely lacking and ruin the movie. I couldn't have been more wrong. Watching Alan Arkin bring Yossarian to life was a treat and a pleasure to watch.
As far as the cinematography of the film, there are some instances where the sound quality is not the best when character dialog is set over the roar of airplane engines. But there sure are some great film moments. That opening sequence is amazing and the long single take opening on Yossarian is just something that you typically don't see in today's movies.
Some love it and some hate it. I subscribe to the former group, and I believe this is one of the best book to movie adaptations that I've ever seen. A must have for your DVD collection.
Rating: - Not as good as the book
But then again, how could it be? The title of the book itself has become synonomous with the "no win" situation you often get involved in when dealing with the government or the military. The background Heller wrote into the book makes the story that much more interesting and sharpens the idea behind it.
The movie makes an effort to follow the book, but it is hard to do and I think it is not so much the fault of the director or the cast as it is the fact that some books just don't translate well into film. This is one of them.
Rating: - An Indictment for the Ages
The dystopia that is Catch-22 comes to life in this film. The cinematography is great and the story arch is very nicely envisioned through flashback narratives that prove affective in use. My reason for writing this review, however, is to quell the notion that the film isn't true to the text.
A first reader of Catch-22 will likely find humor in the fantastical aspects of the novel. Actually, everyone who has read the book will attest to the fact that the humor is in the tone and presentation of it; yet, to be able to do so, one has to always recognize that the humor is a product of a far-fetched reality. Clearly, this humor, which is often found at the sentence level, is lost when put to screen.
Once the surface of the novel is scratched, a new text emerges, and this is what comes to life in this film adaptation. The core of the novel is layed bare in this film, and to not recongize this requires a deeper read.
I don't want to take away from the humor of the novel. In viewing this film, a lover of Catch-22 will further recognize how dynamic a book Joseph Heller actually gave us. To laugh at the situations, characters, and overall logic while recognizing the social commentary that pervades each character-based chapter is the real testament to the novel's worth.
The novel is laced with humor, but to move beyond our own personal first encounters with Catch-22 will be the factor proves the story one for the ages. It isn't the humor that gets us every time; it's the glaring reality of faulty logic that continues to replicate itself from war to war. Catch-22 plays to that eternal theme and should be viewed with this in mind.
In our unflinching acceptance of Heller's wit, Mike Nichols gets us to flinch. I, for one, think he should be accredited for doing so.
Rating:  - Decent antiwar movie
"Catch-22" is a comedy, but not a "Happy Gilmore" sort of comedy. Dry rather than hilarious, with more than a few downer moments, it succeeds as satire rather than as laugh-out-loud escapism. A definite artifact of its time, in terms of its style and content, it still holds up today.
"Catch-22" is a scathing indictment of war, as well as the State. Yossarian's confrontation with Cathcart near the end of the movie highlights this, when Cathcart attempts to bully Yossarian into following Cathcart's orders by asking whether he loves his country. Yossarian counters, correctly, that Cathcart and his lackey are not his country. M&M Enterprises, referred to by its organizer from square one as the "Syndicate," is just a mafia by a different name, and its co-option of Cathcart and its effects on the fliers make the point that the State is just another organized crime outfit.
The cinematography of this film is spectacular, with some astounding complex shots that last a very long time.
Everyone in this movie went on to be famous, just about, if they weren't already - or at least became a "hey, it's that guy" type of actor. It's amazing how young some of the actors are. Good luck spotting an 18ish Bob Balaban without his expected beard and glasses! The same goes for Richard Libertini. Fans of the "Bob Newhart Show" will see half the cast in this movie, from Newhart himself as Major Major, on down.
On the downside, the commentary track is disappointingly sparse. Mike Nichols just doesn't say much. Steven Soderbergh asks good and probing questions in an attempt to get Nichols to talk, but Nichols' answers are short and unenlightening.
"Catch-22" is worth at least a rent.
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