Catch-22 (1970)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writers:

Joseph Heller (novel)
Buck Henry (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 June 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | War

Plot:

A man is trying desperately to be certified insane during World War II, so he can stop flying missions.

Plot Keywords:

Bombadier | Toilet | Army Air Force | Absent Without Leave | Captain

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Alan Arkin	...	Capt. John Yossarian
Martin Balsam	...	Col. Cathcart
Richard Benjamin	...	Maj. Danby
Art Garfunkel	...	Capt. Nately (as Arthur Garfunkel)
Jack Gilford	...	Dr. 'Doc' Daneeka
Buck Henry	...	Lt. Col. Korn
Bob Newhart	...	Maj. Major Major Major
Anthony Perkins	...	Chaplain Capt. A.T. Tappman
Paula Prentiss	...	Nurse Duckett
Martin Sheen	...	1st Lt. Dobbs
Jon Voight	...	1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder
Orson Welles	...	Brig. Gen. Dreedle
Seth Allen	...	Hungry Joe
Bob Balaban	...	Capt. Orr
Susanne Benton	...	Dreedle's WAC

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Hungary:14 | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:AL (2003) (DVD) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1971) | Portugal:(Banned) (1970-1974) | UK:15 (video rating) | USA:R | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Since the filming of Catch-22 (1970) took longer than planned, Art Garfunkel wasn't able to make it back to New York in time to start writing and recording the Simon & Garfunkel album "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Angered by the delay, Paul Simon wrote the track "The Only Living Boy in New York" about the incident. The lyrics "Tom, get your plane right on time/I know your part'll go fine/Fly down to Mexico" were a thinly veiled attack aimed at Garfunkel (who was "Tom" of Simon & Garfunkel's earlier incarnation, Tom & Jerry) leaving Simon alone in New York to write the bulk of the album himself.

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the mission to Ferrera, when Yossarian toggles his bombs early and causes the entire group to bomb the ocean, the top gun turret of Yossarian's B-25 is missing when the plane is seen in head-on process shots against a rear-screen projection of other planes in flight.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lt. Col. Korn, XO: [speaking to Yossarian] All you have to do is be our pal.
Colonel Cathcart: Say nice things about us.
Lt. Col. Korn, XO: Tell the folks at home what a good job we're doing. Take our offer Yossarian.
Colonel Cathcart: Either that or a court-martial for desertion.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Stars and Stripes Forever

One of the best movies ever made!

I, for one, had NOT read the novel before viewing Catch-22, and I absolutely LOVED it! I believe it ranks as one of the best films ever made! It certainly ranks with Carnal Knowledge and the Graduate as the best pieces of work Mike Nichols ever made. Alan Arkin gives by far the best performance of his entire career. The rest of the cast is nearly perfect. It is a long movie, and moves at a very quick clip. Like 2001: A Space Odyssey, it begs to be viewed again and again. I love the close-up photography, which adds to the sense of claustrophobia & combustibility of the "insane war" situation of the characters. There are no panoramic vistas of Italy here. In fact, Italy has probably never looked so ugly in a movie. I love the way the action moves from scene to scene based on the thoughts of the characters, rather then strictly chronologically -- a technique Quentin Tarantino has utilized throughout his more recent career. Unlike most of the rest of you, I love the pacing. I love the hilarious, fast-paced first hour of the film, and then I love the slower, somber, horrific second hour. Later, I read the novel, and while it's certainly true that everything in the novel could not possibly have been used in the movie, I prefer to judge the movie strictly on its own merits. It seems as though most of you prefer to compare the two. I always like to see the movie first. Case in point: I believe I liked the World According To Garp so much because I had never read the novel before -- I had no preconceived notions of what the characters looked like, or how they should behave. Then, when I read the novel, I realized that all the action of the book could not possibly have been used in the film, but the film gave me a good, solid basis from which to begin reading the book. Was the movie is "good as the book?" Of course not. Is it ever? Was To Kill A Mockingbird as good as the book. Again, of course not. But didn't you love the movie anyway. Same with Catch-22. NOT comparing it to the book, but comparing it strictly to every other movie I've ever seen, it ranks as my favorite war movie of all time, my favorite comedy of all time, my favorite film of 1970 (a year full of good movies), and one of my favorites, period. It is a classic. Rent it. Watch it over and over again. It's well worth it!