Catch-22 (1970)
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87% of critics liked it
(23 reviews) -
73% of users liked it
(9,970 ratings)
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 gunner, all-too-sane Capt. Yossarian (Alan Arkin) wants out of the rest of his WW II bombing… More 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 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
- Directed By
- Mike Nichols
- Written By
- Joseph Heller, Buck Henry
- Genres
- Drama, Classics, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Jun 24, 1970 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Clint Morris, Tsunami Magazine
If you liked M*A*S*H, You'll love this!
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Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
What a strange and mesmerizing folly.
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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.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Still positively chilling.
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Luke Y. Thompson, New Times
Starts out pretty funny, gets incredibly weird by the end.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Alan Arkin
as Capt. Yossarian
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Martin Balsam
as Col. Cathcart
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Richard Benjamin
as Maj. Danby
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Art Garfunkel
as Nately
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Jack Gilford
as Doc Daneeka
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Buck Henry
as Col. Korn
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Bob Newhart
as Major Major
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Anthony Perkins
as Chaplain Tappman
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Paula Prentiss
as Nurse Duckett
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Martin Sheen
as Dobbs
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Jon Voight
as Milo Minderbinder
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Orson Welles
as Gen. Dreedle
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Bob Balaban
as Capt. Orr
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Susanne Benton
as Dreedle's WAC
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Olimpia Carlisi
as Luciana
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Marcel Dalio
as Old Man
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Norman Fell
as Sgt. Towser
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Charles Grodin
as Aardvark
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Austin Pendleton
as Col. Moodus
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Peter Bonerz
as Capt. McWatt
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Elizabeth Wilson
as Mother
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Evi Maltagliati
as Old Woman
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Richard Libertini
as Brother
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Jon Korkes
as Snowden
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Liam Dunn
as Father
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Gina Rovere
as Nately's Girl
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John Brent
as Cathcart's Receptionist
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Seth Allen
as Hungry Joe
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Wendy D'Olive
as Aardvark's Girl
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Felice Orlandi
as Man in Black
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Jack Riley
as Doctor
- Phil Roth
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Collin Wilcox-Horne
as Nurse Cramer
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Alan Alda
as Extra
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Bruce Kirby
as Doctor

