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Catch-22

  • 1970
  • 13
  • 2h 2m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
28K
YOUR RATING
Catch-22 (1970)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer3:30
1 Video
99+ Photos
Dark ComedySatireComedyDramaWar

A military pilot makes a valiant effort to be certified insane during World War II so that he can be excused from flying missions. But there's a catch.A military pilot makes a valiant effort to be certified insane during World War II so that he can be excused from flying missions. But there's a catch.A military pilot makes a valiant effort to be certified insane during World War II so that he can be excused from flying missions. But there's a catch.

  • Director
    • Mike Nichols
  • Writers
    • Joseph Heller
    • Buck Henry
  • Stars
    • Alan Arkin
    • Martin Balsam
    • Richard Benjamin
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    28K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Mike Nichols
    • Writers
      • Joseph Heller
      • Buck Henry
    • Stars
      • Alan Arkin
      • Martin Balsam
      • Richard Benjamin
    • 178User reviews
    • 41Critic reviews
    • 70Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
      • 6 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 3:30
    Official Trailer

    Photos153

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    + 147
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    Top cast36

    Edit
    Alan Arkin
    Alan Arkin
    • Yossarian
    Martin Balsam
    Martin Balsam
    • Colonel Cathcart
    Richard Benjamin
    Richard Benjamin
    • Major Danby
    Art Garfunkel
    Art Garfunkel
    • Nately
    • (as Arthur Garfunkel)
    Jack Gilford
    Jack Gilford
    • Doc Daneeka
    Buck Henry
    Buck Henry
    • Colonel Korn
    Bob Newhart
    Bob Newhart
    • Major Major
    Anthony Perkins
    Anthony Perkins
    • Chaplain Tappman
    Paula Prentiss
    Paula Prentiss
    • Nurse Duckett
    Martin Sheen
    Martin Sheen
    • Dobbs
    Jon Voight
    Jon Voight
    • Milo Minderbinder
    Orson Welles
    Orson Welles
    • General Dreedle
    Bob Balaban
    Bob Balaban
    • Orr
    Susanne Benton
    Susanne Benton
    • Dreedle's WAC
    Norman Fell
    Norman Fell
    • Sergeant Towser
    Charles Grodin
    Charles Grodin
    • Aarfy Aardvark
    Austin Pendleton
    Austin Pendleton
    • Moodus
    Peter Bonerz
    Peter Bonerz
    • McWatt
    • Director
      • Mike Nichols
    • Writers
      • Joseph Heller
      • Buck Henry
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews178

    7.127.7K
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    Featured reviews

    Brooklynne

    Don't buy or rent the VHS or Laser editions of this movie!

    CATCH-22 was filmed using a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 (an image almost two-and-a-half times wider than it is high). Every inch of the picture area was used by the cinematographer for important information. If you watch the horrible, cropped pan-and-scan version, which is all you can get on either VHS or Laser Disc, you are missing close to 40% of the intended picture area and a great deal of important stuff! I've seen this desecrated version and, be warned, you will not even understand the final flashback revelation because it is not even in the frame!! People who can't stand those "black bars" on the top and bottom of the screen are going to miss the entire point of this movie!! Rent or buy the DVD, which is widescreen and restores all this critical image area. Do not judge this film if you can't see it all. I have to wonder how many of the previous reviews here are based upon the unbelievably butchered VHS version.
    9russellalancampbell

    The "Unfilmable" Novel - Brilliantly Brought to Life

    My father was stationed on an island off Borneo during WWII from which air raids by American bombers supported by Aussie and American fighters were launched against enemy held islands. When I watched "Catch 22" with him, I expected he would be confused and slightly offended by the film's treatment of war. To my surprise, dad said that the film's depiction of war and those who fight them was not so exaggerated as one may think. The brass who send the men out on missions of no strategic importance to raise their own profile, the wheeler dealers, the earnest and ineffectual chaplains and all manner of crazies mixed with men whose only desire is to survive. My father also said that the mixture of comedy, drama, satire and surrealism reflected the strange dream of warfare very well. For my part, I can watch this film once a week for the rest of my life.
    tedg

    We Hate This, That's the Catch

    This is great film-making. I have never experienced greater skill with sound editing. The acting is terrific, the writing crisp and intelligent. The conception deeply nested. Why has the viewing public discarded this film? Interesting question.

    Usually the answer is that the film is a poor evocation of the book. It is, of course; films are fundamentally different beasts than books, so the closest one comes is to have congruence of story. But the story is the least important element of either fine books or movies. No intelligent viewer looks for sameness in an adaptation.

    I think the reason is simple. We are happy to accept war as heroic. Deep down, that's what we believe; whether as an inescapable fact of evolution or of chauvanistic indoctrination. Against this backdrop, we apply the stuff of our apparent convictions: that war is funny (MASH, the escape movies) or grossly brutal and confusing (Platoon, the first part of Pvt Ryan-- which then reverts to the noble). We just cannot accept the view that war comes from stupidity and selfishness, because it convinces that we, all of us every one is at root stupid and selfish.

    This movie is so good, it convinces of that fact, and that's why no one wants to watch it. So no one is convinced. That's the catch.
    10gogoschka-1

    One of my favorite movies of all time

    When I first saw "Catch-22" I couldn't believe it was made in 1970; the structure of this film is so modern it could have been made yesterday. Frame for frame a masterpiece of storytelling unfolds before your eyes; a satire, a comedy, a tragedy: superb and unforgettable. The surreal humor captures the craziness of war in a way - I think - no other movie does.

    The film was released at around the same time as the somewhat similarly themed "M*A*S*H", and while Altman's movie was a hit, "Catch-22" bombed at the box office. In retrospect I would say that both films have aged very well, but Catch-22 offers a much more cinematic experience and has a narrative that is as modern as anything that's being released today. One of my favorite movies of all time.

    Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

    Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

    Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

    Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/
    somad

    Yossarian Lives!

    Joseph Heller mentions in his introduction to the S & S Classics edition of Catch 22 that John Chancellor went around pasting stickers saying "Yossarian Lives" all around NBC studios in New York after having read the book.

    One finds this enthusiasm understandable upon first reading of this classic novel (and it is a classic though it is a mess -- which is part of its charm). It is simultaneously funny and tragic, and this material fits naturally with the cinematic talents of Buck Henry and Mike Nichols. They achieve the same tone as Heller's book, but with requisite condensation (even if this film had been twice as long, it wouldn't have been able to capture everything in the book, which is not a condemnation).

    The book runs in circles chronologically; so does the film. The book repeats the Catch 22 theme on almost every page (it is certainly the focus of most dialogue); the film isn't as rife with its references but is more explicit when invoking the Catch.

    The tragedy of Snowden is a dramatic focal point for both; unfortunately, the film builds it up more (due to its comparative brevity) but falls short in explicating the relevance.

    Fortunately the adaptation works incredibly well on several levels. In terms of characterization, Alan Arkin IS Yossarian, Anthony Perkins IS Chaplain Tappman, and Bob Newhart IS Major Major (albeit briefly). The dialogue, which closely follows the novel for the most part, works as well orally as in the written form. And the insanity of war, which underlies all of the book, is well represented.

    As a creative work, this film is impossible to divorce from the book, which is difficult to say about many adaptations. As a creation of its own, it suffers some without knowledge of the base material, and as an adaptation of that material it is bound to disappoint fans of the original. There's that Catch again. Viewed with a balance between the two positions (if that's possible), it works extremely well and shows its depth with each viewing in the same way the book does with each reading.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Second unit director John Jordan refused to wear a harness during a bomber scene. While giving a hand signal to another airplane from the tail gunner position in the camera plane, he lost his grip and fell 4,000 feet to his death.
    • Goofs
      When Major Major begins talking to Sgt. Towser in his office about when others can see him, a portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt can be seen hanging on the wall behind his desk. Major Major then walks away from, then back to his desk twice more, and each time the portrait is seen, it has changed - from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Winston Churchill to Joseph Stalin.

      This was an inside joke, done intentionally by the filmmakers to further emphasize the dream-like state of the film.
    • Quotes

      Old man in whorehouse: You see, Italy is a very poor, weak country and that is what makes us so strong, strong enough to survive this war and still be in existence, long after your country has been destroyed.

      Capt. Nately: What are you talking about? America is not going to be destroyed.

      Old man in whorehouse: Never?

      Capt. Nately: Well...

      Old man in whorehouse: Rome was destroyed. Greece was destroyed. Persia was destroyed. Spain was destroyed. All great countries are destroyed. Why not yours? How much longer do you think your country will last? Forever?

      Capt. Nately: Well, forever is a long time, I guess.

      Old man in whorehouse: Very long.

    • Connections
      Featured in Film Extra: Richard Benjamin (1973)
    • Soundtracks
      The Stars and Stripes Forever
      (uncredited)

      Written by John Philip Sousa

      (played by military band in the final scene)

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    FAQ18

    • How long is Catch-22?Powered by Alexa
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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 3, 1971 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • arabuloku.com
    • Languages
      • English
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • Trampa-22
    • Filming locations
      • San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Pictures
      • Filmways Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $18,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 2m(122 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • 4-Track Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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