Catch 22

Although director Mike Nichols was probably over-stretching himself in attempting to translate Heller's brilliant anti-war satire to the big screen, he nevertheless ma... more >

Although director Mike Nichols was probably over-stretching himself in attempting to translate Heller's brilliant anti-war satire to the big screen, he nevertheless makes a fair stab at it. The often dark humour of the novel is well conveyed through some exceptionally dry performances, most notably that of Alan Arkin in the lead role of the bewildered Yossarian, and the use of recurring imagery and non-linear scenes is neatly in keeping with the novel's fractured, claustrophobic structure.
The main disappointment comes at the film's finalé with Yossarian's manic escape, Nichols having presumably considered Heller's rather more open-ended conclusion to be unsatisfactory for cinematic purposes. Even so, this does not detract from the fact that, in its own right, this is
a funny, clever and captivating piece of work which, if nothing else, does a fine job of retaining the spirit of the original novel.
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Film Details

Cast

Alan Arkin, Jon Voight, Anthony Perkins, Buck Henry, Orson Welles, Martin Balsam, Art Garfunkel, Richard Benjamin

Technical Details