This scathing condemnation of war is full of stumbles and rife with misfires. An intermittently interesting adaptation of Joseph Heller's caustic novel, this big-budget, all-star effort was a notorious flop in its day.
Set on a small island just off Italy, circa 1944, the film follows Captain Yossarian (Alan Arkin), an American bombardier who attempts to have himself grounded by claiming he's insane. Unfortunately, as Doc Daneeka (Jack Gilford) informs him, the paradoxical rule of "catch-22" prevents this, since
anyone who voluntarily flies on air raids must be crazy, so asking to be grounded indicates that one is sane. As Yossarian becomes increasingly desperate, the inherent madness of the war intensifies.
This film wants to be bleak, nihilistic, and darkly hilarious but CATCH-22 emerges as an exercise in frustration for those unprepared for Nichols's episodic, detached, and surreal treatment of the novel. Like a nightmare, the film shifts from one bizarre episode to another, with Alan Arkin's dazed
Yossarian reacting to the madness that surrounds him, but second only to the viewer. leave a comment
