Underplayed Gems

Catch-22 (1970)

Catch-22 poster
Directed by
Mike Nichols
Genre
war film, comedy drama, black comedy film, romantic comedy film, satirical film
Country
United States
Runtime
2h 02m
Rated
R
Rating
6.7 of 10 from 358 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

During World War II, a US Army Air Forces bombardier tries to get out of combat duty by claiming he is insane. He is caught in a bureaucratic trap where the rule that allows him to be grounded also keeps him flying. The film follows his struggles with the military's absurd logic and his fellow soldiers.

satiricaldarkly comicabsurdcynicalunsettlingtensechaoticbureaucratic

What happens

Catch-22 is a 1970 American satirical comedy war film adapted from the 1961 novel of the same name by Joseph Heller. In creating a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical anti-war novel set at a fictional Mediterranean base during World War II, director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Buck Henry (also in the cast) worked on the film script for two years, converting Heller's complex novel to the medium of film. The cast included Alan Arkin, Bob Balaban, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Italian actress Olimpia Carlisi, French comedian Marcel Dalio, Art Garfunkel in his acting debut, Jack Gilford, Charles Grodin, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Austin Pendleton, Paula Prentiss, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, and Orson Welles. Garfunkel's songwriting partner Paul Simon also appeared, but his scenes were cut. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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