Catch-22 | Rotten Tomatoes

Catch-22

R

Released Jun 24, 1970

2h 1m

Comedy

Drama

List

81%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

76%

Audience Score

10,000+ Ratings

This scathing war satire follows Capt. John Yossarian (Alan Arkin), a pilot stationed in the Mediterranean who flies bombing missions during World War II. Attempting to cope with the madness of armed conflict, Yossarian struggles to find a way out of his wartime reality. Surrounded by eccentric military officers, such as the opportunistic 1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder (Jon Voight), Yossarian must resort to extreme measures to escape his dire and increasingly absurd situation.

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Critics Consensus

Catch-22 takes entertainingly chaotic aim at the insanity of armed conflict, supported by a terrific cast and smart, funny work from Buck Henry and Mike Nichols.

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John Mahoney

Hollywood Reporter

Cynical and bitterly cold... [Mike] Nichols and [Buck] Henry fail to make an anti-capitalist film. They have made their case so strong that it becomes an anti-human film.

Nov 23, 2014

Full Review

Time Out

Though the vertiginously absurdist logic of the book is hopelessly fractured, some of it does filter through (the mostly superb performances are a great help).

Feb 9, 2006

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Nichols has done the same thing in "Catch-22" that he did in "The Graduate." He's given us a funny beginning, then switched tones and gone serious.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

The late Alan Arkin enjoyed one of the all-time great "that guy" film careers, such a reliable utility player people forget his leading role in Mike Nichols' adaptation of the Joseph Heller novel.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 24, 2023

Full Review

Jane Freebury

The Canberra Times (Australia)

Cinematography by David Watkins and editing by Sam O'Steen are top class...

Aug 23, 2022

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Despite countless individual moments that result in humor, or alternatively, biting truth, the experience of watching Catch-22's inherent unevenness wears on the viewer.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 3, 2022

Full Review

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Dave C

This is a funny, oddball, bizarre comedy taking the absurdity of war and the business of the same and exaggerating it, adding in some surrealism for an extra kick. The cast are brilliant, and the script is intelligently written. Though there are a number of eyebrow-raising moments and some culturally contemptible ones

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/20/24

Full Review

Denver T

Well worth watching. The film captures and embodies the strong anti-war sentiment of the late 1960s and 1970s (How I Won the War, MASH, Kelly's Heroes, The Sand Pebbles, Hearts and Minds, Cross of Iron, Johnny Got His Gun, etc.). Acting and characterization is excellent and quite memorable (Alan Arkin is perfectly cast); the satire is set to "10" on the dial, comedy is well delivered, and the irony is, well, very darkly delivered. Spoiler: Art Garfunkel bites the dust off-camera.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/08/23

Full Review

Sir H

I was surprised this film didn't cross over into the 90s in Tomatoes' percent ratings, until I remembered that this film lampooned the one US military involvement of the last century that most everyone still regards as just, namely the overthrowing of fascism in WWII. It bears re-seeing now. With the benefit of time passed I now hear Groucho in much of the dialogue and NY dialects, which reminds me of the negative uproar when Duck Soup lampooned WWI. The satire of small-time commodifying within the ranks now smacks of a military industrial complex in embryo. There is not one actor who isn't brilliant here, razor-honed to the point of their caricature. A beautifully converted digital 60 fps version brings a contemporary, immersive feel to this old chestnut.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/31/23

Full Review

Lequisha S

[3/17/21]: [DON'T HAVE NOTES ON MY THOUGHTS ON IT]. Captures the insanity of war, the repetitive futility of it. I do remember absolutely belly laughing when he steps forward butt nekked, that was great.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/03/22

Full Review

G w

I loved it. To deliver such a story in a way that makes you laugh and simultaneously cry, is a feat rare in film. The cast, couldn't have been more perfect for its characters.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/27/22

Full Review

dave s

The film adaptation of Joseph Heller's classic novel Catch-22 lacks the satirical sting of the source material as the circuitous double-talk, so effective in the book, sometimes grows tiresome on the screen when compressed into two hours. Despite being inferior to the book, the film remains focused throughout on its goals of mercilessly ridiculing both capitalism and military bureaucracy. Alan Arkin is excellent as Captain Yossarian, an Air Force pilot desperate to escape the military before he is killed by trying to prove that he's crazy, an impossibility as a crazy person would never recognize that he's crazy and ask to be deemed as such. There are moments that fall painfully flat, but there are an equal amount of moments that are absurdly brilliant that make the film worth watching.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Mike Nichols

Director

Alan Arkin

Capt. John Yossarian

Martin Balsam

Col. Cathcart

Richard Benjamin

Maj. Danby

Art Garfunkel

Capt. Nately

Jack Gilford

Dr. "Doc" Daneeka

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Synopsis

This scathing war satire follows Capt. John Yossarian (Alan Arkin), a pilot stationed in the Mediterranean who flies bombing missions during World War II. Attempting to cope with the madness of armed conflict, Yossarian struggles to find a way out of his wartime reality. Surrounded by eccentric military officers, such as the opportunistic 1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder (Jon Voight), Yossarian must resort to extreme measures to escape his dire and increasingly absurd situation.

Director: Mike Nichols
Producer: John Calley, Martin Ransohoff
Screenwriter: Joseph Heller, Buck Henry
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 24, 1970, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Runtime: 2h 1m
Sound Mix: Mono

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