🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 152 (from laksa191)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa152.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_(film)\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_(film)\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_(film)","crawl_time":1774393172,"first_indexed_time":1416167373,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"org,wikipedia!en,\/wiki\/Catch-22_(film) s443","src_root_hash":"17790707453426894952","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Catch-22 (film) - Wikipedia","meta_descriptions":[],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Catch-22\nTheatrical release poster\nDirected by\nMike Nichols\nScreenplay by\nBuck Henry\nBased on\nCatch-22\nby\nJoseph Heller\nProduced by\nJohn Calley\nMartin Ransohoff\nStarring\nAlan Arkin\nMartin Balsam\nRichard Benjamin\nArt Garfunkel\nJack Gilford\nBuck Henry\nBob Newhart\nAnthony Perkins\nPaula Prentiss\nMartin Sheen\nJon Voight\nOrson Welles\nCinematography\nDavid Watkin\nEdited by\nSam O'Steen\nMusic by\nRichard Strauss\nProduction\ncompanies\nFilmways\nParamount Pictures\nDistributed by\nParamount Pictures\nRelease date\nJune 24, 1970\nRunning time\n122 minutes\nCountry\nUnited States\nLanguage\nEnglish\nBudget\n$18 million\nBox office\n$24.9 million\n[\n1\n]\nCatch-22\nis a 1970 American\nsatirical\ncomedy\nwar film\nadapted from the 1961\nnovel of the same name\nby\nJoseph Heller\n. In creating a black comedy revolving around the \"lunatic characters\" of Heller's satirical\nanti-war\nnovel\nset at a fictional\nMediterranean\nbase during\nWorld War II\n, director\nMike Nichols\nand screenwriter\nBuck Henry\n(also in the cast) worked on the film script for two years, converting Heller's complex novel to the medium of film.\nThe cast included\nAlan Arkin\n,\nBob Balaban\n,\nMartin Balsam\n,\nRichard Benjamin\n, Italian actress\nOlimpia Carlisi\n, French comedian\nMarcel Dalio\n,\nArt Garfunkel\nin his acting debut,\nJack Gilford\n,\nCharles Grodin\n,\nBob Newhart\n,\nAnthony Perkins\n,\nAustin Pendleton\n,\nPaula Prentiss\n,\nMartin Sheen\n,\nJon Voight\n, and\nOrson Welles\n. Garfunkel's songwriting partner\nPaul Simon\nalso appeared, but his scenes were cut.\nPhoto of plane crash from the film taken by a person on the set\nCaptain\nJohn Yossarian\n, a\nU.S. Army Air Force\nB-25\nbombardier\n, is stationed on the Mediterranean base on\nPianosa\nduring World War II. Along with his squadron members, Yossarian is committed to flying dangerous missions, but after watching friends die, he seeks a means of escape.\nWhile most bomber crews are rotated out after 25 missions, Yossarian's commanding officer,\nColonel Cathcart\n, keeps raising the minimum number of missions for this base before anyone can reach it, eventually to an unobtainable 80 missions, a figure resulting from Cathcart's craving for publicity, primarily a mention in the nationally syndicated\nSaturday Evening Post\nmagazine.\nFutilely appealing to Cathcart, Yossarian learns that even a\nmental breakdown\nis no release when\nDoc Daneeka\nexplains the \"Catch-22\" the Army Air Force employs:\nAn airman would have to be crazy to fly more missions, and if he were crazy, he would be unfit to fly.\nYet, if an airman were to refuse to fly more missions, this would indicate that he is sane, which would mean that he would be fit to fly the missions. The airman is thus in an impossible \"damned if you do, damned if you don't\" situation.\nYossarian is haunted, in several recurring flashbacks during the film, by the bloody death of\nSnowden\n, the young turret gunner on his B-25. After Snowden's death, Yossarian temporarily refuses to wear his uniform, which Snowden bled on. He shows up at a medal ceremony naked, and later morosely sits naked in a tree, where he is visited by Lieutenant\nMilo Minderbinder\n, who rapidly progresses from squadron supply officer to a capitalistic tycoon involved in black-market money-making schemes. The bomber squadron is populated by many other comically strange characters.\nMajor Major\n, the squadron's operations officer, is promoted to a squadron commander without ever having flown in a plane and refuses to see anyone in his office while he is in, instructing\nSergeant Towser\nthat people can see him when he's out. The person has to wait in the waiting room until Major Major is gone, then can go right in.\nTrapped by this convoluted logic, Yossarian watches as individuals in the squadron resort to unusual means to cope; Milo concocts elaborate black market schemes while crazed Captain\n\"Aarfy\" Aardvark\ncommits murder to silence a girl he has raped. Lieutenant\nNately\nfalls for a sex worker,\nMajor Danby\ndelivers goofy pep talks before every bomb run, and Captain\nOrr\nkeeps crashing at sea. Meanwhile,\nNurse Duckett\noccasionally beds Yossarian.\nNately dies as a result of an agreement between Milo and the Germans, trading surplus cotton in exchange for the squadron bombing its own base. While on a pass, Yossarian shares this news with Nately's romantic partner, who then tries to kill him.\nBecause of Yossarian's constant complaints, Cathcart and\nLieutenant Colonel Korn\neventually agree to send him home, promising him a promotion to major and awarding him a medal for the fictitious saving of Cathcart's life; the only requirement being that Yossarian agrees to \"like\" the colonels and praise them when he gets home.\nImmediately after agreeing to Cathcart's and Korn's plan, Yossarian survives an attempt on his life when stabbed by Nately's partner, who had disguised herself as a janitor. Once recovered, Yossarian learns from Danby and\nChaplain Tappman\nthat Orr's supposed death was a hoax and that Orr's repeated \"crash\" landings had been a subterfuge for practicing and planning his own escape from the madness. Yossarian is informed that Orr ditched the plane and paddled a rescue raft all the way to Sweden on his last run.\nYossarian decides to abandon the deal with Cathcart, leaps out of the hospital window, takes a raft from a damaged plane and, while a marching band practices for the ceremony to award Yossarian the promotion and medal, he hops into the sea, climbs into the raft and starts paddling.\nMain cast (as appearing in screen credits):\nAlan Arkin\nas\nCaptain John Yossarian\n(Bombardier)\nBob Balaban\nas\nCaptain Orr\n(Bomber Pilot)\nMartin Balsam\nas\nColonel Chuck Cathcart\n(Group Commander, 256th Bomb Group)\nRichard Benjamin\nas Major Danby (Group Operations Officer)\nSusanne Benton\nas Dreedle's\nWAC\nOlimpia Carlisi\nas Luciana, the Alluring Passerby\nMarcel Dalio\nas Old Man in Whorehouse\nNorman Fell\nas First Sgt. Towser (Major Major's Desk Clerk, later Acting Squadron Commander)\nArt Garfunkel\n(billed Arthur Garfunkel) as\nLt. Edward J. Nately III\n(Pilot)\nJack Gilford\nas Dr. \"Doc\" Daneeka (Group Flight Surgeon)\nCharles Grodin\nas\nCaptain \"Aarfy\" Aardvark\n(Navigator)\nBuck Henry\nas Lt. Colonel Korn (Group XO \/ Roman policeman)\nBob Newhart\nas\nCaptain\/Major Major\n(Laundry Officer, later Squadron Commander)\nAustin Pendleton\nas Lt. Col. Moodus\nAnthony Perkins\nas\nCapt. Fr. Albert Taylor \"A. T.\" Tappman\n(Chaplain)\nPaula Prentiss\nas Nurse Duckett (Army Medical Nurse Corps)\n[\n2\n]\nMartin Sheen\nas 1st Lt. Dobbs (Pilot)\nJon Voight\nas 1st\nLt. Milo Minderbinder\n(Mess Officer)\nOrson Welles\nas Brigadier General Dreedle (Wing Commander)\nOrson Welles\nfirst tried to buy the rights to Heller's novel to independently produce and direct it in 1962, but was unsuccessful. He wound up cast in the role of\nGeneral Dreedle\n.\nColumbia Pictures\npurchased the rights to it in 1965 and attempted to develop the film with\nRichard Brooks\nor\nRichard Quine\nas potential directors, while\nJack Lemmon\nwas considered as Captain Yossarian. Heller grew dissatisfied with the two as he believed they were “incapable of pursuing the wildly satirical (and anti-military) point of view of his novel.” The studio subsequently sold the rights to\nMartin Ransohoff\nat\nFilmways\nin 1967, which had already hired Mike Nichols to direct. Nichols originally announced that principal photography would begin in “late 1967-early 1968” in\nYugoslavia\nand\nItaly\n. However, the project was delayed for several years as Nichols and\nJohn Calley\nsearched for Italian terrain that had not been destroyed by\nWorld War II\n.\nDaily Variety\nin the period 1967-69 reported that\nAndre Previn\nwould score the picture and that Nichols sought to cast\nWalter Matthau\nand\nAl Pacino\nin the movie, but none of them participated in the picture.\nStacy Keach\nwas also cast in the film before departing a month prior to filming.\n[\n3\n]\nNichols eventually decided on\nMexico\nas the primary shooting location of the film. Production began on January 13, 1969, at an airfield constructed for the film near\nGuaymas\n,\nSonora\n, on the\nGulf of California\n. The filmmakers spent $180,000 building a five-mile highway to the site (which previously could only be accessed by boat) and an additional $250,000 for a 6,000-ft. runway; the airfield today is Guaymas airport. After a week of filming, Nichols sent back 200 of the American extras in order to give the base in the film a more isolated atmosphere. Welles filmed his cameo appearance as General Dreedle in eight days. Some filming also took place at the\nPalazzo Farnese\nand the Palazzo Navona in\nRome\n. Production concluded in August 1969 after a final two months of interior filming in\nHollywood\n.\n[\n3\n]\nPaul Simon\nwas cast in a part, as was Art Garfunkel, his partner in the musical group\nSimon and Garfunkel\n. Garfunkel's part grew while Simon's part was cut from the final film, a move which contributed to the breakup of the duo, according to Garfunkel.\n[\n4\n]\nThe adaptation changed the book's plot. Several\nstory arcs\nare left out, and many characters in the movie speak dialogue and experience events of other characters in the book.\n[\n5\n]\nDespite the changes in the screenplay, Heller approved of the film, according to a commentary by Nichols and\nSteven Soderbergh\nincluded on a\nDVD\nrelease.\n[\n6\n]\nAccording to Nichols, Heller was particularly impressed with a few scenes and bits of dialogue Henry created for the film, and said he wished he could have included them in the novel.\n[\n7\n]\nThe pacing of the novel\nCatch-22\nis frenetic, its tenor intellectual, and its tone largely\nabsurdist\n,\n[\n8\n]\ninterspersed with brief moments of gritty, almost horrific, realism. The novel did not follow a normal chronological progression; rather, it was told as a series of different and often (seemingly, until later) unrelated events, most from the point of view of the central character Yossarian. The film simplified the plot,\n[\n9\n]\n[\n10\n]\nbut it preserved the frenetic pacing, intellectual tenor and realistic tone of the novel.\nB-25H 43-4432 featured in the film, still airworthy with the\nEAA\nas of 2024.\n[\n11\n]\nParamount assigned a $17 million budget to the production and planned to film key flying scenes for six weeks, but the aerial sequences required six months of camera work, resulting in the bombers flying about 1,500 hours.\n[\n12\n]\nThey appear on screen for approximately 10 minutes.\n[\n13\n]\n[\nNote 1\n]\nCatch-22\nis renowned for its role in saving the\nB-25 Mitchell\naircraft from possible extinction.\n[\n14\n]\nThe film's budget accommodated 17 flyable B-25 Mitchells, and one hulk was acquired in Mexico, and flown with landing gear down to the\nGuaymas\n,\nSonora\n,\nMexico\nfilming location.\n[\n6\n]\nThe aircraft was burned and destroyed in the crash landing scene. The wreck was then buried in the ground by the runway, where it remains.\n[\n15\n]\nFor the film, prop upper turrets were installed, and to represent different models, several aircraft had turrets installed behind the wings representing early (B-25C\/D type) aircraft.\n[\n13\n]\nInitially, the camera ships also had mock turrets installed, but problems with buffeting necessitated their removal.\n[\n16\n]\nMany of the \"Tallmantz Air Force fleet\" went on to careers in films and television, before being sold as surplus.\n[\n17\n]\nFifteen of the 18 bombers remain intact, including one displayed at the\nSmithsonian Institution\n's\nNational Air and Space Museum\n.\n[\n18\n]\nSecond unit director John Jordan refused to wear a harness during a bomber scene and fell out of the open tail turret 4,000 ft (1,200 m) into the\nPacific Ocean\nto his death.\n[\n3\n]\n[\n19\n]\nA half-hour preview of the film was held at the\nSan Francisco International Film Festival\non October 31, 1969.\n[\n20\n]\nThe film had premieres on June 24, 1970, in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Toronto.\n[\n21\n]\nCatch-22\nwas released for home viewing on VHS and Beta in 1979, Laserdisc in 1982, and SelectaVision CED disc. Some of the music was changed for the 1992 VHS Hi-Fi re-release.\nCatch-22\nwas re-released to DVD by\nParamount Home Entertainment\non May 21, 2013; a previous version was released on May 22, 2001. The DVD contains commentary by director Mike Nichols moderated by\nSteven Soderbergh\n.\nShout! Studios\nis scheduled to release the film on 4K Blu-ray on October 28, 2025.\nOn the\nreview aggregator\nwebsite\nRotten Tomatoes\n, 81% of 31 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2\/10. The website's consensus reads: \"\nCatch-22\ntakes entertainingly chaotic aim at the insanity of armed combat, supported by a terrific cast and smart, funny work from Buck Henry and Mike Nichols.\"\n[\n22\n]\nMetacritic\n, which uses a\nweighted average\n, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating \"generally favorable\" reviews.\n[\n23\n]\nVincent Canby\nof\nThe New York Times\npraised the film as \"the most moving, the most intelligent, the most humane--oh, to hell with it!--it's the best American film I've seen this year.\" He felt the film was \"complete and consistent\", and commended its balance of comedy and seriousness as well as the ensemble cast.\n[\n9\n]\nIn a cover story about Mike Nichols,\nTime\nwrote \"It is the book's cold rage that he has nurtured. In the jokes that matter, the film is as hard as a diamond, cold to the touch and brilliant to the eye. To Nichols,\nCatch-22\nis 'about dying'; to Arkin, it is 'about selfishness'; to audiences, it will be a memorable horror comedy of war, with the accent on horror.\"\n[\n24\n]\nRoger Ebert\nof the\nChicago Sun-Times\ngave the film 3 stars out of 4, calling it \"a disappointment, and not simply because it fails to do justice to the Heller novel.\" Ebert wrote there were \"some fine moments\" in\nCatch 22\n, but he condemned the shift in tone from farcical satire in the first half of the film to gore and violence in the final scenes. He also felt the Arkin was \"a tremendously gifted actor\" but it was an error for him to play Yosarrian as an edgy paranoid, when \"the point of the performance should be precisely that he isn’t nuts\". The other cast members were not believable in their roles, apart from Perkins, and as a result \"the characters don’t come across as human\". Nichols's film used a fashionable anti-war message without, as Ebert wrote, \"realizing that for Heller World War II was symbolic of a much larger disease: life.\"\n[\n25\n]\nSimilarly,\nGene Siskel\nfor the\nChicago Tribune\ngave the film\n2\n+\n1\n⁄\n2\nstars out of four arguing the film \"spends too much time accommodating a huge cast\", and instead the film should have properly focused on \"Yossarian's combat, with the catch into his head where it belongs\". Nevertheless, he wrote \"The film's technical credits, photography, and special effects are uniformly outstanding. Of the huge supporting cast, Dick Benjamin, Bob Newhart, and Jack Gilford are the best.\"\n[\n26\n]\nCharles Champlin\n, reviewing for the\nLos Angeles Times\n, felt that\nCatch-22\nis awfully good, and also a disappointment: Chilly brilliant at its best but flawed at last by its detachment and by its failure to catch fire and give off heat. Its fury is cold and intellectual and cannot reach us or involve us at gut level.\"\n[\n27\n]\nRichard Schickel\nin\nLIFE\npanned the film, saying it failed to translate what made Joseph Heller's novel a generational phenomenon to the screen. In his review entitled \"One of our novels is missing,\" Schickel wrote:\nMike Nichols' movie version of the novel is, in tone, as hot and heavy as the original was cool and light. Charitably, one might say that he was seeking the visual equivalent of the book's verbal style. But he failed abysmally, and in the process he and Writer Buck Henry have mislaid every bit of the humor that made the novel emotionally bearable and esthetically memorable, replacing it with desperately earnest proof they hate war.... [T]he key to the film's almost total failure lies in its restructuring of the novel. It is shot as if it were a single hallucinatory flashback suffered by Yossarian, Heller's Everyman-turned-Bombardier.... Far from seeming wild and free, this dream structure struck me as inhumanly manipulative, for it imposes on both the material and the audience a single, simple point of view:\nI'm crazy, they're crazy, we're all crazy in this crazy world\n. The characters can't wiggle free of it and live for so much as a single wayward, truly human moment. We, as an audience, are never allowed to think, feel, respond as we will. We are as trapped at a single level of response as ever we were in those hack war movies Nichols mocks.\n[\n28\n]\nIn later years, film historians and reviewers Jack Harwick and Ed Schnepf characterized the film as deeply flawed, calling Henry's screenplay disjointed, and claimed its only redeeming features were the limited aerial sequences.\n[\n29\n]\nUpon the initial release,\nCatch-22\nearned US$24.9 million out of the budget of US$18 million, earning it a spot in the top ten box office hits of 1970, but falling short of being profitable.\n[\n30\n]\nIt was director\nMike Nichols\n' third film, after the acclaimed\nWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?\nand\nThe Graduate\n. It was not regarded as a comparable success, earning less money and critical acclaim than the film version of\nMASH\n, another war-themed\nblack comedy\nreleased earlier the same year. In addition, some critics believed that the film appeared as Americans were becoming more resentful of the bitter and ugly experience of the Vietnam War, leading to a general decline in the interest of war pictures, with the notable exceptions of\nMASH\nand\nPatton\n.\n[\n12\n]\nCritic Lucia Bozzola wrote \"Paramount spent a great deal of money on\nCatch-22\n, but it wound up getting trumped by another 1970 antiwar farce:\nRobert Altman\n's\nMASH\n.\"\n[\n31\n]\nA\npilot episode\nfor a\nCatch-22\ntelevision series was aired on ABC in 1973, with\nRichard Dreyfuss\nin the Captain Yossarian role.\n[\n32\n]\nA six-part\nCatch 22\nminiseries, produced by\nHulu\nand\nSky Italia\n, premiered worldwide in 2019.\nThere have been other films with \"Catch-22\" in their names, including the documentary\nCatch-22\n(2007) and the short films\nCatch 22: The New Contract\n(2009) and\nCatch22\n(2010), but they have been unrelated to either the book or film adaptation.\n[\n33\n]\nThe anti-war song \"Survivor Guilt\" by\npunk rock\nband\nRise Against\nfeatures samples of dialog from the movie, specifically the discussion between Nately and the old man about the fall of great countries and potential fall of the US, and their argument about the phrase \"It's better to live on your feet than die on your knees.\" The same excerpts from the film previously were used by lead singer Tim McIlrath, in the song \"Burden\", recorded by his former band, Baxter.\n[\n34\n]\nList of American films of 1970\n^\nMost of the aerial footage was unused due to a directorial conflict between Nichols and Tallman, head of the Air Operations and Aerial Unit.\n^\n\"Catch-22, Box Office Information\"\n.\nThe Numbers\n. Retrieved\nMay 23,\n2012\n.\n^\nVagg, Stephen (August 12, 2025).\n\"Not Quite Movie Stars: Paula Prentiss\"\n.\nFilmink\n. Retrieved\nAugust 12,\n2025\n.\n^\na\nb\nc\n\"Catch-22\"\n.\nAFI Catalog\n. Retrieved\nApril 20,\n2023\n.\n^\nMichaels, Sean\n(February 13, 2013).\n\"Art Garfunkel implicates film director Mike Nichols in split with Paul Simon\"\n.\nThe Guardian\n. Retrieved\nOctober 2,\n2024\n.\n^\nEphron, Nora\n(March 16, 1969).\n\"Yossarian Is Alive And Well in the Mexican Desert\"\n.\nThe New York Times\n. Retrieved\nOctober 23,\n2020\n.\n^\na\nb\nTallman 2008, p. 15 (Editor's Note).\n^\nNichols and Soderbergh 2001\n^\nMcCarthy, Todd.\n\"Catch-22 (Review).\"\nVariety\n, December 31, 1969.\n^\na\nb\nCanby, Vincent (June 28, 1970).\n\"A Triumphant 'Catch'\n\"\n.\nThe New York Times\n. Retrieved\nOctober 23,\n2020\n.\n^\nEvans 2000, p. 38.\n^\n\"B-25H 43-4432\"\nB-25 History Project.\nRetrieved 23 July 2024.\n^\na\nb\nOrriss 1984, p. 189.\n^\na\nb\nFarmer 1972, p. 59.\n^\nFarmer 1972, pp. 20–21.\n^\nThompson 1980, p. 75.\n^\nFarmer 1972, p. 23.\n^\nFarmer 1972, pp. 58–59.\n^\n\"National Air and Space Museum Collections Database.\"\nArchived\n2011-04-02 at the\nWayback Machine\nSmithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum\n. Retrieved: April 16, 2008.\n^\nConant, Richard.\n\"The 70's movies Rewind.\"\nArchived\n2009-06-05 at the\nWayback Machine\n70s.fast-rewind.com\n. Retrieved: June 27, 2009.\n^\n\"Mike Nichols To Unveil 'Catch' Footage at Frisco\".\nVariety\n. October 15, 1969. p. 19.\n^\n\"Catch-22 (advertisement)\".\nVariety\n. June 17, 1970. p. 12.\n^\n\"Catch-22 (1970)\"\n.\nRotten Tomatoes\n.\nFandango Media\n. Retrieved\nNovember 20,\n2022\n.\n^\n\"Catch-22 Reviews\"\n.\nMetacritic\n.\nFandom, Inc.\nRetrieved\nNovember 20,\n2022\n.\n^\n\"Cinema: Some are More Yossarian than Others\"\n.\nTime\n. Vol. 95, no. 24. June 14, 1970. pp. \n66–\n74\n. Retrieved\nOctober 23,\n2020\n.\n^\nEbert, Roger (June 1970).\n\"Catch-22 movie review & film summary (1970)\"\n.\nChicago Sun-Times\n. Retrieved\nOctober 23,\n2020\n– via\nRogerEbert.com\n.\n^\nSiskel, Gene (June 26, 1970).\n\"Movie Review: 'Catch-22'\"\n.\nChicago Tribune\n. Section 2, p. 1 – via\nNewspapers.com\n.\n^\nChamplin, Charles (June 28, 1970).\n\"Heller's Novel 'Catch-22' Becomes a Big, Icy Movie\"\n.\nLos Angeles Times\n. pp. 1, 20, 22\n. Retrieved\nOctober 23,\n2020\n– via Newspapers.com.\n^\n\"One of our novels is missing\".\nLIFE Magazine\n.\n69\n(1): 12. July 4, 1970.\n^\nHarwick and Schnepf 1989, p. 62.\n^\n\"Catch-22 (1970) - Financial Information\"\n.\nThe Numbers\n. Retrieved\nJune 2,\n2022\n.\n^\nBozzola, Lucia (2007).\n\"Catch-22 (overview)\"\n. Movies & TV Dept.\nThe New York Times\n. Archived from\nthe original\non October 19, 2007\n. Retrieved\nApril 15,\n2008\n.\n^\n\"Catch 22 (1973).\"\nTurner Classic Movies\n. Retrieved: November 20, 2011.\n^\n\"Catch-22.\"\nIMDb.\nRetrieved: November 20, 2011.\n^\n\"Reviews: \"File under: Rejuvenated political punk (from Rise Against Endgame).\"\nArchived\nMarch 17, 2014, at the\nWayback Machine\naltpress.com\n, March 15, 2011. Retrieved: May 22, 2012.\nBennighof, James.\nThe Words and Music of Paul Simon\n. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007.\nISBN\n \n978-0-27599-163-0\n.\nEvans, Alun.\nBrassey's Guide to War Films\n. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000.\nISBN\n \n1-57488-263-5\n.\nFarmer, James H. \"The Catch-22 Air Force.\" Air Classics, Volume 8, No. 14, December 1972.\nHarwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. \"A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies\".\nThe Making of the Great Aviation Films\n, General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.\nNichols, Mike and Steven Soderbergh. \"Commentary.\"\nCatch-22 DVD\n(Special Features). Los Angeles: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, 2001.\nOrriss, Bruce.\nWhen Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II\n. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984.\nISBN\n \n0-9613088-0-X\n.\nTallman, Frank. \"The Making of Catch-22.\"\nWarbirds International\n, Vol. 27, no. 4, May\/June 2008.\nThegze, Chuck \"I See Everything Twice\": An Examination of Catch-22, University of California Press.\nThompson, Scott A. \"Hollywood Mitchells.\"\nAir Classics\n, Vol. 16, No. 9, September 1980.\nCatch-22\nat the\nAFI Catalog of Feature Films\nCatch-22\nat\nIMDb\nCatch-22\nat the\nTCM Movie Database\n(archived version)\nCatch-22\nat\nRotten Tomatoes\nCatch-22 camera aircraft history\nArchived\n2021-11-21 at the\nWayback Machine","attrs_markdown":"[Jump to content](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#bodyContent)\n\nMain menu\n\nMain menu\n\nmove to sidebar\n\nhide\n\nNavigation\n\n- [Main page](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Main_Page \"Visit the main page [z]\")\n- [Contents](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:Contents \"Guides to browsing Wikipedia\")\n- [Current events](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Portal:Current_events \"Articles related to current events\")\n- [Random article](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:Random \"Visit a randomly selected article [x]\")\n- [About Wikipedia](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:About \"Learn about Wikipedia and how it works\")\n- [Contact us](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:Contact_us \"How to contact Wikipedia\")\n\nContribute\n\n- [Help](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Help:Contents \"Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia\")\n- [Learn to edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Help:Introduction \"Learn how to edit Wikipedia\")\n- [Community portal](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:Community_portal \"The hub for editors\")\n- [Recent changes](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:RecentChanges \"A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]\")\n- [Upload file](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard \"Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia\")\n- [Special pages](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:SpecialPages \"A list of all special pages [q]\")\n\n[![](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/static\/images\/icons\/enwiki-25.svg) ![Wikipedia](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/static\/images\/mobile\/copyright\/wikipedia-wordmark-en-25.svg) ![The Free Encyclopedia](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/static\/images\/mobile\/copyright\/wikipedia-tagline-en-25.svg)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Main_Page)\n\n[Search](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:Search \"Search Wikipedia [f]\")\n\nAppearance\n\n- [Donate](https:\/\/donate.wikimedia.org\/?wmf_source=donate&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en)\n- [Create account](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Catch-22+%28film%29 \"You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory\")\n- [Log in](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Catch-22+%28film%29 \"You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. 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[o]\")\n\n## Contents\nmove to sidebar\n\nhide\n\n- [(Top)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$)\n- [1 Plot](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Plot)\n- [2 Cast](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Cast)\n- [3 Production](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Production)\n  Toggle Production subsection\n  - [3\\.1 Development](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Development)\n  - [3\\.2 Filming](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Filming)\n  - [3\\.3 Adaptation](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Adaptation)\n  - [3\\.4 Aircraft](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Aircraft)\n  - [3\\.5 Death on the set](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Death_on_the_set)\n- [4 Release](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Release)\n  Toggle Release subsection\n  - [4\\.1 Home media](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Home_media)\n- [5 Reception](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Reception)\n  Toggle Reception subsection\n  - [5\\.1 Critical reaction](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Critical_reaction)\n  - [5\\.2 Box office](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Box_office)\n- [6 Adaptations in other media](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Adaptations_in_other_media)\n- [7 In popular culture](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#In_popular_culture)\n- [8 See also](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#See_also)\n- [9 References](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#References)\n  Toggle References subsection\n  - [9\\.1 Notes](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Notes)\n  - [9\\.2 Citations](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Citations)\n  - [9\\.3 Bibliography](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#Bibliography)\n- [10 External links](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#External_links)\n\nToggle the table of contents\n\n# *Catch-22* (film)\n21 languages\n\n- [Български](https:\/\/bg.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%84_22_\$%D1%84%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BC\$ \"Параграф 22 (филм) – Bulgarian\")\n- [Català](https:\/\/ca.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$pel%C2%B7l%C3%ADcula\$ \"Catch-22 (pel·lícula) – Catalan\")\n- [Cymraeg](https:\/\/cy.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$ffilm_1970\$ \"Catch-22 (ffilm 1970) – Welsh\")\n- [Dansk](https:\/\/da.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Punkt_22_\$film\$ \"Punkt 22 (film) – Danish\")\n- [Deutsch](https:\/\/de.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_%E2%80%93_Der_b%C3%B6se_Trick \"Catch-22 – Der böse Trick – German\")\n- [Emiliàn e rumagnòl](https:\/\/eml.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Comma_22_\$film\$ \"Comma 22 (film) – Emiliano-Romagnolo\")\n- [فارسی](https:\/\/fa.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%87_%DB%B2%DB%B2_\$%D9%81%DB%8C%D9%84%D9%85\$ \"تبصره ۲۲ (فیلم) – Persian\")\n- [Suomi](https:\/\/fi.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Me_sotasankarit_\$elokuva\$ \"Me sotasankarit (elokuva) – Finnish\")\n- [Français](https:\/\/fr.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch_22_\$film\$ \"Catch 22 (film) – French\")\n- [עברית](https:\/\/he.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%95%D7%93_22_\$%D7%A1%D7%A8%D7%98,_1970\$ \"מלכוד 22 (סרט, 1970) – Hebrew\")\n- [Magyar](https:\/\/hu.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/A_22-es_csapd%C3%A1ja_\$film\$ \"A 22-es csapdája (film) – Hungarian\")\n- [Bahasa Indonesia](https:\/\/id.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$ \"Catch-22 (film) – Indonesian\")\n- [Italiano](https:\/\/it.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Comma_22_\$film\$ \"Comma 22 (film) – Italian\")\n- [日本語](https:\/\/ja.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A3%E3%83%83%E3%83%8122#%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB \"キャッチ22 – Japanese\")\n- [한국어](https:\/\/ko.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%EC%BA%90%EC%B9%98_22_\$%EC%98%81%ED%99%94\$ \"캐치 22 (영화) – Korean\")\n- [Nederlands](https:\/\/nl.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$ \"Catch-22 (film) – Dutch\")\n- [Norsk bokmål](https:\/\/no.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$ \"Catch-22 (film) – Norwegian Bokmål\")\n- [Polski](https:\/\/pl.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paragraf_22_\$film\$ \"Paragraf 22 (film) – Polish\")\n- [Português](https:\/\/pt.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$filme\$ \"Catch-22 (filme) – Portuguese\")\n- [Русский](https:\/\/ru.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%D0%A3%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BA%D0%B0-22_\$%D1%84%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BC\$ \"Уловка-22 (фильм) – Russian\")\n- [Svenska](https:\/\/sv.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Moment_22_\$film\$ \"Moment 22 (film) – Swedish\")\n\n[Edit links](https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Special:EntityPage\/Q1050533#sitelinks-wikipedia \"Edit interlanguage links\")\n\n- [Article](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$ \"View the content page [c]\")\n- [Talk](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Talk:Catch-22_\$film\$ \"Discuss improvements to the content page [t]\")\n\nEnglish\n\n- [Read](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$)\n- [Edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit \"Edit this page [e]\")\n- [View history](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=history \"Past revisions of this page [h]\")\n\nTools\n\nTools\n\nmove to sidebar\n\nhide\n\nActions\n\n- [Read](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$)\n- [Edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit \"Edit this page [e]\")\n- [View history](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=history)\n\nGeneral\n\n- [What links here](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:WhatLinksHere\/Catch-22_\$film\$ \"List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]\")\n- [Related 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PDF](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Catch-22_%28film%29&action=show-download-screen \"Download this page as a PDF file\")\n- [Printable version](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&printable=yes \"Printable version of this page [p]\")\n\nIn other projects\n\n- [Wikimedia Commons](https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Category:Catch-22_\$film\$)\n- [Wikiquote](https:\/\/en.wikiquote.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$)\n- [Wikidata item](https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Special:EntityPage\/Q1050533 \"Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]\")\n\nAppearance\n\nmove to sidebar\n\nhide\n\nFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia\n\n1970 American satirical comedy war film\n\n| Catch-22 |   |\n|---|---|\n| [![](https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/d\/d6\/Catch-22_poster.jpg)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Catch-22_poster.jpg)Theatrical release poster |   |\n| Directed by | [Mike Nichols](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mike_Nichols \"Mike Nichols\") |\n| Screenplay by | [Buck Henry](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Buck_Henry \"Buck Henry\") |\n| Based on | *[Catch-22](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22 \"Catch-22\")* by [Joseph Heller](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Joseph_Heller \"Joseph Heller\") |\n| Produced by | [John Calley](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Calley \"John Calley\") [Martin Ransohoff](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Ransohoff \"Martin Ransohoff\") |\n| Starring | [Alan Arkin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alan_Arkin \"Alan Arkin\") [Martin Balsam](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Balsam \"Martin Balsam\") [Richard Benjamin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Benjamin \"Richard Benjamin\") [Art Garfunkel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Art_Garfunkel \"Art Garfunkel\") [Jack Gilford](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jack_Gilford \"Jack Gilford\") Buck Henry [Bob Newhart](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Newhart \"Bob Newhart\") [Anthony Perkins](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anthony_Perkins \"Anthony Perkins\") [Paula Prentiss](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paula_Prentiss \"Paula Prentiss\") [Martin Sheen](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Sheen \"Martin Sheen\") [Jon Voight](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jon_Voight \"Jon Voight\") [Orson Welles](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orson_Welles \"Orson Welles\") |\n| Cinematography | [David Watkin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/David_Watkin_\$cinematographer\$ \"David Watkin (cinematographer)\") |\n| Edited by | [Sam O'Steen](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sam_O%27Steen \"Sam O'Steen\") |\n| Music by | [Richard Strauss](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Strauss \"Richard Strauss\") |\n| Production companies | [Filmways](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Filmways \"Filmways\") [Paramount Pictures](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paramount_Pictures \"Paramount Pictures\") |\n| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |\n| Release date | June 24, 1970 (1970-06-24) |\n| Running time | 122 minutes |\n| Country | United States |\n| Language | English |\n| Budget | \\$18 million |\n| Box office | \\$24.9 million[\\[1\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-1) |\n\n***Catch-22*** is a 1970 American [satirical](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Satirical \"Satirical\") [comedy](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Comedy \"Comedy\") [war film](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/War_film \"War film\") adapted from the 1961 [novel of the same name](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22 \"Catch-22\") by [Joseph Heller](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Joseph_Heller \"Joseph Heller\"). In creating a black comedy revolving around the \"lunatic characters\" of Heller's satirical [anti-war](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anti-war \"Anti-war\") [novel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Novel \"Novel\") set at a fictional [Mediterranean](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mediterranean_Sea \"Mediterranean Sea\") base during [World War II](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/World_War_II \"World War II\"), director [Mike Nichols](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mike_Nichols \"Mike Nichols\") and screenwriter [Buck Henry](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Buck_Henry \"Buck Henry\") (also in the cast) worked on the film script for two years, converting Heller's complex novel to the medium of film.\n\nThe cast included [Alan Arkin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alan_Arkin \"Alan Arkin\"), [Bob Balaban](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Balaban \"Bob Balaban\"), [Martin Balsam](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Balsam \"Martin Balsam\"), [Richard Benjamin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Benjamin \"Richard Benjamin\"), Italian actress [Olimpia Carlisi](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Olimpia_Carlisi \"Olimpia Carlisi\"), French comedian [Marcel Dalio](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marcel_Dalio \"Marcel Dalio\"), [Art Garfunkel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Art_Garfunkel \"Art Garfunkel\") in his acting debut, [Jack Gilford](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jack_Gilford \"Jack Gilford\"), [Charles Grodin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charles_Grodin \"Charles Grodin\"), [Bob Newhart](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Newhart \"Bob Newhart\"), [Anthony Perkins](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anthony_Perkins \"Anthony Perkins\"), [Austin Pendleton](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Austin_Pendleton \"Austin Pendleton\"), [Paula Prentiss](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paula_Prentiss \"Paula Prentiss\"), [Martin Sheen](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Sheen \"Martin Sheen\"), [Jon Voight](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jon_Voight \"Jon Voight\"), and [Orson Welles](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orson_Welles \"Orson Welles\"). Garfunkel's songwriting partner [Paul Simon](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paul_Simon \"Paul Simon\") also appeared, but his scenes were cut.\n\n## Plot\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=1 \"Edit section: Plot\")\\]\n\n[![](https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/3\/38\/AL77A-126_%2814334553607%29.jpg\/330px-AL77A-126_%2814334553607%29.jpg)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:AL77A-126_\$14334553607\$.jpg)\n\nPhoto of plane crash from the film taken by a person on the set\n\nCaptain [John Yossarian](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Yossarian \"John Yossarian\"), a [U.S. Army Air Force](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/U.S._Army_Air_Force \"U.S. Army Air Force\") [B-25](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/North_American_B-25_Mitchell \"North American B-25 Mitchell\") [bombardier](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bombardier_\$air_force\$ \"Bombardier (air force)\"), is stationed on the Mediterranean base on [Pianosa](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pianosa \"Pianosa\") during World War II. Along with his squadron members, Yossarian is committed to flying dangerous missions, but after watching friends die, he seeks a means of escape.\n\nWhile most bomber crews are rotated out after 25 missions, Yossarian's commanding officer, [Colonel Cathcart](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Colonel_Cathcart \"Colonel Cathcart\"), keeps raising the minimum number of missions for this base before anyone can reach it, eventually to an unobtainable 80 missions, a figure resulting from Cathcart's craving for publicity, primarily a mention in the nationally syndicated *[Saturday Evening Post](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Saturday_Evening_Post \"Saturday Evening Post\")* magazine.\n\nFutilely appealing to Cathcart, Yossarian learns that even a [mental breakdown](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mental_breakdown \"Mental breakdown\") is no release when [Doc Daneeka](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Doc_Daneeka \"Doc Daneeka\") explains the \"Catch-22\" the Army Air Force employs:\n\n> An airman would have to be crazy to fly more missions, and if he were crazy, he would be unfit to fly. Yet, if an airman were to refuse to fly more missions, this would indicate that he is sane, which would mean that he would be fit to fly the missions. The airman is thus in an impossible \"damned if you do, damned if you don't\" situation.\n\nYossarian is haunted, in several recurring flashbacks during the film, by the bloody death of [Snowden](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Snowden_\$character\$ \"Snowden (character)\"), the young turret gunner on his B-25. After Snowden's death, Yossarian temporarily refuses to wear his uniform, which Snowden bled on. He shows up at a medal ceremony naked, and later morosely sits naked in a tree, where he is visited by Lieutenant [Milo Minderbinder](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milo_Minderbinder \"Milo Minderbinder\"), who rapidly progresses from squadron supply officer to a capitalistic tycoon involved in black-market money-making schemes. The bomber squadron is populated by many other comically strange characters. [Major Major](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Major_Major_Major_Major \"Major Major Major Major\"), the squadron's operations officer, is promoted to a squadron commander without ever having flown in a plane and refuses to see anyone in his office while he is in, instructing [Sergeant Towser](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sergeant_Towser \"Sergeant Towser\") that people can see him when he's out. The person has to wait in the waiting room until Major Major is gone, then can go right in.\n\nTrapped by this convoluted logic, Yossarian watches as individuals in the squadron resort to unusual means to cope; Milo concocts elaborate black market schemes while crazed Captain [\"Aarfy\" Aardvark](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Captain_Aardvark \"Captain Aardvark\") commits murder to silence a girl he has raped. Lieutenant [Nately](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nately \"Nately\") falls for a sex worker, [Major Danby](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Major_Danby \"Major Danby\") delivers goofy pep talks before every bomb run, and Captain [Orr](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orr_\$Catch-22\$ \"Orr (Catch-22)\") keeps crashing at sea. Meanwhile, [Nurse Duckett](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nurse_Duckett \"Nurse Duckett\") occasionally beds Yossarian.\n\nNately dies as a result of an agreement between Milo and the Germans, trading surplus cotton in exchange for the squadron bombing its own base. While on a pass, Yossarian shares this news with Nately's romantic partner, who then tries to kill him.\n\nBecause of Yossarian's constant complaints, Cathcart and [Lieutenant Colonel Korn](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lieutenant_Colonel_Korn \"Lieutenant Colonel Korn\") eventually agree to send him home, promising him a promotion to major and awarding him a medal for the fictitious saving of Cathcart's life; the only requirement being that Yossarian agrees to \"like\" the colonels and praise them when he gets home.\n\nImmediately after agreeing to Cathcart's and Korn's plan, Yossarian survives an attempt on his life when stabbed by Nately's partner, who had disguised herself as a janitor. Once recovered, Yossarian learns from Danby and [Chaplain Tappman](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chaplain_Tappman \"Chaplain Tappman\") that Orr's supposed death was a hoax and that Orr's repeated \"crash\" landings had been a subterfuge for practicing and planning his own escape from the madness. Yossarian is informed that Orr ditched the plane and paddled a rescue raft all the way to Sweden on his last run.\n\nYossarian decides to abandon the deal with Cathcart, leaps out of the hospital window, takes a raft from a damaged plane and, while a marching band practices for the ceremony to award Yossarian the promotion and medal, he hops into the sea, climbs into the raft and starts paddling.\n\n## Cast\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=2 \"Edit section: Cast\")\\]\n\nFurther information: [List of *Catch-22* characters](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_Catch-22_characters \"List of Catch-22 characters\")\n\nMain cast (as appearing in screen credits):\n\n- [Alan Arkin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alan_Arkin \"Alan Arkin\") as [Captain John Yossarian](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yossarian \"Yossarian\") (Bombardier)\n- [Bob Balaban](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Balaban \"Bob Balaban\") as [Captain Orr](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orr_\$Catch-22\$ \"Orr (Catch-22)\") (Bomber Pilot)\n- [Martin Balsam](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Balsam \"Martin Balsam\") as [Colonel Chuck Cathcart](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Colonel_Cathcart \"Colonel Cathcart\") (Group Commander, 256th Bomb Group)\n- [Richard Benjamin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Benjamin \"Richard Benjamin\") as Major Danby (Group Operations Officer)\n- [Susanne Benton](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Susanne_Benton \"Susanne Benton\") as Dreedle's [WAC](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Women%27s_Army_Corps \"Women's Army Corps\")\n- [Olimpia Carlisi](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Olimpia_Carlisi \"Olimpia Carlisi\") as Luciana, the Alluring Passerby\n- [Marcel Dalio](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marcel_Dalio \"Marcel Dalio\") as Old Man in Whorehouse\n- [Norman Fell](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Norman_Fell \"Norman Fell\") as First Sgt. Towser (Major Major's Desk Clerk, later Acting Squadron Commander)\n- [Art Garfunkel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Art_Garfunkel \"Art Garfunkel\") (billed Arthur Garfunkel) as [Lt. Edward J. Nately III](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nately \"Nately\") (Pilot)\n- [Jack Gilford](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jack_Gilford \"Jack Gilford\") as Dr. \"Doc\" Daneeka (Group Flight Surgeon)\n- [Charles Grodin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charles_Grodin \"Charles Grodin\") as [Captain \"Aarfy\" Aardvark](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Captain_Aardvark \"Captain Aardvark\") (Navigator)\n- [Buck Henry](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Buck_Henry \"Buck Henry\") as Lt. Colonel Korn (Group XO \/ Roman policeman)\n- [Bob Newhart](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Newhart \"Bob Newhart\") as [Captain\/Major Major](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Major_Major_Major_Major \"Major Major Major Major\") (Laundry Officer, later Squadron Commander)\n- [Austin Pendleton](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Austin_Pendleton \"Austin Pendleton\") as Lt. Col. Moodus\n- [Anthony Perkins](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anthony_Perkins \"Anthony Perkins\") as [Capt. Fr. Albert Taylor \"A. T.\" Tappman](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chaplain_A._T._Tappman \"Chaplain A. T. Tappman\") (Chaplain)\n- [Paula Prentiss](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paula_Prentiss \"Paula Prentiss\") as Nurse Duckett (Army Medical Nurse Corps)[\\[2\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-paula-2)\n- [Martin Sheen](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Sheen \"Martin Sheen\") as 1st Lt. Dobbs (Pilot)\n- [Jon Voight](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jon_Voight \"Jon Voight\") as 1st [Lt. Milo Minderbinder](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milo_Minderbinder \"Milo Minderbinder\") (Mess Officer)\n- [Orson Welles](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orson_Welles \"Orson Welles\") as Brigadier General Dreedle (Wing Commander)\n\n## Production\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=3 \"Edit section: Production\")\\]\n\n### Development\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=4 \"Edit section: Development\")\\]\n\n[Orson Welles](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orson_Welles \"Orson Welles\") first tried to buy the rights to Heller's novel to independently produce and direct it in 1962, but was unsuccessful. He wound up cast in the role of [General Dreedle](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/General_Dreedle \"General Dreedle\").\n\n[Columbia Pictures](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Columbia_Pictures \"Columbia Pictures\") purchased the rights to it in 1965 and attempted to develop the film with [Richard Brooks](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Brooks \"Richard Brooks\") or [Richard Quine](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Quine \"Richard Quine\") as potential directors, while [Jack Lemmon](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jack_Lemmon \"Jack Lemmon\") was considered as Captain Yossarian. Heller grew dissatisfied with the two as he believed they were “incapable of pursuing the wildly satirical (and anti-military) point of view of his novel.” The studio subsequently sold the rights to [Martin Ransohoff](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Ransohoff \"Martin Ransohoff\") at [Filmways](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Filmways \"Filmways\") in 1967, which had already hired Mike Nichols to direct. Nichols originally announced that principal photography would begin in “late 1967-early 1968” in [Yugoslavia](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Socialist_Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia \"Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia\") and [Italy](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Italy \"Italy\"). However, the project was delayed for several years as Nichols and [John Calley](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Calley \"John Calley\") searched for Italian terrain that had not been destroyed by [World War II](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Military_history_of_Italy_during_World_War_II \"Military history of Italy during World War II\").\n\n*[Daily Variety](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Variety_magazine \"Variety magazine\")* in the period 1967-69 reported that [Andre Previn](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Andre_Previn \"Andre Previn\") would score the picture and that Nichols sought to cast [Walter Matthau](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Walter_Matthau \"Walter Matthau\") and [Al Pacino](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Al_Pacino \"Al Pacino\") in the movie, but none of them participated in the picture. [Stacy Keach](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stacy_Keach \"Stacy Keach\") was also cast in the film before departing a month prior to filming.[\\[3\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-:0-3)\n\n### Filming\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=5 \"Edit section: Filming\")\\]\n\nNichols eventually decided on [Mexico](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mexico \"Mexico\") as the primary shooting location of the film. Production began on January 13, 1969, at an airfield constructed for the film near [Guaymas](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Guaymas \"Guaymas\"), [Sonora](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sonora \"Sonora\"), on the [Gulf of California](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gulf_of_California \"Gulf of California\"). The filmmakers spent \\$180,000 building a five-mile highway to the site (which previously could only be accessed by boat) and an additional \\$250,000 for a 6,000-ft. runway; the airfield today is Guaymas airport. After a week of filming, Nichols sent back 200 of the American extras in order to give the base in the film a more isolated atmosphere. Welles filmed his cameo appearance as General Dreedle in eight days. Some filming also took place at the [Palazzo Farnese](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Palazzo_Farnese \"Palazzo Farnese\") and the Palazzo Navona in [Rome](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rome \"Rome\"). Production concluded in August 1969 after a final two months of interior filming in [Hollywood](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hollywood,_Los_Angeles \"Hollywood, Los Angeles\").[\\[3\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-:0-3)\n\n[Paul Simon](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paul_Simon \"Paul Simon\") was cast in a part, as was Art Garfunkel, his partner in the musical group [Simon and Garfunkel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Simon_and_Garfunkel \"Simon and Garfunkel\"). Garfunkel's part grew while Simon's part was cut from the final film, a move which contributed to the breakup of the duo, according to Garfunkel.[\\[4\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-simon-4)\n\n### Adaptation\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=6 \"Edit section: Adaptation\")\\]\n\nThe adaptation changed the book's plot. Several [story arcs](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Story_arc \"Story arc\") are left out, and many characters in the movie speak dialogue and experience events of other characters in the book.[\\[5\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-5) Despite the changes in the screenplay, Heller approved of the film, according to a commentary by Nichols and [Steven Soderbergh](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Steven_Soderbergh \"Steven Soderbergh\") included on a [DVD](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/DVD \"DVD\") release.[\\[6\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Editor-6) According to Nichols, Heller was particularly impressed with a few scenes and bits of dialogue Henry created for the film, and said he wished he could have included them in the novel.[\\[7\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-7)\n\nThe pacing of the novel *Catch-22* is frenetic, its tenor intellectual, and its tone largely [absurdist](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Absurdist_fiction \"Absurdist fiction\"),[\\[8\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-variety-8) interspersed with brief moments of gritty, almost horrific, realism. The novel did not follow a normal chronological progression; rather, it was told as a series of different and often (seemingly, until later) unrelated events, most from the point of view of the central character Yossarian. The film simplified the plot,[\\[9\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Canby-9)[\\[10\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-10) but it preserved the frenetic pacing, intellectual tenor and realistic tone of the novel.\n\n### Aircraft\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=7 \"Edit section: Aircraft\")\\]\n\n[![](https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/e\/ec\/B-25_from_movie_Catch_22_%284877655203%29.jpg\/250px-B-25_from_movie_Catch_22_%284877655203%29.jpg)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:B-25_from_movie_Catch_22_\$4877655203\$.jpg)\n\nB-25H 43-4432 featured in the film, still airworthy with the [EAA](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Experimental_Aircraft_Association \"Experimental Aircraft Association\") as of 2024.[\\[11\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-11)\n\nMain article: [B-25 Mitchell aircraft in *Catch-22*](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/B-25_Mitchell_aircraft_in_Catch-22 \"B-25 Mitchell aircraft in Catch-22\")\n\nParamount assigned a \\$17 million budget to the production and planned to film key flying scenes for six weeks, but the aerial sequences required six months of camera work, resulting in the bombers flying about 1,500 hours.[\\[12\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Orriss_p._189-12) They appear on screen for approximately 10 minutes.[\\[13\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Farmer_p._59-13)[\\[Note 1\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-14)\n\n*Catch-22* is renowned for its role in saving the [B-25 Mitchell](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/B-25_Mitchell \"B-25 Mitchell\") aircraft from possible extinction.[\\[14\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-15) The film's budget accommodated 17 flyable B-25 Mitchells, and one hulk was acquired in Mexico, and flown with landing gear down to the [Guaymas](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Guaymas \"Guaymas\"), [Sonora](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sonora \"Sonora\"), [Mexico](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mexico \"Mexico\") filming location.[\\[6\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Editor-6) The aircraft was burned and destroyed in the crash landing scene. The wreck was then buried in the ground by the runway, where it remains.[\\[15\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-16)\n\nFor the film, prop upper turrets were installed, and to represent different models, several aircraft had turrets installed behind the wings representing early (B-25C\/D type) aircraft.[\\[13\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Farmer_p._59-13) Initially, the camera ships also had mock turrets installed, but problems with buffeting necessitated their removal.[\\[16\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-17)\n\nMany of the \"Tallmantz Air Force fleet\" went on to careers in films and television, before being sold as surplus.[\\[17\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-18) Fifteen of the 18 bombers remain intact, including one displayed at the [Smithsonian Institution](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Smithsonian_Institution \"Smithsonian Institution\")'s [National Air and Space Museum](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Air_and_Space_Museum \"National Air and Space Museum\").[\\[18\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-nasm-19)\n\n### Death on the set\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=8 \"Edit section: Death on the set\")\\]\n\nSecond unit director John Jordan refused to wear a harness during a bomber scene and fell out of the open tail turret 4,000 ft (1,200 m) into the [Pacific Ocean](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pacific_Ocean \"Pacific Ocean\") to his death.[\\[3\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-:0-3)[\\[19\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-The_70's_movies_Rewind-20)\n\n## Release\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=9 \"Edit section: Release\")\\]\n\nA half-hour preview of the film was held at the [San Francisco International Film Festival](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/San_Francisco_International_Film_Festival \"San Francisco International Film Festival\") on October 31, 1969.[\\[20\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-21)\n\nThe film had premieres on June 24, 1970, in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Toronto.[\\[21\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-22)\n\n### Home media\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=10 \"Edit section: Home media\")\\]\n\n*Catch-22* was released for home viewing on VHS and Beta in 1979, Laserdisc in 1982, and SelectaVision CED disc. Some of the music was changed for the 1992 VHS Hi-Fi re-release.\n\n*Catch-22* was re-released to DVD by [Paramount Home Entertainment](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paramount_Home_Entertainment \"Paramount Home Entertainment\") on May 21, 2013; a previous version was released on May 22, 2001. The DVD contains commentary by director Mike Nichols moderated by [Steven Soderbergh](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Steven_Soderbergh \"Steven Soderbergh\"). [Shout! Studios](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shout!_Studios \"Shout! Studios\") is scheduled to release the film on 4K Blu-ray on October 28, 2025.\n\n## Reception\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=11 \"Edit section: Reception\")\\]\n\n### Critical reaction\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=12 \"Edit section: Critical reaction\")\\]\n\nOn the [review aggregator](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Review_aggregator \"Review aggregator\") website [Rotten Tomatoes](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rotten_Tomatoes \"Rotten Tomatoes\"), 81% of 31 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2\/10. The website's consensus reads: \"*Catch-22* takes entertainingly chaotic aim at the insanity of armed combat, supported by a terrific cast and smart, funny work from Buck Henry and Mike Nichols.\"[\\[22\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-23) [Metacritic](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Metacritic \"Metacritic\"), which uses a [weighted average](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Weighted_arithmetic_mean \"Weighted arithmetic mean\"), assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating \"generally favorable\" reviews.[\\[23\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-24)\n\n[Vincent Canby](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vincent_Canby \"Vincent Canby\") of *[The New York Times](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_New_York_Times \"The New York Times\")* praised the film as \"the most moving, the most intelligent, the most humane--oh, to hell with it!--it's the best American film I've seen this year.\" He felt the film was \"complete and consistent\", and commended its balance of comedy and seriousness as well as the ensemble cast.[\\[9\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Canby-9) In a cover story about Mike Nichols, *[Time](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Time_\$magazine\$ \"Time (magazine)\")* wrote \"It is the book's cold rage that he has nurtured. In the jokes that matter, the film is as hard as a diamond, cold to the touch and brilliant to the eye. To Nichols, *Catch-22* is 'about dying'; to Arkin, it is 'about selfishness'; to audiences, it will be a memorable horror comedy of war, with the accent on horror.\"[\\[24\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-25) [Roger Ebert](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Roger_Ebert \"Roger Ebert\") of the *[Chicago Sun-Times](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_Sun-Times \"Chicago Sun-Times\")* gave the film 3 stars out of 4, calling it \"a disappointment, and not simply because it fails to do justice to the Heller novel.\" Ebert wrote there were \"some fine moments\" in *Catch 22*, but he condemned the shift in tone from farcical satire in the first half of the film to gore and violence in the final scenes. He also felt the Arkin was \"a tremendously gifted actor\" but it was an error for him to play Yosarrian as an edgy paranoid, when \"the point of the performance should be precisely that he isn’t nuts\". The other cast members were not believable in their roles, apart from Perkins, and as a result \"the characters don’t come across as human\". Nichols's film used a fashionable anti-war message without, as Ebert wrote, \"realizing that for Heller World War II was symbolic of a much larger disease: life.\"[\\[25\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-26) Similarly, [Gene Siskel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Siskel \"Gene Siskel\") for the *[Chicago Tribune](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_Tribune \"Chicago Tribune\")* gave the film 2\\+1⁄2 stars out of four arguing the film \"spends too much time accommodating a huge cast\", and instead the film should have properly focused on \"Yossarian's combat, with the catch into his head where it belongs\". Nevertheless, he wrote \"The film's technical credits, photography, and special effects are uniformly outstanding. Of the huge supporting cast, Dick Benjamin, Bob Newhart, and Jack Gilford are the best.\"[\\[26\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-27) [Charles Champlin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charles_Champlin \"Charles Champlin\"), reviewing for the *[Los Angeles Times](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Los_Angeles_Times \"Los Angeles Times\")*, felt that *Catch-22* is awfully good, and also a disappointment: Chilly brilliant at its best but flawed at last by its detachment and by its failure to catch fire and give off heat. Its fury is cold and intellectual and cannot reach us or involve us at gut level.\"[\\[27\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-28)\n\n[Richard Schickel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Schickel \"Richard Schickel\") in *[LIFE](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/LIFE_Magazine \"LIFE Magazine\")* panned the film, saying it failed to translate what made Joseph Heller's novel a generational phenomenon to the screen. In his review entitled \"One of our novels is missing,\" Schickel wrote:\n\n> Mike Nichols' movie version of the novel is, in tone, as hot and heavy as the original was cool and light. Charitably, one might say that he was seeking the visual equivalent of the book's verbal style. But he failed abysmally, and in the process he and Writer Buck Henry have mislaid every bit of the humor that made the novel emotionally bearable and esthetically memorable, replacing it with desperately earnest proof they hate war.... \\[T\\]he key to the film's almost total failure lies in its restructuring of the novel. It is shot as if it were a single hallucinatory flashback suffered by Yossarian, Heller's Everyman-turned-Bombardier.... Far from seeming wild and free, this dream structure struck me as inhumanly manipulative, for it imposes on both the material and the audience a single, simple point of view: *I'm crazy, they're crazy, we're all crazy in this crazy world*. The characters can't wiggle free of it and live for so much as a single wayward, truly human moment. We, as an audience, are never allowed to think, feel, respond as we will. We are as trapped at a single level of response as ever we were in those hack war movies Nichols mocks.[\\[28\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-LIFE_Magazine-29)\n\nIn later years, film historians and reviewers Jack Harwick and Ed Schnepf characterized the film as deeply flawed, calling Henry's screenplay disjointed, and claimed its only redeeming features were the limited aerial sequences.[\\[29\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-30)\n\n### Box office\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=13 \"Edit section: Box office\")\\]\n\nUpon the initial release, *Catch-22* earned US\\$24.9 million out of the budget of US\\$18 million, earning it a spot in the top ten box office hits of 1970, but falling short of being profitable.[\\[30\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-31) It was director [Mike Nichols](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mike_Nichols \"Mike Nichols\")' third film, after the acclaimed *[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Who%27s_Afraid_of_Virginia_Woolf%3F_\$film\$ \"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)\")* and *[The Graduate](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Graduate \"The Graduate\")*. It was not regarded as a comparable success, earning less money and critical acclaim than the film version of *[MASH](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MASH_\$film\$ \"MASH (film)\")*, another war-themed [black comedy](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Black_comedy \"Black comedy\") released earlier the same year. In addition, some critics believed that the film appeared as Americans were becoming more resentful of the bitter and ugly experience of the Vietnam War, leading to a general decline in the interest of war pictures, with the notable exceptions of *MASH* and *[Patton](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Patton_\$film\$ \"Patton (film)\")*.[\\[12\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Orriss_p._189-12) Critic Lucia Bozzola wrote \"Paramount spent a great deal of money on *Catch-22*, but it wound up getting trumped by another 1970 antiwar farce: [Robert Altman](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Robert_Altman \"Robert Altman\")'s *MASH*.\"[\\[31\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-variety-bozzola-32)\n\n## Adaptations in other media\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=14 \"Edit section: Adaptations in other media\")\\]\n\nA [pilot episode](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Television_pilot \"Television pilot\") for a *Catch-22* television series was aired on ABC in 1973, with [Richard Dreyfuss](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Dreyfuss \"Richard Dreyfuss\") in the Captain Yossarian role.[\\[32\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-33)\n\nA six-part *[Catch 22](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$miniseries\$ \"Catch-22 (miniseries)\")* miniseries, produced by [Hulu](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hulu \"Hulu\") and [Sky Italia](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sky_Italia \"Sky Italia\"), premiered worldwide in 2019.\n\nThere have been other films with \"Catch-22\" in their names, including the documentary *Catch-22* (2007) and the short films *Catch 22: The New Contract* (2009) and *Catch22* (2010), but they have been unrelated to either the book or film adaptation.[\\[33\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-34)\n\n## In popular culture\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=15 \"Edit section: In popular culture\")\\]\n\nThe anti-war song \"Survivor Guilt\" by [punk rock](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Punk_rock \"Punk rock\") band [Rise Against](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rise_Against \"Rise Against\") features samples of dialog from the movie, specifically the discussion between Nately and the old man about the fall of great countries and potential fall of the US, and their argument about the phrase \"It's better to live on your feet than die on your knees.\" The same excerpts from the film previously were used by lead singer Tim McIlrath, in the song \"Burden\", recorded by his former band, Baxter.[\\[34\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-35)\n\n## See also\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=16 \"Edit section: See also\")\\]\n\n- [List of American films of 1970](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_American_films_of_1970 \"List of American films of 1970\")\n\n## References\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=17 \"Edit section: References\")\\]\n\n### Notes\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=18 \"Edit section: Notes\")\\]\n\n1. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-14)** Most of the aerial footage was unused due to a directorial conflict between Nichols and Tallman, head of the Air Operations and Aerial Unit.\n\n### Citations\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=19 \"Edit section: Citations\")\\]\n\n1. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-1)**\n   [\"Catch-22, Box Office Information\"](http:\/\/www.the-numbers.com\/movies\/1970\/0CT22.php). *[The Numbers](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Numbers_\$website\$ \"The Numbers (website)\")*. Retrieved May 23, 2012.\n2. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-paula_2-0)**\n   Vagg, Stephen (August 12, 2025). [\"Not Quite Movie Stars: Paula Prentiss\"](https:\/\/www.filmink.com.au\/not-quite-movie-stars-paula-prentiss\/). *Filmink*. Retrieved August 12, 2025.\n3. ^ [***a***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-:0_3-0) [***b***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-:0_3-1) [***c***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-:0_3-2)\n   [\"Catch-22\"](https:\/\/catalog.afi.com\/Film\/23456-CATCH-22?cxt=filmography). *AFI Catalog*. Retrieved April 20, 2023.\n4. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-simon_4-0)**\n   [Michaels, Sean](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sean_Michaels_\$writer\$ \"Sean Michaels (writer)\") (February 13, 2013). [\"Art Garfunkel implicates film director Mike Nichols in split with Paul Simon\"](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2013\/feb\/12\/art-garfunkel-paul-simon). *[The Guardian](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Guardian \"The Guardian\")*. Retrieved October 2, 2024.\n5. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-5)**\n   [Ephron, Nora](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nora_Ephron \"Nora Ephron\") (March 16, 1969). [\"Yossarian Is Alive And Well in the Mexican Desert\"](https:\/\/movies2.nytimes.com\/books\/98\/02\/15\/home\/heller-yossarian.html). *[The New York Times](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_New_York_Times \"The New York Times\")*. Retrieved October 23, 2020.\n6. ^ [***a***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Editor_6-0) [***b***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Editor_6-1) Tallman 2008, p. 15 (Editor's Note).\n7. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-7)** Nichols and Soderbergh 2001\n8. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-variety_8-0)** McCarthy, Todd. [\"Catch-22 (Review).\"](https:\/\/variety.com\/1969\/film\/reviews\/catch-22-1200422261\/) *[Variety](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Variety_\$magazine\$ \"Variety (magazine)\")*, December 31, 1969.\n9. ^ [***a***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Canby_9-0) [***b***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Canby_9-1)\n   Canby, Vincent (June 28, 1970). [\"A Triumphant 'Catch'\"](https:\/\/movies2.nytimes.com\/books\/98\/02\/15\/home\/heller-canby.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved October 23, 2020.\n10. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-10)** Evans 2000, p. 38.\n11. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-11)** [\"B-25H 43-4432\"](https:\/\/b-25history.org\/aircraft\/434432.htm) *B-25 History Project.* Retrieved 23 July 2024.\n12. ^ [***a***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Orriss_p._189_12-0) [***b***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Orriss_p._189_12-1) Orriss 1984, p. 189.\n13. ^ [***a***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Farmer_p._59_13-0) [***b***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Farmer_p._59_13-1) Farmer 1972, p. 59.\n14. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-15)** Farmer 1972, pp. 20–21.\n15. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-16)** Thompson 1980, p. 75.\n16. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-17)** Farmer 1972, p. 23.\n17. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-18)** Farmer 1972, pp. 58–59.\n18. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-nasm_19-0)** [\"National Air and Space Museum Collections Database.\"](http:\/\/www.nasm.si.edu\/collections\/artifact.cfm?id=A19860003000) [Archived](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20110402204004\/http:\/\/www.nasm.si.edu\/collections\/artifact.cfm?id=A19860003000) 2011-04-02 at the [Wayback Machine](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wayback_Machine \"Wayback Machine\") *[Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Smithsonian_Institution \"Smithsonian Institution\")*. Retrieved: April 16, 2008.\n19. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-The_70's_movies_Rewind_20-0)** Conant, Richard. [\"The 70's movies Rewind.\"](http:\/\/70s.fast-rewind.com\/) [Archived](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20090605201308\/http:\/\/70s.fast-rewind.com\/) 2009-06-05 at the [Wayback Machine](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wayback_Machine \"Wayback Machine\") *70s.fast-rewind.com*. Retrieved: June 27, 2009.\n20. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-21)**\n    \"Mike Nichols To Unveil 'Catch' Footage at Frisco\". *[Variety](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Variety_\$magazine\$ \"Variety (magazine)\")*. October 15, 1969. p. 19.\n21. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-22)**\n    \"Catch-22 (advertisement)\". *[Variety](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Variety_\$magazine\$ \"Variety (magazine)\")*. June 17, 1970. p. 12.\n22. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-23)**\n    [\"Catch-22 (1970)\"](https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/catch22). *[Rotten Tomatoes](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rotten_Tomatoes \"Rotten Tomatoes\")*. [Fandango Media](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fandango_Media \"Fandango Media\"). Retrieved November 20, 2022.\n23. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-24)**\n    [\"Catch-22 Reviews\"](https:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/movie\/catch-22). *[Metacritic](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Metacritic \"Metacritic\")*. [Fandom, Inc.](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fandom_\$website\$#Fandom,_Inc. \"Fandom (website)\") Retrieved November 20, 2022.\n24. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-25)**\n    [\"Cinema: Some are More Yossarian than Others\"](https:\/\/time.com\/3597288\/some-are-more-yossarian-than-others\/). *Time*. Vol. 95, no. 24. June 14, 1970. pp. 66–74. Retrieved October 23, 2020.\n    \n    [![Open access icon](https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/77\/Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg\/20px-Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg.png)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Open_access \"open access publication – free to read\")\n25. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-26)**\n    Ebert, Roger (June 1970). [\"Catch-22 movie review & film summary (1970)\"](https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/catch-22-1970). *Chicago Sun-Times*. Retrieved October 23, 2020 – via [RogerEbert.com](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/RogerEbert.com \"RogerEbert.com\").\n26. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-27)** Siskel, Gene (June 26, 1970). [\"Movie Review: 'Catch-22'\"](https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/clip\/61571700\/gene-siskels-review-of-catch-22\/). *Chicago Tribune*. Section 2, p. 1 – via [Newspapers.com](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Newspapers.com \"Newspapers.com\"). [![Open access icon](https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/77\/Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg\/20px-Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg.png)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Open_access \"open access publication – free to read\")\n27. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-28)**\n    Champlin, Charles (June 28, 1970). [\"Heller's Novel 'Catch-22' Becomes a Big, Icy Movie\"](https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/newspage\/165955651\/). *Los Angeles Times*. pp. 1, 20, 22. Retrieved October 23, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.\n28. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-LIFE_Magazine_29-0)**\n    \"One of our novels is missing\". *LIFE Magazine*. **69** (1): 12. July 4, 1970.\n29. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-30)** Harwick and Schnepf 1989, p. 62.\n30. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-31)**\n    [\"Catch-22 (1970) - Financial Information\"](https:\/\/www.the-numbers.com\/movie\/Catch-22). *The Numbers*. Retrieved June 2, 2022.\n31. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-variety-bozzola_32-0)**\n    Bozzola, Lucia (2007). [\"Catch-22 (overview)\"](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20071019075708\/http:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/8628\/Catch-22\/overview). Movies & TV Dept. *[The New York Times](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_New_York_Times \"The New York Times\")*. Archived from [the original](https:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/8628\/Catch-22\/overview) on October 19, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2008.\n32. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-33)** [\"Catch 22 (1973).\"](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20130723134103\/http:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/463102\/Catch-22\/) *Turner Classic Movies*. Retrieved: November 20, 2011.\n33. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-34)** [\"Catch-22.\"](https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/find?q=Catch-22&s=all) *IMDb.* Retrieved: November 20, 2011.\n34. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-35)** [\"Reviews: \"File under: Rejuvenated political punk (from Rise Against Endgame).\"](http:\/\/www.altpress.com\/reviews\/entry\/rise_against_endgame) [Archived](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20140317020334\/http:\/\/www.altpress.com\/reviews\/entry\/rise_against_endgame) March 17, 2014, at the [Wayback Machine](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wayback_Machine \"Wayback Machine\") *altpress.com*, March 15, 2011. Retrieved: May 22, 2012.\n\n### Bibliography\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=20 \"Edit section: Bibliography\")\\]\n\n- Bennighof, James. *The Words and Music of Paul Simon*. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007.\n  [ISBN](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ISBN_\$identifier\$ \"ISBN (identifier)\")\n  [978-0-27599-163-0](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:BookSources\/978-0-27599-163-0 \"Special:BookSources\/978-0-27599-163-0\")\n  .\n- Evans, Alun. *Brassey's Guide to War Films*. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000.\n  [ISBN](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ISBN_\$identifier\$ \"ISBN (identifier)\")\n  [1-57488-263-5](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:BookSources\/1-57488-263-5 \"Special:BookSources\/1-57488-263-5\")\n  .\n- Farmer, James H. \"The Catch-22 Air Force.\" Air Classics, Volume 8, No. 14, December 1972.\n- Harwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. \"A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies\". *The Making of the Great Aviation Films*, General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.\n- Nichols, Mike and Steven Soderbergh. \"Commentary.\" *Catch-22 DVD* (Special Features). Los Angeles: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, 2001.\n- Orriss, Bruce. *When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II*. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984.\n  [ISBN](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ISBN_\$identifier\$ \"ISBN (identifier)\")\n  [0-9613088-0-X](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:BookSources\/0-9613088-0-X \"Special:BookSources\/0-9613088-0-X\")\n  .\n- Tallman, Frank. \"The Making of Catch-22.\" *Warbirds International*, Vol. 27, no. 4, May\/June 2008.\n- Thegze, Chuck \"I See Everything Twice\": An Examination of Catch-22, University of California Press.\n- Thompson, Scott A. \"Hollywood Mitchells.\" *Air Classics*, Vol. 16, No. 9, September 1980.\n\n## External links\n\\[[edit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&action=edit&section=21 \"Edit section: External links\")\\]\n\n[![logo](https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/f\/fa\/Wikiquote-logo.svg\/40px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Wikiquote-logo.svg)\n\nWikiquote has quotations related to ***[Catch-22 (film)](https:\/\/en.wikiquote.org\/wiki\/Special:Search\/Catch-22_\$film\$ \"q:Special:Search\/Catch-22 (film)\")***.\n\n[![logo](https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/4\/4a\/Commons-logo.svg\/40px-Commons-logo.svg.png)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Commons-logo.svg)\n\nWikimedia Commons has media related to [Catch-22 (film)](https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Category:Catch-22_\$film\$ \"commons:Category:Catch-22 (film)\").\n\n- [*Catch-22*](https:\/\/catalog.afi.com\/Catalog\/moviedetails\/23456) at the *[AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/AFI_Catalog_of_Feature_Films \"AFI Catalog of Feature Films\")*\n- [*Catch-22*](https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0065528\/) at [IMDb](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/IMDb_\$identifier\$ \"IMDb (identifier)\")\n- [*Catch-22*](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/*\/https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/16665\/enwp) at the [TCM Movie Database](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Turner_Classic_Movies#TCMdb \"Turner Classic Movies\") (archived version)\n- [*Catch-22*](https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/catch22) at [Rotten Tomatoes](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rotten_Tomatoes \"Rotten Tomatoes\")\n- [Catch-22 camera aircraft history](https:\/\/www.aerovintage.com\/tallmantz-aviation\/tallmantz-n1203\/) [Archived](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20211121054107\/http:\/\/www.aerovintage.com\/N1203.htm) 2021-11-21 at the [Wayback Machine](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wayback_Machine \"Wayback Machine\")\n\n| [v](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Template:Catch-22 \"Template:Catch-22\") [t](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Template_talk:Catch-22 \"Template talk:Catch-22\") [e](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:EditPage\/Template:Catch-22 \"Special:EditPage\/Template:Catch-22\")[Joseph Heller's](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Joseph_Heller \"Joseph Heller\") *[Catch-22](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22 \"Catch-22\")* |   |\n|---|---|\n| Catch-22 | *[Catch-22](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22 \"Catch-22\")* *[Closing Time](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Closing_Time_\$novel\$ \"Closing Time (novel)\")* [*Catch-22* (film)]() [*Catch-22* (play)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$play\$ \"Catch-22 (play)\") [*Clevinger's Trial* (play)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Clevinger%27s_Trial \"Clevinger's Trial\") [*Catch-22* (miniseries)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$miniseries\$ \"Catch-22 (miniseries)\") [Catch-22 (logic)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$logic\$ \"Catch-22 (logic)\") |\n| [Characters](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_Catch-22_characters \"List of Catch-22 characters\") | [John Yossarian](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yossarian \"Yossarian\") [Capt. Aardvark](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Captain_Aardvark \"Captain Aardvark\") [Chaplain Tappman](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chaplain_Tappman \"Chaplain Tappman\") [Col. Cathcart](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Colonel_Cathcart \"Colonel Cathcart\") [Doc Daneeka](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Doc_Daneeka \"Doc Daneeka\") [Major Major Major Major](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Major_Major_Major_Major \"Major Major Major Major\") [Milo Minderbinder](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milo_Minderbinder \"Milo Minderbinder\") [Nately](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nately \"Nately\") [Orr](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orr_\$Catch-22\$ \"Orr (Catch-22)\") [Scheisskopf](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Scheisskopf \"Scheisskopf\") |\n\n| [v](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Template:Mike_Nichols \"Template:Mike Nichols\") [t](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Template_talk:Mike_Nichols \"Template talk:Mike Nichols\") [e](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:EditPage\/Template:Mike_Nichols \"Special:EditPage\/Template:Mike Nichols\")[Mike Nichols](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mike_Nichols \"Mike Nichols\") |   |\n|---|---|\n| [On screen and stage](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mike_Nichols_on_screen_and_stage \"Mike Nichols on screen and stage\") [Awards and nominations](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Mike_Nichols \"List of awards and nominations received by Mike Nichols\") [Unrealized projects](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mike_Nichols%27_unrealized_projects \"Mike Nichols' unrealized projects\") |   |\n| Feature films | *[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Who%27s_Afraid_of_Virginia_Woolf%3F_\$film\$ \"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)\")* (1966) *[The Graduate](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Graduate \"The Graduate\")* (1967) *[Catch-22]()* (1970) *[Carnal Knowledge](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Carnal_Knowledge_\$film\$ \"Carnal Knowledge (film)\")* (1971) *[The Day of the Dolphin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Day_of_the_Dolphin \"The Day of the Dolphin\")* (1973) *[The Fortune](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Fortune \"The Fortune\")* (1975) *[Gilda Live](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gilda_Live \"Gilda Live\")* (1980) *[Silkwood](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Silkwood \"Silkwood\")* (1983) *[Heartburn](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Heartburn_\$film\$ \"Heartburn (film)\")* (1986) *[Biloxi Blues](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Biloxi_Blues_\$film\$ \"Biloxi Blues (film)\")* (1988) *[Working Girl](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Working_Girl \"Working Girl\")* (1988) *[Postcards from the Edge](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Postcards_from_the_Edge_\$film\$ \"Postcards from the Edge (film)\")* (1990) *[Regarding Henry](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Regarding_Henry \"Regarding Henry\")* (1991) *[Wolf](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wolf_\$1994_film\$ \"Wolf (1994 film)\")* (1994) *[The Birdcage](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Birdcage \"The Birdcage\")* (1996) *[Primary Colors](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Primary_Colors_\$film\$ \"Primary Colors (film)\")* (1998) *[What Planet Are You From?](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/What_Planet_Are_You_From%3F \"What Planet Are You From?\")* (2000) *[Closer](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Closer_\$film\$ \"Closer (film)\")* (2004) *[Charlie Wilson's War](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charlie_Wilson%27s_War_\$film\$ \"Charlie Wilson's War (film)\")* (2007) |\n| Television | *[Wit](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wit_\$film\$ \"Wit (film)\")* (2001) *[Angels in America](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Angels_in_America_\$miniseries\$ \"Angels in America (miniseries)\")* (2003) |\n| Related | [Nichols and May](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nichols_and_May \"Nichols and May\") *[Mike Nichols: American Masters](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mike_Nichols:_American_Masters \"Mike Nichols: American Masters\")* (2016 documentary) *[Becoming Mike Nichols](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Becoming_Mike_Nichols \"Becoming Mike Nichols\")* (2016 documentary) |\n\n| [v](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Template:Buck_Henry \"Template:Buck Henry\") [t](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Template_talk:Buck_Henry \"Template talk:Buck Henry\") [e](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:EditPage\/Template:Buck_Henry \"Special:EditPage\/Template:Buck Henry\")Films by [Buck Henry](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Buck_Henry \"Buck Henry\") |   |\n|---|---|\n| As director | *[Heaven Can Wait](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Heaven_Can_Wait_\$1978_film\$ \"Heaven Can Wait (1978 film)\")* (1978) *[First Family](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/First_Family_\$film\$ \"First Family (film)\")* (1980) |\n| As writer | *[The Troublemaker](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Troublemaker_\$1964_film\$ \"The Troublemaker (1964 film)\")* (1964) *[The Graduate](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Graduate \"The Graduate\")* (1967) *[Candy](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Candy_\$1968_film\$ \"Candy (1968 film)\")* (1968) *[Catch-22]()* (1970) *[The Owl and the Pussycat](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Owl_and_the_Pussycat_\$film\$ \"The Owl and the Pussycat (film)\")* (1970) *[What's Up, Doc?](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/What%27s_Up,_Doc%3F_\$1972_film\$ \"What's Up, Doc? (1972 film)\")* (1972) *[The Day of the Dolphin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Day_of_the_Dolphin \"The Day of the Dolphin\")* (1973) *[Protocol](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Protocol_\$film\$ \"Protocol (film)\")* (1984) *[To Die For](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/To_Die_For \"To Die For\")* (1995) *[Town & Country](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Town_%26_Country_\$film\$ \"Town & Country (film)\")* (2001) *[The Humbling](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Humbling_\$film\$ \"The Humbling (film)\")* (2014) |\n\n![](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:CentralAutoLogin\/start?useformat=desktop&type=1x1&usesul3=1)\n\nRetrieved from \"<https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_(film)&oldid=1339536349>\"\n\n[Categories](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Help:Category \"Help:Category\"):\n\n- [1970 films](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Category:1970_films \"Category:1970 films\")\n- [Catch-22](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Category:Catch-22 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under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License \"Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License\"); additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the [Terms of Use](https:\/\/foundation.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Special:MyLanguage\/Policy:Terms_of_Use \"foundation:Special:MyLanguage\/Policy:Terms of Use\") and [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/foundation.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Special:MyLanguage\/Policy:Privacy_policy \"foundation:Special:MyLanguage\/Policy:Privacy policy\"). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the [Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.](https:\/\/wikimediafoundation.org\/), a non-profit organization.\n\n- [Privacy policy](https:\/\/foundation.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Special:MyLanguage\/Policy:Privacy_policy)\n- [About Wikipedia](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:About)\n- [Disclaimers](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer)\n- [Contact Wikipedia](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:Contact_us)\n- [Legal & safety contacts](https:\/\/foundation.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Special:MyLanguage\/Legal:Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contact_Information)\n- [Code of Conduct](https:\/\/foundation.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Special:MyLanguage\/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct)\n- [Developers](https:\/\/developer.wikimedia.org\/)\n- [Statistics](https:\/\/stats.wikimedia.org\/#\/en.wikipedia.org)\n- [Cookie statement](https:\/\/foundation.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Special:MyLanguage\/Policy:Cookie_statement)\n- [Mobile view](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Catch-22_\$film\$&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile)\n\n- [![Wikimedia Foundation](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/static\/images\/footer\/wikimedia.svg)](https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/)\n- [![Powered by MediaWiki](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/resources\/assets\/mediawiki_compact.svg)](https:\/\/www.mediawiki.org\/)\n\nSearch\n\nToggle the table of contents\n\n*Catch-22* (film)\n\n21 languages\n\n[Add topic](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$)","attrs_readable_markdown":"| Catch-22 |   |\n|---|---|\n| [![](https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/d\/d6\/Catch-22_poster.jpg)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Catch-22_poster.jpg)Theatrical release poster |   |\n| Directed by | [Mike Nichols](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mike_Nichols \"Mike Nichols\") |\n| Screenplay by | [Buck Henry](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Buck_Henry \"Buck Henry\") |\n| Based on | *[Catch-22](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22 \"Catch-22\")* by [Joseph Heller](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Joseph_Heller \"Joseph Heller\") |\n| Produced by | [John Calley](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Calley \"John Calley\") [Martin Ransohoff](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Ransohoff \"Martin Ransohoff\") |\n| Starring | [Alan Arkin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alan_Arkin \"Alan Arkin\") [Martin Balsam](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Balsam \"Martin Balsam\") [Richard Benjamin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Benjamin \"Richard Benjamin\") [Art Garfunkel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Art_Garfunkel \"Art Garfunkel\") [Jack Gilford](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jack_Gilford \"Jack Gilford\") Buck Henry [Bob Newhart](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Newhart \"Bob Newhart\") [Anthony Perkins](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anthony_Perkins \"Anthony Perkins\") [Paula Prentiss](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paula_Prentiss \"Paula Prentiss\") [Martin Sheen](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Sheen \"Martin Sheen\") [Jon Voight](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jon_Voight \"Jon Voight\") [Orson Welles](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orson_Welles \"Orson Welles\") |\n| Cinematography | [David Watkin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/David_Watkin_\$cinematographer\$ \"David Watkin (cinematographer)\") |\n| Edited by | [Sam O'Steen](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sam_O%27Steen \"Sam O'Steen\") |\n| Music by | [Richard Strauss](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Strauss \"Richard Strauss\") |\n| Production companies | [Filmways](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Filmways \"Filmways\") [Paramount Pictures](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paramount_Pictures \"Paramount Pictures\") |\n| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |\n| Release date | June 24, 1970 |\n| Running time | 122 minutes |\n| Country | United States |\n| Language | English |\n| Budget | \\$18 million |\n| Box office | \\$24.9 million[\\[1\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-1) |\n\n***Catch-22*** is a 1970 American [satirical](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Satirical \"Satirical\") [comedy](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Comedy \"Comedy\") [war film](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/War_film \"War film\") adapted from the 1961 [novel of the same name](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22 \"Catch-22\") by [Joseph Heller](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Joseph_Heller \"Joseph Heller\"). In creating a black comedy revolving around the \"lunatic characters\" of Heller's satirical [anti-war](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anti-war \"Anti-war\") [novel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Novel \"Novel\") set at a fictional [Mediterranean](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mediterranean_Sea \"Mediterranean Sea\") base during [World War II](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/World_War_II \"World War II\"), director [Mike Nichols](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mike_Nichols \"Mike Nichols\") and screenwriter [Buck Henry](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Buck_Henry \"Buck Henry\") (also in the cast) worked on the film script for two years, converting Heller's complex novel to the medium of film.\n\nThe cast included [Alan Arkin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alan_Arkin \"Alan Arkin\"), [Bob Balaban](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Balaban \"Bob Balaban\"), [Martin Balsam](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Balsam \"Martin Balsam\"), [Richard Benjamin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Benjamin \"Richard Benjamin\"), Italian actress [Olimpia Carlisi](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Olimpia_Carlisi \"Olimpia Carlisi\"), French comedian [Marcel Dalio](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marcel_Dalio \"Marcel Dalio\"), [Art Garfunkel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Art_Garfunkel \"Art Garfunkel\") in his acting debut, [Jack Gilford](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jack_Gilford \"Jack Gilford\"), [Charles Grodin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charles_Grodin \"Charles Grodin\"), [Bob Newhart](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Newhart \"Bob Newhart\"), [Anthony Perkins](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anthony_Perkins \"Anthony Perkins\"), [Austin Pendleton](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Austin_Pendleton \"Austin Pendleton\"), [Paula Prentiss](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paula_Prentiss \"Paula Prentiss\"), [Martin Sheen](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Sheen \"Martin Sheen\"), [Jon Voight](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jon_Voight \"Jon Voight\"), and [Orson Welles](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orson_Welles \"Orson Welles\"). Garfunkel's songwriting partner [Paul Simon](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paul_Simon \"Paul Simon\") also appeared, but his scenes were cut.\n\n[![](https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/3\/38\/AL77A-126_%2814334553607%29.jpg\/330px-AL77A-126_%2814334553607%29.jpg)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:AL77A-126_\$14334553607\$.jpg)\n\nPhoto of plane crash from the film taken by a person on the set\n\nCaptain [John Yossarian](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Yossarian \"John Yossarian\"), a [U.S. Army Air Force](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/U.S._Army_Air_Force \"U.S. Army Air Force\") [B-25](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/North_American_B-25_Mitchell \"North American B-25 Mitchell\") [bombardier](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bombardier_\$air_force\$ \"Bombardier (air force)\"), is stationed on the Mediterranean base on [Pianosa](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pianosa \"Pianosa\") during World War II. Along with his squadron members, Yossarian is committed to flying dangerous missions, but after watching friends die, he seeks a means of escape.\n\nWhile most bomber crews are rotated out after 25 missions, Yossarian's commanding officer, [Colonel Cathcart](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Colonel_Cathcart \"Colonel Cathcart\"), keeps raising the minimum number of missions for this base before anyone can reach it, eventually to an unobtainable 80 missions, a figure resulting from Cathcart's craving for publicity, primarily a mention in the nationally syndicated *[Saturday Evening Post](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Saturday_Evening_Post \"Saturday Evening Post\")* magazine.\n\nFutilely appealing to Cathcart, Yossarian learns that even a [mental breakdown](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mental_breakdown \"Mental breakdown\") is no release when [Doc Daneeka](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Doc_Daneeka \"Doc Daneeka\") explains the \"Catch-22\" the Army Air Force employs:\n\n> An airman would have to be crazy to fly more missions, and if he were crazy, he would be unfit to fly. Yet, if an airman were to refuse to fly more missions, this would indicate that he is sane, which would mean that he would be fit to fly the missions. The airman is thus in an impossible \"damned if you do, damned if you don't\" situation.\n\nYossarian is haunted, in several recurring flashbacks during the film, by the bloody death of [Snowden](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Snowden_\$character\$ \"Snowden (character)\"), the young turret gunner on his B-25. After Snowden's death, Yossarian temporarily refuses to wear his uniform, which Snowden bled on. He shows up at a medal ceremony naked, and later morosely sits naked in a tree, where he is visited by Lieutenant [Milo Minderbinder](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milo_Minderbinder \"Milo Minderbinder\"), who rapidly progresses from squadron supply officer to a capitalistic tycoon involved in black-market money-making schemes. The bomber squadron is populated by many other comically strange characters. [Major Major](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Major_Major_Major_Major \"Major Major Major Major\"), the squadron's operations officer, is promoted to a squadron commander without ever having flown in a plane and refuses to see anyone in his office while he is in, instructing [Sergeant Towser](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sergeant_Towser \"Sergeant Towser\") that people can see him when he's out. The person has to wait in the waiting room until Major Major is gone, then can go right in.\n\nTrapped by this convoluted logic, Yossarian watches as individuals in the squadron resort to unusual means to cope; Milo concocts elaborate black market schemes while crazed Captain [\"Aarfy\" Aardvark](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Captain_Aardvark \"Captain Aardvark\") commits murder to silence a girl he has raped. Lieutenant [Nately](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nately \"Nately\") falls for a sex worker, [Major Danby](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Major_Danby \"Major Danby\") delivers goofy pep talks before every bomb run, and Captain [Orr](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orr_\$Catch-22\$ \"Orr (Catch-22)\") keeps crashing at sea. Meanwhile, [Nurse Duckett](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nurse_Duckett \"Nurse Duckett\") occasionally beds Yossarian.\n\nNately dies as a result of an agreement between Milo and the Germans, trading surplus cotton in exchange for the squadron bombing its own base. While on a pass, Yossarian shares this news with Nately's romantic partner, who then tries to kill him.\n\nBecause of Yossarian's constant complaints, Cathcart and [Lieutenant Colonel Korn](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lieutenant_Colonel_Korn \"Lieutenant Colonel Korn\") eventually agree to send him home, promising him a promotion to major and awarding him a medal for the fictitious saving of Cathcart's life; the only requirement being that Yossarian agrees to \"like\" the colonels and praise them when he gets home.\n\nImmediately after agreeing to Cathcart's and Korn's plan, Yossarian survives an attempt on his life when stabbed by Nately's partner, who had disguised herself as a janitor. Once recovered, Yossarian learns from Danby and [Chaplain Tappman](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chaplain_Tappman \"Chaplain Tappman\") that Orr's supposed death was a hoax and that Orr's repeated \"crash\" landings had been a subterfuge for practicing and planning his own escape from the madness. Yossarian is informed that Orr ditched the plane and paddled a rescue raft all the way to Sweden on his last run.\n\nYossarian decides to abandon the deal with Cathcart, leaps out of the hospital window, takes a raft from a damaged plane and, while a marching band practices for the ceremony to award Yossarian the promotion and medal, he hops into the sea, climbs into the raft and starts paddling.\n\nMain cast (as appearing in screen credits):\n\n- [Alan Arkin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alan_Arkin \"Alan Arkin\") as [Captain John Yossarian](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yossarian \"Yossarian\") (Bombardier)\n- [Bob Balaban](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Balaban \"Bob Balaban\") as [Captain Orr](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orr_\$Catch-22\$ \"Orr (Catch-22)\") (Bomber Pilot)\n- [Martin Balsam](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Balsam \"Martin Balsam\") as [Colonel Chuck Cathcart](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Colonel_Cathcart \"Colonel Cathcart\") (Group Commander, 256th Bomb Group)\n- [Richard Benjamin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Benjamin \"Richard Benjamin\") as Major Danby (Group Operations Officer)\n- [Susanne Benton](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Susanne_Benton \"Susanne Benton\") as Dreedle's [WAC](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Women%27s_Army_Corps \"Women's Army Corps\")\n- [Olimpia Carlisi](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Olimpia_Carlisi \"Olimpia Carlisi\") as Luciana, the Alluring Passerby\n- [Marcel Dalio](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marcel_Dalio \"Marcel Dalio\") as Old Man in Whorehouse\n- [Norman Fell](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Norman_Fell \"Norman Fell\") as First Sgt. Towser (Major Major's Desk Clerk, later Acting Squadron Commander)\n- [Art Garfunkel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Art_Garfunkel \"Art Garfunkel\") (billed Arthur Garfunkel) as [Lt. Edward J. Nately III](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nately \"Nately\") (Pilot)\n- [Jack Gilford](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jack_Gilford \"Jack Gilford\") as Dr. \"Doc\" Daneeka (Group Flight Surgeon)\n- [Charles Grodin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charles_Grodin \"Charles Grodin\") as [Captain \"Aarfy\" Aardvark](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Captain_Aardvark \"Captain Aardvark\") (Navigator)\n- [Buck Henry](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Buck_Henry \"Buck Henry\") as Lt. Colonel Korn (Group XO \/ Roman policeman)\n- [Bob Newhart](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bob_Newhart \"Bob Newhart\") as [Captain\/Major Major](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Major_Major_Major_Major \"Major Major Major Major\") (Laundry Officer, later Squadron Commander)\n- [Austin Pendleton](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Austin_Pendleton \"Austin Pendleton\") as Lt. Col. Moodus\n- [Anthony Perkins](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anthony_Perkins \"Anthony Perkins\") as [Capt. Fr. Albert Taylor \"A. T.\" Tappman](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chaplain_A._T._Tappman \"Chaplain A. T. Tappman\") (Chaplain)\n- [Paula Prentiss](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paula_Prentiss \"Paula Prentiss\") as Nurse Duckett (Army Medical Nurse Corps)[\\[2\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-paula-2)\n- [Martin Sheen](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Sheen \"Martin Sheen\") as 1st Lt. Dobbs (Pilot)\n- [Jon Voight](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jon_Voight \"Jon Voight\") as 1st [Lt. Milo Minderbinder](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milo_Minderbinder \"Milo Minderbinder\") (Mess Officer)\n- [Orson Welles](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orson_Welles \"Orson Welles\") as Brigadier General Dreedle (Wing Commander)\n\n[Orson Welles](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orson_Welles \"Orson Welles\") first tried to buy the rights to Heller's novel to independently produce and direct it in 1962, but was unsuccessful. He wound up cast in the role of [General Dreedle](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/General_Dreedle \"General Dreedle\").\n\n[Columbia Pictures](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Columbia_Pictures \"Columbia Pictures\") purchased the rights to it in 1965 and attempted to develop the film with [Richard Brooks](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Brooks \"Richard Brooks\") or [Richard Quine](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Quine \"Richard Quine\") as potential directors, while [Jack Lemmon](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jack_Lemmon \"Jack Lemmon\") was considered as Captain Yossarian. Heller grew dissatisfied with the two as he believed they were “incapable of pursuing the wildly satirical (and anti-military) point of view of his novel.” The studio subsequently sold the rights to [Martin Ransohoff](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Martin_Ransohoff \"Martin Ransohoff\") at [Filmways](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Filmways \"Filmways\") in 1967, which had already hired Mike Nichols to direct. Nichols originally announced that principal photography would begin in “late 1967-early 1968” in [Yugoslavia](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Socialist_Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia \"Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia\") and [Italy](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Italy \"Italy\"). However, the project was delayed for several years as Nichols and [John Calley](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Calley \"John Calley\") searched for Italian terrain that had not been destroyed by [World War II](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Military_history_of_Italy_during_World_War_II \"Military history of Italy during World War II\").\n\n*[Daily Variety](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Variety_magazine \"Variety magazine\")* in the period 1967-69 reported that [Andre Previn](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Andre_Previn \"Andre Previn\") would score the picture and that Nichols sought to cast [Walter Matthau](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Walter_Matthau \"Walter Matthau\") and [Al Pacino](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Al_Pacino \"Al Pacino\") in the movie, but none of them participated in the picture. [Stacy Keach](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stacy_Keach \"Stacy Keach\") was also cast in the film before departing a month prior to filming.[\\[3\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-:0-3)\n\nNichols eventually decided on [Mexico](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mexico \"Mexico\") as the primary shooting location of the film. Production began on January 13, 1969, at an airfield constructed for the film near [Guaymas](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Guaymas \"Guaymas\"), [Sonora](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sonora \"Sonora\"), on the [Gulf of California](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gulf_of_California \"Gulf of California\"). The filmmakers spent \\$180,000 building a five-mile highway to the site (which previously could only be accessed by boat) and an additional \\$250,000 for a 6,000-ft. runway; the airfield today is Guaymas airport. After a week of filming, Nichols sent back 200 of the American extras in order to give the base in the film a more isolated atmosphere. Welles filmed his cameo appearance as General Dreedle in eight days. Some filming also took place at the [Palazzo Farnese](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Palazzo_Farnese \"Palazzo Farnese\") and the Palazzo Navona in [Rome](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rome \"Rome\"). Production concluded in August 1969 after a final two months of interior filming in [Hollywood](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hollywood,_Los_Angeles \"Hollywood, Los Angeles\").[\\[3\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-:0-3)\n\n[Paul Simon](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paul_Simon \"Paul Simon\") was cast in a part, as was Art Garfunkel, his partner in the musical group [Simon and Garfunkel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Simon_and_Garfunkel \"Simon and Garfunkel\"). Garfunkel's part grew while Simon's part was cut from the final film, a move which contributed to the breakup of the duo, according to Garfunkel.[\\[4\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-simon-4)\n\nThe adaptation changed the book's plot. Several [story arcs](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Story_arc \"Story arc\") are left out, and many characters in the movie speak dialogue and experience events of other characters in the book.[\\[5\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-5) Despite the changes in the screenplay, Heller approved of the film, according to a commentary by Nichols and [Steven Soderbergh](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Steven_Soderbergh \"Steven Soderbergh\") included on a [DVD](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/DVD \"DVD\") release.[\\[6\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Editor-6) According to Nichols, Heller was particularly impressed with a few scenes and bits of dialogue Henry created for the film, and said he wished he could have included them in the novel.[\\[7\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-7)\n\nThe pacing of the novel *Catch-22* is frenetic, its tenor intellectual, and its tone largely [absurdist](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Absurdist_fiction \"Absurdist fiction\"),[\\[8\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-variety-8) interspersed with brief moments of gritty, almost horrific, realism. The novel did not follow a normal chronological progression; rather, it was told as a series of different and often (seemingly, until later) unrelated events, most from the point of view of the central character Yossarian. The film simplified the plot,[\\[9\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Canby-9)[\\[10\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-10) but it preserved the frenetic pacing, intellectual tenor and realistic tone of the novel.\n\n[![](https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/e\/ec\/B-25_from_movie_Catch_22_%284877655203%29.jpg\/250px-B-25_from_movie_Catch_22_%284877655203%29.jpg)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:B-25_from_movie_Catch_22_\$4877655203\$.jpg)\n\nB-25H 43-4432 featured in the film, still airworthy with the [EAA](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Experimental_Aircraft_Association \"Experimental Aircraft Association\") as of 2024.[\\[11\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-11)\n\nParamount assigned a \\$17 million budget to the production and planned to film key flying scenes for six weeks, but the aerial sequences required six months of camera work, resulting in the bombers flying about 1,500 hours.[\\[12\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Orriss_p._189-12) They appear on screen for approximately 10 minutes.[\\[13\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Farmer_p._59-13)[\\[Note 1\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-14)\n\n*Catch-22* is renowned for its role in saving the [B-25 Mitchell](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/B-25_Mitchell \"B-25 Mitchell\") aircraft from possible extinction.[\\[14\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-15) The film's budget accommodated 17 flyable B-25 Mitchells, and one hulk was acquired in Mexico, and flown with landing gear down to the [Guaymas](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Guaymas \"Guaymas\"), [Sonora](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sonora \"Sonora\"), [Mexico](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mexico \"Mexico\") filming location.[\\[6\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Editor-6) The aircraft was burned and destroyed in the crash landing scene. The wreck was then buried in the ground by the runway, where it remains.[\\[15\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-16)\n\nFor the film, prop upper turrets were installed, and to represent different models, several aircraft had turrets installed behind the wings representing early (B-25C\/D type) aircraft.[\\[13\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Farmer_p._59-13) Initially, the camera ships also had mock turrets installed, but problems with buffeting necessitated their removal.[\\[16\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-17)\n\nMany of the \"Tallmantz Air Force fleet\" went on to careers in films and television, before being sold as surplus.[\\[17\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-18) Fifteen of the 18 bombers remain intact, including one displayed at the [Smithsonian Institution](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Smithsonian_Institution \"Smithsonian Institution\")'s [National Air and Space Museum](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Air_and_Space_Museum \"National Air and Space Museum\").[\\[18\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-nasm-19)\n\nSecond unit director John Jordan refused to wear a harness during a bomber scene and fell out of the open tail turret 4,000 ft (1,200 m) into the [Pacific Ocean](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pacific_Ocean \"Pacific Ocean\") to his death.[\\[3\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-:0-3)[\\[19\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-The_70's_movies_Rewind-20)\n\nA half-hour preview of the film was held at the [San Francisco International Film Festival](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/San_Francisco_International_Film_Festival \"San Francisco International Film Festival\") on October 31, 1969.[\\[20\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-21)\n\nThe film had premieres on June 24, 1970, in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Toronto.[\\[21\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-22)\n\n*Catch-22* was released for home viewing on VHS and Beta in 1979, Laserdisc in 1982, and SelectaVision CED disc. Some of the music was changed for the 1992 VHS Hi-Fi re-release.\n\n*Catch-22* was re-released to DVD by [Paramount Home Entertainment](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paramount_Home_Entertainment \"Paramount Home Entertainment\") on May 21, 2013; a previous version was released on May 22, 2001. The DVD contains commentary by director Mike Nichols moderated by [Steven Soderbergh](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Steven_Soderbergh \"Steven Soderbergh\"). [Shout! Studios](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shout!_Studios \"Shout! Studios\") is scheduled to release the film on 4K Blu-ray on October 28, 2025.\n\nOn the [review aggregator](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Review_aggregator \"Review aggregator\") website [Rotten Tomatoes](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rotten_Tomatoes \"Rotten Tomatoes\"), 81% of 31 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2\/10. The website's consensus reads: \"*Catch-22* takes entertainingly chaotic aim at the insanity of armed combat, supported by a terrific cast and smart, funny work from Buck Henry and Mike Nichols.\"[\\[22\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-23) [Metacritic](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Metacritic \"Metacritic\"), which uses a [weighted average](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Weighted_arithmetic_mean \"Weighted arithmetic mean\"), assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating \"generally favorable\" reviews.[\\[23\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-24)\n\n[Vincent Canby](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vincent_Canby \"Vincent Canby\") of *[The New York Times](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_New_York_Times \"The New York Times\")* praised the film as \"the most moving, the most intelligent, the most humane--oh, to hell with it!--it's the best American film I've seen this year.\" He felt the film was \"complete and consistent\", and commended its balance of comedy and seriousness as well as the ensemble cast.[\\[9\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Canby-9) In a cover story about Mike Nichols, *[Time](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Time_\$magazine\$ \"Time (magazine)\")* wrote \"It is the book's cold rage that he has nurtured. In the jokes that matter, the film is as hard as a diamond, cold to the touch and brilliant to the eye. To Nichols, *Catch-22* is 'about dying'; to Arkin, it is 'about selfishness'; to audiences, it will be a memorable horror comedy of war, with the accent on horror.\"[\\[24\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-25) [Roger Ebert](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Roger_Ebert \"Roger Ebert\") of the *[Chicago Sun-Times](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_Sun-Times \"Chicago Sun-Times\")* gave the film 3 stars out of 4, calling it \"a disappointment, and not simply because it fails to do justice to the Heller novel.\" Ebert wrote there were \"some fine moments\" in *Catch 22*, but he condemned the shift in tone from farcical satire in the first half of the film to gore and violence in the final scenes. He also felt the Arkin was \"a tremendously gifted actor\" but it was an error for him to play Yosarrian as an edgy paranoid, when \"the point of the performance should be precisely that he isn’t nuts\". The other cast members were not believable in their roles, apart from Perkins, and as a result \"the characters don’t come across as human\". Nichols's film used a fashionable anti-war message without, as Ebert wrote, \"realizing that for Heller World War II was symbolic of a much larger disease: life.\"[\\[25\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-26) Similarly, [Gene Siskel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Siskel \"Gene Siskel\") for the *[Chicago Tribune](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago_Tribune \"Chicago Tribune\")* gave the film 2\\+1⁄2 stars out of four arguing the film \"spends too much time accommodating a huge cast\", and instead the film should have properly focused on \"Yossarian's combat, with the catch into his head where it belongs\". Nevertheless, he wrote \"The film's technical credits, photography, and special effects are uniformly outstanding. Of the huge supporting cast, Dick Benjamin, Bob Newhart, and Jack Gilford are the best.\"[\\[26\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-27) [Charles Champlin](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charles_Champlin \"Charles Champlin\"), reviewing for the *[Los Angeles Times](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Los_Angeles_Times \"Los Angeles Times\")*, felt that *Catch-22* is awfully good, and also a disappointment: Chilly brilliant at its best but flawed at last by its detachment and by its failure to catch fire and give off heat. Its fury is cold and intellectual and cannot reach us or involve us at gut level.\"[\\[27\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-28)\n\n[Richard Schickel](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Schickel \"Richard Schickel\") in *[LIFE](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/LIFE_Magazine \"LIFE Magazine\")* panned the film, saying it failed to translate what made Joseph Heller's novel a generational phenomenon to the screen. In his review entitled \"One of our novels is missing,\" Schickel wrote:\n\n> Mike Nichols' movie version of the novel is, in tone, as hot and heavy as the original was cool and light. Charitably, one might say that he was seeking the visual equivalent of the book's verbal style. But he failed abysmally, and in the process he and Writer Buck Henry have mislaid every bit of the humor that made the novel emotionally bearable and esthetically memorable, replacing it with desperately earnest proof they hate war.... \\[T\\]he key to the film's almost total failure lies in its restructuring of the novel. It is shot as if it were a single hallucinatory flashback suffered by Yossarian, Heller's Everyman-turned-Bombardier.... Far from seeming wild and free, this dream structure struck me as inhumanly manipulative, for it imposes on both the material and the audience a single, simple point of view: *I'm crazy, they're crazy, we're all crazy in this crazy world*. The characters can't wiggle free of it and live for so much as a single wayward, truly human moment. We, as an audience, are never allowed to think, feel, respond as we will. We are as trapped at a single level of response as ever we were in those hack war movies Nichols mocks.[\\[28\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-LIFE_Magazine-29)\n\nIn later years, film historians and reviewers Jack Harwick and Ed Schnepf characterized the film as deeply flawed, calling Henry's screenplay disjointed, and claimed its only redeeming features were the limited aerial sequences.[\\[29\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-30)\n\nUpon the initial release, *Catch-22* earned US\\$24.9 million out of the budget of US\\$18 million, earning it a spot in the top ten box office hits of 1970, but falling short of being profitable.[\\[30\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-31) It was director [Mike Nichols](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mike_Nichols \"Mike Nichols\")' third film, after the acclaimed *[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Who%27s_Afraid_of_Virginia_Woolf%3F_\$film\$ \"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)\")* and *[The Graduate](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Graduate \"The Graduate\")*. It was not regarded as a comparable success, earning less money and critical acclaim than the film version of *[MASH](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MASH_\$film\$ \"MASH (film)\")*, another war-themed [black comedy](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Black_comedy \"Black comedy\") released earlier the same year. In addition, some critics believed that the film appeared as Americans were becoming more resentful of the bitter and ugly experience of the Vietnam War, leading to a general decline in the interest of war pictures, with the notable exceptions of *MASH* and *[Patton](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Patton_\$film\$ \"Patton (film)\")*.[\\[12\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-Orriss_p._189-12) Critic Lucia Bozzola wrote \"Paramount spent a great deal of money on *Catch-22*, but it wound up getting trumped by another 1970 antiwar farce: [Robert Altman](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Robert_Altman \"Robert Altman\")'s *MASH*.\"[\\[31\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-variety-bozzola-32)\n\nA [pilot episode](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Television_pilot \"Television pilot\") for a *Catch-22* television series was aired on ABC in 1973, with [Richard Dreyfuss](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Dreyfuss \"Richard Dreyfuss\") in the Captain Yossarian role.[\\[32\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-33)\n\nA six-part *[Catch 22](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$miniseries\$ \"Catch-22 (miniseries)\")* miniseries, produced by [Hulu](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hulu \"Hulu\") and [Sky Italia](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sky_Italia \"Sky Italia\"), premiered worldwide in 2019.\n\nThere have been other films with \"Catch-22\" in their names, including the documentary *Catch-22* (2007) and the short films *Catch 22: The New Contract* (2009) and *Catch22* (2010), but they have been unrelated to either the book or film adaptation.[\\[33\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-34)\n\nThe anti-war song \"Survivor Guilt\" by [punk rock](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Punk_rock \"Punk rock\") band [Rise Against](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rise_Against \"Rise Against\") features samples of dialog from the movie, specifically the discussion between Nately and the old man about the fall of great countries and potential fall of the US, and their argument about the phrase \"It's better to live on your feet than die on your knees.\" The same excerpts from the film previously were used by lead singer Tim McIlrath, in the song \"Burden\", recorded by his former band, Baxter.[\\[34\\]](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_note-35)\n\n- [List of American films of 1970](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_American_films_of_1970 \"List of American films of 1970\")\n\n1. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-14)** Most of the aerial footage was unused due to a directorial conflict between Nichols and Tallman, head of the Air Operations and Aerial Unit.\n\n1. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-1)**\n   [\"Catch-22, Box Office Information\"](http:\/\/www.the-numbers.com\/movies\/1970\/0CT22.php). *[The Numbers](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Numbers_\$website\$ \"The Numbers (website)\")*. Retrieved May 23, 2012.\n2. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-paula_2-0)**\n   Vagg, Stephen (August 12, 2025). [\"Not Quite Movie Stars: Paula Prentiss\"](https:\/\/www.filmink.com.au\/not-quite-movie-stars-paula-prentiss\/). *Filmink*. Retrieved August 12, 2025.\n3. ^ [***a***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-:0_3-0) [***b***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-:0_3-1) [***c***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-:0_3-2)\n   [\"Catch-22\"](https:\/\/catalog.afi.com\/Film\/23456-CATCH-22?cxt=filmography). *AFI Catalog*. Retrieved April 20, 2023.\n4. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-simon_4-0)**\n   [Michaels, Sean](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sean_Michaels_\$writer\$ \"Sean Michaels (writer)\") (February 13, 2013). [\"Art Garfunkel implicates film director Mike Nichols in split with Paul Simon\"](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2013\/feb\/12\/art-garfunkel-paul-simon). *[The Guardian](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Guardian \"The Guardian\")*. Retrieved October 2, 2024.\n5. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-5)**\n   [Ephron, Nora](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nora_Ephron \"Nora Ephron\") (March 16, 1969). [\"Yossarian Is Alive And Well in the Mexican Desert\"](https:\/\/movies2.nytimes.com\/books\/98\/02\/15\/home\/heller-yossarian.html). *[The New York Times](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_New_York_Times \"The New York Times\")*. Retrieved October 23, 2020.\n6. ^ [***a***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Editor_6-0) [***b***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Editor_6-1) Tallman 2008, p. 15 (Editor's Note).\n7. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-7)** Nichols and Soderbergh 2001\n8. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-variety_8-0)** McCarthy, Todd. [\"Catch-22 (Review).\"](https:\/\/variety.com\/1969\/film\/reviews\/catch-22-1200422261\/) *[Variety](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Variety_\$magazine\$ \"Variety (magazine)\")*, December 31, 1969.\n9. ^ [***a***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Canby_9-0) [***b***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Canby_9-1)\n   Canby, Vincent (June 28, 1970). [\"A Triumphant 'Catch'\"](https:\/\/movies2.nytimes.com\/books\/98\/02\/15\/home\/heller-canby.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved October 23, 2020.\n10. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-10)** Evans 2000, p. 38.\n11. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-11)** [\"B-25H 43-4432\"](https:\/\/b-25history.org\/aircraft\/434432.htm) *B-25 History Project.* Retrieved 23 July 2024.\n12. ^ [***a***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Orriss_p._189_12-0) [***b***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Orriss_p._189_12-1) Orriss 1984, p. 189.\n13. ^ [***a***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Farmer_p._59_13-0) [***b***](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-Farmer_p._59_13-1) Farmer 1972, p. 59.\n14. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-15)** Farmer 1972, pp. 20–21.\n15. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-16)** Thompson 1980, p. 75.\n16. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-17)** Farmer 1972, p. 23.\n17. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-18)** Farmer 1972, pp. 58–59.\n18. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-nasm_19-0)** [\"National Air and Space Museum Collections Database.\"](http:\/\/www.nasm.si.edu\/collections\/artifact.cfm?id=A19860003000) [Archived](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20110402204004\/http:\/\/www.nasm.si.edu\/collections\/artifact.cfm?id=A19860003000) 2011-04-02 at the [Wayback Machine](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wayback_Machine \"Wayback Machine\") *[Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Smithsonian_Institution \"Smithsonian Institution\")*. Retrieved: April 16, 2008.\n19. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-The_70's_movies_Rewind_20-0)** Conant, Richard. [\"The 70's movies Rewind.\"](http:\/\/70s.fast-rewind.com\/) [Archived](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20090605201308\/http:\/\/70s.fast-rewind.com\/) 2009-06-05 at the [Wayback Machine](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wayback_Machine \"Wayback Machine\") *70s.fast-rewind.com*. Retrieved: June 27, 2009.\n20. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-21)**\n    \"Mike Nichols To Unveil 'Catch' Footage at Frisco\". *[Variety](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Variety_\$magazine\$ \"Variety (magazine)\")*. October 15, 1969. p. 19.\n21. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-22)**\n    \"Catch-22 (advertisement)\". *[Variety](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Variety_\$magazine\$ \"Variety (magazine)\")*. June 17, 1970. p. 12.\n22. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-23)**\n    [\"Catch-22 (1970)\"](https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/catch22). *[Rotten Tomatoes](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rotten_Tomatoes \"Rotten Tomatoes\")*. [Fandango Media](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fandango_Media \"Fandango Media\"). Retrieved November 20, 2022.\n23. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-24)**\n    [\"Catch-22 Reviews\"](https:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/movie\/catch-22). *[Metacritic](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Metacritic \"Metacritic\")*. [Fandom, Inc.](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fandom_\$website\$#Fandom,_Inc. \"Fandom (website)\") Retrieved November 20, 2022.\n24. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-25)**\n    [\"Cinema: Some are More Yossarian than Others\"](https:\/\/time.com\/3597288\/some-are-more-yossarian-than-others\/). *Time*. Vol. 95, no. 24. June 14, 1970. pp. 66–74. Retrieved October 23, 2020.\n    \n    [![Open access icon](https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/77\/Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg\/20px-Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg.png)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Open_access \"open access publication – free to read\")\n25. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-26)**\n    Ebert, Roger (June 1970). [\"Catch-22 movie review & film summary (1970)\"](https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/catch-22-1970). *Chicago Sun-Times*. Retrieved October 23, 2020 – via [RogerEbert.com](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/RogerEbert.com \"RogerEbert.com\").\n26. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-27)** Siskel, Gene (June 26, 1970). [\"Movie Review: 'Catch-22'\"](https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/clip\/61571700\/gene-siskels-review-of-catch-22\/). *Chicago Tribune*. Section 2, p. 1 – via [Newspapers.com](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Newspapers.com \"Newspapers.com\"). [![Open access icon](https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/77\/Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg\/20px-Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg.png)](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Open_access \"open access publication – free to read\")\n27. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-28)**\n    Champlin, Charles (June 28, 1970). [\"Heller's Novel 'Catch-22' Becomes a Big, Icy Movie\"](https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/newspage\/165955651\/). *Los Angeles Times*. pp. 1, 20, 22. Retrieved October 23, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.\n28. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-LIFE_Magazine_29-0)**\n    \"One of our novels is missing\". *LIFE Magazine*. **69** (1): 12. July 4, 1970.\n29. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-30)** Harwick and Schnepf 1989, p. 62.\n30. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-31)**\n    [\"Catch-22 (1970) - Financial Information\"](https:\/\/www.the-numbers.com\/movie\/Catch-22). *The Numbers*. Retrieved June 2, 2022.\n31. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-variety-bozzola_32-0)**\n    Bozzola, Lucia (2007). [\"Catch-22 (overview)\"](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20071019075708\/http:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/8628\/Catch-22\/overview). Movies & TV Dept. *[The New York Times](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_New_York_Times \"The New York Times\")*. Archived from [the original](https:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/8628\/Catch-22\/overview) on October 19, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2008.\n32. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-33)** [\"Catch 22 (1973).\"](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20130723134103\/http:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/463102\/Catch-22\/) *Turner Classic Movies*. Retrieved: November 20, 2011.\n33. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-34)** [\"Catch-22.\"](https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/find?q=Catch-22&s=all) *IMDb.* Retrieved: November 20, 2011.\n34. **[^](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catch-22_\$film\$#cite_ref-35)** [\"Reviews: \"File under: Rejuvenated political punk (from Rise Against Endgame).\"](http:\/\/www.altpress.com\/reviews\/entry\/rise_against_endgame) [Archived](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20140317020334\/http:\/\/www.altpress.com\/reviews\/entry\/rise_against_endgame) March 17, 2014, at the [Wayback Machine](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wayback_Machine \"Wayback Machine\") *altpress.com*, March 15, 2011. Retrieved: May 22, 2012.\n\n- Bennighof, James. *The Words and Music of Paul Simon*. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. [ISBN](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ISBN_\$identifier\$ \"ISBN (identifier)\")\n  [978-0-27599-163-0](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:BookSources\/978-0-27599-163-0 \"Special:BookSources\/978-0-27599-163-0\")\n  .\n- Evans, Alun. *Brassey's Guide to War Films*. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. [ISBN](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ISBN_\$identifier\$ \"ISBN (identifier)\")\n  [1-57488-263-5](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:BookSources\/1-57488-263-5 \"Special:BookSources\/1-57488-263-5\")\n  .\n- Farmer, James H. \"The Catch-22 Air Force.\" Air Classics, Volume 8, No. 14, December 1972.\n- Harwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. \"A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies\". *The Making of the Great Aviation Films*, General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.\n- Nichols, Mike and Steven Soderbergh. \"Commentary.\" *Catch-22 DVD* (Special Features). Los Angeles: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, 2001.\n- Orriss, Bruce. *When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II*. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. [ISBN](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ISBN_\$identifier\$ \"ISBN (identifier)\")\n  [0-9613088-0-X](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:BookSources\/0-9613088-0-X \"Special:BookSources\/0-9613088-0-X\")\n  .\n- Tallman, Frank. \"The Making of Catch-22.\" *Warbirds International*, Vol. 27, no. 4, May\/June 2008.\n- Thegze, Chuck \"I See Everything Twice\": An Examination of Catch-22, University of California Press.\n- Thompson, Scott A. \"Hollywood Mitchells.\" *Air Classics*, Vol. 16, No. 9, September 1980.\n\n- [*Catch-22*](https:\/\/catalog.afi.com\/Catalog\/moviedetails\/23456) at the *[AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/AFI_Catalog_of_Feature_Films \"AFI Catalog of Feature Films\")*\n- [*Catch-22*](https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0065528\/) at [IMDb](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/IMDb_\$identifier\$ \"IMDb (identifier)\")\n- [*Catch-22*](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/*\/https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/16665\/enwp) at the [TCM Movie Database](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Turner_Classic_Movies#TCMdb \"Turner Classic Movies\") (archived version)\n- [*Catch-22*](https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/catch22) at [Rotten Tomatoes](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rotten_Tomatoes \"Rotten Tomatoes\")\n- [Catch-22 camera aircraft history](https:\/\/www.aerovintage.com\/tallmantz-aviation\/tallmantz-n1203\/) [Archived](https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20211121054107\/http:\/\/www.aerovintage.com\/N1203.htm) 2021-11-21 at the [Wayback Machine](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wayback_Machine \"Wayback Machine\")","meta_canonical":null}

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URL	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_(film)
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Boilerpipe Text	Catch-22 Theatrical release poster Directed by Mike Nichols Screenplay by Buck Henry Based on Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Produced by John Calley Martin Ransohoff Starring Alan Arkin Martin Balsam Richard Benjamin Art Garfunkel Jack Gilford Buck Henry Bob Newhart Anthony Perkins Paula Prentiss Martin Sheen Jon Voight Orson Welles Cinematography David Watkin Edited by Sam O'Steen Music by Richard Strauss Production companies Filmways Paramount Pictures Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date June 24, 1970 Running time 122 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $18 million Box office $24.9 million [ 1 ] 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. Photo of plane crash from the film taken by a person on the set Captain John Yossarian , a U.S. Army Air Force B-25 bombardier , is stationed on the Mediterranean base on Pianosa during World War II. Along with his squadron members, Yossarian is committed to flying dangerous missions, but after watching friends die, he seeks a means of escape. While most bomber crews are rotated out after 25 missions, Yossarian's commanding officer, Colonel Cathcart , keeps raising the minimum number of missions for this base before anyone can reach it, eventually to an unobtainable 80 missions, a figure resulting from Cathcart's craving for publicity, primarily a mention in the nationally syndicated Saturday Evening Post magazine. Futilely appealing to Cathcart, Yossarian learns that even a mental breakdown is no release when Doc Daneeka explains the "Catch-22" the Army Air Force employs: An airman would have to be crazy to fly more missions, and if he were crazy, he would be unfit to fly. Yet, if an airman were to refuse to fly more missions, this would indicate that he is sane, which would mean that he would be fit to fly the missions. The airman is thus in an impossible "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. Yossarian is haunted, in several recurring flashbacks during the film, by the bloody death of Snowden , the young turret gunner on his B-25. After Snowden's death, Yossarian temporarily refuses to wear his uniform, which Snowden bled on. He shows up at a medal ceremony naked, and later morosely sits naked in a tree, where he is visited by Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder , who rapidly progresses from squadron supply officer to a capitalistic tycoon involved in black-market money-making schemes. The bomber squadron is populated by many other comically strange characters. Major Major , the squadron's operations officer, is promoted to a squadron commander without ever having flown in a plane and refuses to see anyone in his office while he is in, instructing Sergeant Towser that people can see him when he's out. The person has to wait in the waiting room until Major Major is gone, then can go right in. Trapped by this convoluted logic, Yossarian watches as individuals in the squadron resort to unusual means to cope; Milo concocts elaborate black market schemes while crazed Captain "Aarfy" Aardvark commits murder to silence a girl he has raped. Lieutenant Nately falls for a sex worker, Major Danby delivers goofy pep talks before every bomb run, and Captain Orr keeps crashing at sea. Meanwhile, Nurse Duckett occasionally beds Yossarian. Nately dies as a result of an agreement between Milo and the Germans, trading surplus cotton in exchange for the squadron bombing its own base. While on a pass, Yossarian shares this news with Nately's romantic partner, who then tries to kill him. Because of Yossarian's constant complaints, Cathcart and Lieutenant Colonel Korn eventually agree to send him home, promising him a promotion to major and awarding him a medal for the fictitious saving of Cathcart's life; the only requirement being that Yossarian agrees to "like" the colonels and praise them when he gets home. Immediately after agreeing to Cathcart's and Korn's plan, Yossarian survives an attempt on his life when stabbed by Nately's partner, who had disguised herself as a janitor. Once recovered, Yossarian learns from Danby and Chaplain Tappman that Orr's supposed death was a hoax and that Orr's repeated "crash" landings had been a subterfuge for practicing and planning his own escape from the madness. Yossarian is informed that Orr ditched the plane and paddled a rescue raft all the way to Sweden on his last run. Yossarian decides to abandon the deal with Cathcart, leaps out of the hospital window, takes a raft from a damaged plane and, while a marching band practices for the ceremony to award Yossarian the promotion and medal, he hops into the sea, climbs into the raft and starts paddling. Main cast (as appearing in screen credits): Alan Arkin as Captain John Yossarian (Bombardier) Bob Balaban as Captain Orr (Bomber Pilot) Martin Balsam as Colonel Chuck Cathcart (Group Commander, 256th Bomb Group) Richard Benjamin as Major Danby (Group Operations Officer) Susanne Benton as Dreedle's WAC Olimpia Carlisi as Luciana, the Alluring Passerby Marcel Dalio as Old Man in Whorehouse Norman Fell as First Sgt. Towser (Major Major's Desk Clerk, later Acting Squadron Commander) Art Garfunkel (billed Arthur Garfunkel) as Lt. Edward J. Nately III (Pilot) Jack Gilford as Dr. "Doc" Daneeka (Group Flight Surgeon) Charles Grodin as Captain "Aarfy" Aardvark (Navigator) Buck Henry as Lt. Colonel Korn (Group XO / Roman policeman) Bob Newhart as Captain/Major Major (Laundry Officer, later Squadron Commander) Austin Pendleton as Lt. Col. Moodus Anthony Perkins as Capt. Fr. Albert Taylor "A. T." Tappman (Chaplain) Paula Prentiss as Nurse Duckett (Army Medical Nurse Corps) [ 2 ] Martin Sheen as 1st Lt. Dobbs (Pilot) Jon Voight as 1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder (Mess Officer) Orson Welles as Brigadier General Dreedle (Wing Commander) Orson Welles first tried to buy the rights to Heller's novel to independently produce and direct it in 1962, but was unsuccessful. He wound up cast in the role of General Dreedle . Columbia Pictures purchased the rights to it in 1965 and attempted to develop the film with Richard Brooks or Richard Quine as potential directors, while Jack Lemmon was considered as Captain Yossarian. Heller grew dissatisfied with the two as he believed they were “incapable of pursuing the wildly satirical (and anti-military) point of view of his novel.” The studio subsequently sold the rights to Martin Ransohoff at Filmways in 1967, which had already hired Mike Nichols to direct. Nichols originally announced that principal photography would begin in “late 1967-early 1968” in Yugoslavia and Italy . However, the project was delayed for several years as Nichols and John Calley searched for Italian terrain that had not been destroyed by World War II . Daily Variety in the period 1967-69 reported that Andre Previn would score the picture and that Nichols sought to cast Walter Matthau and Al Pacino in the movie, but none of them participated in the picture. Stacy Keach was also cast in the film before departing a month prior to filming. [ 3 ] Nichols eventually decided on Mexico as the primary shooting location of the film. Production began on January 13, 1969, at an airfield constructed for the film near Guaymas , Sonora , on the Gulf of California . The filmmakers spent $180,000 building a five-mile highway to the site (which previously could only be accessed by boat) and an additional $250,000 for a 6,000-ft. runway; the airfield today is Guaymas airport. After a week of filming, Nichols sent back 200 of the American extras in order to give the base in the film a more isolated atmosphere. Welles filmed his cameo appearance as General Dreedle in eight days. Some filming also took place at the Palazzo Farnese and the Palazzo Navona in Rome . Production concluded in August 1969 after a final two months of interior filming in Hollywood . [ 3 ] Paul Simon was cast in a part, as was Art Garfunkel, his partner in the musical group Simon and Garfunkel . Garfunkel's part grew while Simon's part was cut from the final film, a move which contributed to the breakup of the duo, according to Garfunkel. [ 4 ] The adaptation changed the book's plot. Several story arcs are left out, and many characters in the movie speak dialogue and experience events of other characters in the book. [ 5 ] Despite the changes in the screenplay, Heller approved of the film, according to a commentary by Nichols and Steven Soderbergh included on a DVD release. [ 6 ] According to Nichols, Heller was particularly impressed with a few scenes and bits of dialogue Henry created for the film, and said he wished he could have included them in the novel. [ 7 ] The pacing of the novel Catch-22 is frenetic, its tenor intellectual, and its tone largely absurdist , [ 8 ] interspersed with brief moments of gritty, almost horrific, realism. The novel did not follow a normal chronological progression; rather, it was told as a series of different and often (seemingly, until later) unrelated events, most from the point of view of the central character Yossarian. The film simplified the plot, [ 9 ] [ 10 ] but it preserved the frenetic pacing, intellectual tenor and realistic tone of the novel. B-25H 43-4432 featured in the film, still airworthy with the EAA as of 2024. [ 11 ] Paramount assigned a $17 million budget to the production and planned to film key flying scenes for six weeks, but the aerial sequences required six months of camera work, resulting in the bombers flying about 1,500 hours. [ 12 ] They appear on screen for approximately 10 minutes. [ 13 ] [ Note 1 ] Catch-22 is renowned for its role in saving the B-25 Mitchell aircraft from possible extinction. [ 14 ] The film's budget accommodated 17 flyable B-25 Mitchells, and one hulk was acquired in Mexico, and flown with landing gear down to the Guaymas , Sonora , Mexico filming location. [ 6 ] The aircraft was burned and destroyed in the crash landing scene. The wreck was then buried in the ground by the runway, where it remains. [ 15 ] For the film, prop upper turrets were installed, and to represent different models, several aircraft had turrets installed behind the wings representing early (B-25C/D type) aircraft. [ 13 ] Initially, the camera ships also had mock turrets installed, but problems with buffeting necessitated their removal. [ 16 ] Many of the "Tallmantz Air Force fleet" went on to careers in films and television, before being sold as surplus. [ 17 ] Fifteen of the 18 bombers remain intact, including one displayed at the Smithsonian Institution 's National Air and Space Museum . [ 18 ] Second unit director John Jordan refused to wear a harness during a bomber scene and fell out of the open tail turret 4,000 ft (1,200 m) into the Pacific Ocean to his death. [ 3 ] [ 19 ] A half-hour preview of the film was held at the San Francisco International Film Festival on October 31, 1969. [ 20 ] The film had premieres on June 24, 1970, in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Toronto. [ 21 ] Catch-22 was released for home viewing on VHS and Beta in 1979, Laserdisc in 1982, and SelectaVision CED disc. Some of the music was changed for the 1992 VHS Hi-Fi re-release. Catch-22 was re-released to DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on May 21, 2013; a previous version was released on May 22, 2001. The DVD contains commentary by director Mike Nichols moderated by Steven Soderbergh . Shout! Studios is scheduled to release the film on 4K Blu-ray on October 28, 2025. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 81% of 31 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus reads: " Catch-22 takes entertainingly chaotic aim at the insanity of armed combat, supported by a terrific cast and smart, funny work from Buck Henry and Mike Nichols." [ 22 ] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [ 23 ] Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised the film as "the most moving, the most intelligent, the most humane--oh, to hell with it!--it's the best American film I've seen this year." He felt the film was "complete and consistent", and commended its balance of comedy and seriousness as well as the ensemble cast. [ 9 ] In a cover story about Mike Nichols, Time wrote "It is the book's cold rage that he has nurtured. In the jokes that matter, the film is as hard as a diamond, cold to the touch and brilliant to the eye. To Nichols, Catch-22 is 'about dying'; to Arkin, it is 'about selfishness'; to audiences, it will be a memorable horror comedy of war, with the accent on horror." [ 24 ] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 stars out of 4, calling it "a disappointment, and not simply because it fails to do justice to the Heller novel." Ebert wrote there were "some fine moments" in Catch 22 , but he condemned the shift in tone from farcical satire in the first half of the film to gore and violence in the final scenes. He also felt the Arkin was "a tremendously gifted actor" but it was an error for him to play Yosarrian as an edgy paranoid, when "the point of the performance should be precisely that he isn’t nuts". The other cast members were not believable in their roles, apart from Perkins, and as a result "the characters don’t come across as human". Nichols's film used a fashionable anti-war message without, as Ebert wrote, "realizing that for Heller World War II was symbolic of a much larger disease: life." [ 25 ] Similarly, Gene Siskel for the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 stars out of four arguing the film "spends too much time accommodating a huge cast", and instead the film should have properly focused on "Yossarian's combat, with the catch into his head where it belongs". Nevertheless, he wrote "The film's technical credits, photography, and special effects are uniformly outstanding. Of the huge supporting cast, Dick Benjamin, Bob Newhart, and Jack Gilford are the best." [ 26 ] Charles Champlin , reviewing for the Los Angeles Times , felt that Catch-22 is awfully good, and also a disappointment: Chilly brilliant at its best but flawed at last by its detachment and by its failure to catch fire and give off heat. Its fury is cold and intellectual and cannot reach us or involve us at gut level." [ 27 ] Richard Schickel in LIFE panned the film, saying it failed to translate what made Joseph Heller's novel a generational phenomenon to the screen. In his review entitled "One of our novels is missing," Schickel wrote: Mike Nichols' movie version of the novel is, in tone, as hot and heavy as the original was cool and light. Charitably, one might say that he was seeking the visual equivalent of the book's verbal style. But he failed abysmally, and in the process he and Writer Buck Henry have mislaid every bit of the humor that made the novel emotionally bearable and esthetically memorable, replacing it with desperately earnest proof they hate war.... [T]he key to the film's almost total failure lies in its restructuring of the novel. It is shot as if it were a single hallucinatory flashback suffered by Yossarian, Heller's Everyman-turned-Bombardier.... Far from seeming wild and free, this dream structure struck me as inhumanly manipulative, for it imposes on both the material and the audience a single, simple point of view: I'm crazy, they're crazy, we're all crazy in this crazy world . The characters can't wiggle free of it and live for so much as a single wayward, truly human moment. We, as an audience, are never allowed to think, feel, respond as we will. We are as trapped at a single level of response as ever we were in those hack war movies Nichols mocks. [ 28 ] In later years, film historians and reviewers Jack Harwick and Ed Schnepf characterized the film as deeply flawed, calling Henry's screenplay disjointed, and claimed its only redeeming features were the limited aerial sequences. [ 29 ] Upon the initial release, Catch-22 earned US$24.9 million out of the budget of US$18 million, earning it a spot in the top ten box office hits of 1970, but falling short of being profitable. [ 30 ] It was director Mike Nichols ' third film, after the acclaimed Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Graduate . It was not regarded as a comparable success, earning less money and critical acclaim than the film version of MASH , another war-themed black comedy released earlier the same year. In addition, some critics believed that the film appeared as Americans were becoming more resentful of the bitter and ugly experience of the Vietnam War, leading to a general decline in the interest of war pictures, with the notable exceptions of MASH and Patton . [ 12 ] Critic Lucia Bozzola wrote "Paramount spent a great deal of money on Catch-22 , but it wound up getting trumped by another 1970 antiwar farce: Robert Altman 's MASH ." [ 31 ] A pilot episode for a Catch-22 television series was aired on ABC in 1973, with Richard Dreyfuss in the Captain Yossarian role. [ 32 ] A six-part Catch 22 miniseries, produced by Hulu and Sky Italia , premiered worldwide in 2019. There have been other films with "Catch-22" in their names, including the documentary Catch-22 (2007) and the short films Catch 22: The New Contract (2009) and Catch22 (2010), but they have been unrelated to either the book or film adaptation. [ 33 ] The anti-war song "Survivor Guilt" by punk rock band Rise Against features samples of dialog from the movie, specifically the discussion between Nately and the old man about the fall of great countries and potential fall of the US, and their argument about the phrase "It's better to live on your feet than die on your knees." The same excerpts from the film previously were used by lead singer Tim McIlrath, in the song "Burden", recorded by his former band, Baxter. [ 34 ] List of American films of 1970 ^ Most of the aerial footage was unused due to a directorial conflict between Nichols and Tallman, head of the Air Operations and Aerial Unit. ^ "Catch-22, Box Office Information" . The Numbers . Retrieved May 23, 2012 . ^ Vagg, Stephen (August 12, 2025). "Not Quite Movie Stars: Paula Prentiss" . Filmink . Retrieved August 12, 2025 . ^ a b c "Catch-22" . AFI Catalog . Retrieved April 20, 2023 . ^ Michaels, Sean (February 13, 2013). "Art Garfunkel implicates film director Mike Nichols in split with Paul Simon" . The Guardian . Retrieved October 2, 2024 . ^ Ephron, Nora (March 16, 1969). "Yossarian Is Alive And Well in the Mexican Desert" . The New York Times . Retrieved October 23, 2020 . ^ a b Tallman 2008, p. 15 (Editor's Note). ^ Nichols and Soderbergh 2001 ^ McCarthy, Todd. "Catch-22 (Review)." Variety , December 31, 1969. ^ a b Canby, Vincent (June 28, 1970). "A Triumphant 'Catch' " . The New York Times . Retrieved October 23, 2020 . ^ Evans 2000, p. 38. ^ "B-25H 43-4432" B-25 History Project. Retrieved 23 July 2024. ^ a b Orriss 1984, p. 189. ^ a b Farmer 1972, p. 59. ^ Farmer 1972, pp. 20–21. ^ Thompson 1980, p. 75. ^ Farmer 1972, p. 23. ^ Farmer 1972, pp. 58–59. ^ "National Air and Space Museum Collections Database." Archived 2011-04-02 at the Wayback Machine Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum . Retrieved: April 16, 2008. ^ Conant, Richard. "The 70's movies Rewind." Archived 2009-06-05 at the Wayback Machine 70s.fast-rewind.com . Retrieved: June 27, 2009. ^ "Mike Nichols To Unveil 'Catch' Footage at Frisco". Variety . October 15, 1969. p. 19. ^ "Catch-22 (advertisement)". Variety . June 17, 1970. p. 12. ^ "Catch-22 (1970)" . Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved November 20, 2022 . ^ "Catch-22 Reviews" . Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 20, 2022 . ^ "Cinema: Some are More Yossarian than Others" . Time . Vol. 95, no. 24. June 14, 1970. pp. 66– 74 . Retrieved October 23, 2020 . ^ Ebert, Roger (June 1970). "Catch-22 movie review & film summary (1970)" . Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved October 23, 2020 – via RogerEbert.com . ^ Siskel, Gene (June 26, 1970). "Movie Review: 'Catch-22'" . Chicago Tribune . Section 2, p. 1 – via Newspapers.com . ^ Champlin, Charles (June 28, 1970). "Heller's Novel 'Catch-22' Becomes a Big, Icy Movie" . Los Angeles Times . pp. 1, 20, 22 . Retrieved October 23, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. ^ "One of our novels is missing". LIFE Magazine . 69 (1): 12. July 4, 1970. ^ Harwick and Schnepf 1989, p. 62. ^ "Catch-22 (1970) - Financial Information" . The Numbers . Retrieved June 2, 2022 . ^ Bozzola, Lucia (2007). "Catch-22 (overview)" . Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on October 19, 2007 . Retrieved April 15, 2008 . ^ "Catch 22 (1973)." Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved: November 20, 2011. ^ "Catch-22." IMDb. Retrieved: November 20, 2011. ^ "Reviews: "File under: Rejuvenated political punk (from Rise Against Endgame)." Archived March 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine altpress.com , March 15, 2011. Retrieved: May 22, 2012. Bennighof, James. The Words and Music of Paul Simon . Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. ISBN 978-0-27599-163-0 . Evans, Alun. Brassey's Guide to War Films . Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. ISBN 1-57488-263-5 . Farmer, James H. "The Catch-22 Air Force." Air Classics, Volume 8, No. 14, December 1972. Harwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies". The Making of the Great Aviation Films , General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989. Nichols, Mike and Steven Soderbergh. "Commentary." Catch-22 DVD (Special Features). Los Angeles: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, 2001. Orriss, Bruce. When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II . Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-9613088-0-X . Tallman, Frank. "The Making of Catch-22." Warbirds International , Vol. 27, no. 4, May/June 2008. Thegze, Chuck "I See Everything Twice": An Examination of Catch-22, University of California Press. Thompson, Scott A. "Hollywood Mitchells." Air Classics , Vol. 16, No. 9, September 1980. Catch-22 at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films Catch-22 at IMDb Catch-22 at the TCM Movie Database (archived version) Catch-22 at Rotten Tomatoes Catch-22 camera aircraft history Archived 2021-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
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[o]") ## Contents move to sidebar hide - [(Top)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$) - [1 Plot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#Plot) - [2 Cast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#Cast) - [3 Production](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#Production) Toggle Production subsection - [3\.1 Development](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#Development) - [3\.2 Filming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#Filming) - [3\.3 Adaptation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#Adaptation) - [3\.4 Aircraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#Aircraft) - [3\.5 Death on the set](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#Death_on_the_set) - [4 Release](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#Release) Toggle Release subsection - [4\.1 Home media](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#Home_media) - [5 Reception](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#Reception) Toggle Reception subsection - [5\.1 Critical reaction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#Critical_reaction) - 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[Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Catch-22_$film$) - [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$) - [Wikidata item](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q1050533 "Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]") Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1970 American satirical comedy war film \| Catch-22 \| \| \|---\|---\| \| [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d6/Catch-22_poster.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Catch-22_poster.jpg)Theatrical release poster \| \| \| Directed by \| [Mike Nichols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Nichols "Mike Nichols") \| \| Screenplay by \| [Buck Henry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Henry "Buck Henry") \| \| Based on \| [Catch-22](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22 "Catch-22") by [Joseph Heller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Heller "Joseph Heller") \| \| Produced by \| [John Calley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calley "John Calley") [Martin Ransohoff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Ransohoff "Martin Ransohoff") \| \| Starring \| [Alan Arkin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Arkin "Alan Arkin") [Martin Balsam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Balsam "Martin Balsam") [Richard Benjamin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Benjamin "Richard Benjamin") [Art Garfunkel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Garfunkel "Art Garfunkel") [Jack Gilford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Gilford "Jack Gilford") Buck Henry [Bob Newhart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Newhart "Bob Newhart") [Anthony Perkins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Perkins "Anthony Perkins") [Paula Prentiss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Prentiss "Paula Prentiss") [Martin Sheen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Sheen "Martin Sheen") [Jon Voight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Voight "Jon Voight") [Orson Welles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles "Orson Welles") \| \| Cinematography \| [David Watkin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Watkin_$cinematographer$ "David Watkin (cinematographer)") \| \| Edited by \| [Sam O'Steen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_O%27Steen "Sam O'Steen") \| \| Music by \| [Richard Strauss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Strauss "Richard Strauss") \| \| Production companies \| [Filmways](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmways "Filmways") [Paramount Pictures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramount_Pictures "Paramount Pictures") \| \| Distributed by \| Paramount Pictures \| \| Release date \| June 24, 1970 (1970-06-24) \| \| Running time \| 122 minutes \| \| Country \| United States \| \| Language \| English \| \| Budget \| \$18 million \| \| Box office \| \$24.9 million[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-1) \| *Catch-22* is a 1970 American [satirical](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satirical "Satirical") [comedy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy "Comedy") [war film](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_film "War film") adapted from the 1961 [novel of the same name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22 "Catch-22") by [Joseph Heller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Heller "Joseph Heller"). In creating a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical [anti-war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-war "Anti-war") [novel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novel "Novel") set at a fictional [Mediterranean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea "Mediterranean Sea") base during [World War II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II "World War II"), director [Mike Nichols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Nichols "Mike Nichols") and screenwriter [Buck Henry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Henry "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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Arkin "Alan Arkin"), [Bob Balaban](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Balaban "Bob Balaban"), [Martin Balsam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Balsam "Martin Balsam"), [Richard Benjamin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Benjamin "Richard Benjamin"), Italian actress [Olimpia Carlisi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olimpia_Carlisi "Olimpia Carlisi"), French comedian [Marcel Dalio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Dalio "Marcel Dalio"), [Art Garfunkel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Garfunkel "Art Garfunkel") in his acting debut, [Jack Gilford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Gilford "Jack Gilford"), [Charles Grodin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Grodin "Charles Grodin"), [Bob Newhart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Newhart "Bob Newhart"), [Anthony Perkins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Perkins "Anthony Perkins"), [Austin Pendleton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Pendleton "Austin Pendleton"), [Paula Prentiss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Prentiss "Paula Prentiss"), [Martin Sheen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Sheen "Martin Sheen"), [Jon Voight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Voight "Jon Voight"), and [Orson Welles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles "Orson Welles"). Garfunkel's songwriting partner [Paul Simon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Simon "Paul Simon") also appeared, but his scenes were cut. ## Plot \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=1 "Edit section: Plot")\] [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/AL77A-126_%2814334553607%29.jpg/330px-AL77A-126_%2814334553607%29.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AL77A-126_$14334553607$.jpg) Photo of plane crash from the film taken by a person on the set Captain [John Yossarian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Yossarian "John Yossarian"), a [U.S. Army Air Force](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Army_Air_Force "U.S. Army Air Force") [B-25](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_B-25_Mitchell "North American B-25 Mitchell") [bombardier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_$air_force$ "Bombardier (air force)"), is stationed on the Mediterranean base on [Pianosa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pianosa "Pianosa") during World War II. Along with his squadron members, Yossarian is committed to flying dangerous missions, but after watching friends die, he seeks a means of escape. While most bomber crews are rotated out after 25 missions, Yossarian's commanding officer, [Colonel Cathcart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Cathcart "Colonel Cathcart"), keeps raising the minimum number of missions for this base before anyone can reach it, eventually to an unobtainable 80 missions, a figure resulting from Cathcart's craving for publicity, primarily a mention in the nationally syndicated [Saturday Evening Post](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Evening_Post "Saturday Evening Post") magazine. Futilely appealing to Cathcart, Yossarian learns that even a [mental breakdown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_breakdown "Mental breakdown") is no release when [Doc Daneeka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Daneeka "Doc Daneeka") explains the "Catch-22" the Army Air Force employs: > An airman would have to be crazy to fly more missions, and if he were crazy, he would be unfit to fly. Yet, if an airman were to refuse to fly more missions, this would indicate that he is sane, which would mean that he would be fit to fly the missions. The airman is thus in an impossible "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. Yossarian is haunted, in several recurring flashbacks during the film, by the bloody death of [Snowden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowden_$character$ "Snowden (character)"), the young turret gunner on his B-25. After Snowden's death, Yossarian temporarily refuses to wear his uniform, which Snowden bled on. He shows up at a medal ceremony naked, and later morosely sits naked in a tree, where he is visited by Lieutenant [Milo Minderbinder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Minderbinder "Milo Minderbinder"), who rapidly progresses from squadron supply officer to a capitalistic tycoon involved in black-market money-making schemes. The bomber squadron is populated by many other comically strange characters. [Major Major](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Major_Major_Major "Major Major Major Major"), the squadron's operations officer, is promoted to a squadron commander without ever having flown in a plane and refuses to see anyone in his office while he is in, instructing [Sergeant Towser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergeant_Towser "Sergeant Towser") that people can see him when he's out. The person has to wait in the waiting room until Major Major is gone, then can go right in. Trapped by this convoluted logic, Yossarian watches as individuals in the squadron resort to unusual means to cope; Milo concocts elaborate black market schemes while crazed Captain ["Aarfy" Aardvark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Aardvark "Captain Aardvark") commits murder to silence a girl he has raped. Lieutenant [Nately](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nately "Nately") falls for a sex worker, [Major Danby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Danby "Major Danby") delivers goofy pep talks before every bomb run, and Captain [Orr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orr_$Catch-22$ "Orr (Catch-22)") keeps crashing at sea. Meanwhile, [Nurse Duckett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurse_Duckett "Nurse Duckett") occasionally beds Yossarian. Nately dies as a result of an agreement between Milo and the Germans, trading surplus cotton in exchange for the squadron bombing its own base. While on a pass, Yossarian shares this news with Nately's romantic partner, who then tries to kill him. Because of Yossarian's constant complaints, Cathcart and [Lieutenant Colonel Korn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_Colonel_Korn "Lieutenant Colonel Korn") eventually agree to send him home, promising him a promotion to major and awarding him a medal for the fictitious saving of Cathcart's life; the only requirement being that Yossarian agrees to "like" the colonels and praise them when he gets home. Immediately after agreeing to Cathcart's and Korn's plan, Yossarian survives an attempt on his life when stabbed by Nately's partner, who had disguised herself as a janitor. Once recovered, Yossarian learns from Danby and [Chaplain Tappman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplain_Tappman "Chaplain Tappman") that Orr's supposed death was a hoax and that Orr's repeated "crash" landings had been a subterfuge for practicing and planning his own escape from the madness. Yossarian is informed that Orr ditched the plane and paddled a rescue raft all the way to Sweden on his last run. Yossarian decides to abandon the deal with Cathcart, leaps out of the hospital window, takes a raft from a damaged plane and, while a marching band practices for the ceremony to award Yossarian the promotion and medal, he hops into the sea, climbs into the raft and starts paddling. ## Cast \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=2 "Edit section: Cast")\] Further information: [List of Catch-22 characters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Catch-22_characters "List of Catch-22 characters") Main cast (as appearing in screen credits): - [Alan Arkin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Arkin "Alan Arkin") as [Captain John Yossarian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yossarian "Yossarian") (Bombardier) - [Bob Balaban](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Balaban "Bob Balaban") as [Captain Orr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orr_$Catch-22$ "Orr (Catch-22)") (Bomber Pilot) - [Martin Balsam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Balsam "Martin Balsam") as [Colonel Chuck Cathcart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Cathcart "Colonel Cathcart") (Group Commander, 256th Bomb Group) - [Richard Benjamin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Benjamin "Richard Benjamin") as Major Danby (Group Operations Officer) - [Susanne Benton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanne_Benton "Susanne Benton") as Dreedle's [WAC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Army_Corps "Women's Army Corps") - [Olimpia Carlisi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olimpia_Carlisi "Olimpia Carlisi") as Luciana, the Alluring Passerby - [Marcel Dalio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Dalio "Marcel Dalio") as Old Man in Whorehouse - [Norman Fell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Fell "Norman Fell") as First Sgt. Towser (Major Major's Desk Clerk, later Acting Squadron Commander) - [Art Garfunkel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Garfunkel "Art Garfunkel") (billed Arthur Garfunkel) as [Lt. Edward J. Nately III](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nately "Nately") (Pilot) - [Jack Gilford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Gilford "Jack Gilford") as Dr. "Doc" Daneeka (Group Flight Surgeon) - [Charles Grodin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Grodin "Charles Grodin") as [Captain "Aarfy" Aardvark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Aardvark "Captain Aardvark") (Navigator) - [Buck Henry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Henry "Buck Henry") as Lt. Colonel Korn (Group XO / Roman policeman) - [Bob Newhart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Newhart "Bob Newhart") as [Captain/Major Major](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Major_Major_Major "Major Major Major Major") (Laundry Officer, later Squadron Commander) - [Austin Pendleton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Pendleton "Austin Pendleton") as Lt. Col. Moodus - [Anthony Perkins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Perkins "Anthony Perkins") as [Capt. Fr. Albert Taylor "A. T." Tappman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplain_A._T._Tappman "Chaplain A. T. Tappman") (Chaplain) - [Paula Prentiss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Prentiss "Paula Prentiss") as Nurse Duckett (Army Medical Nurse Corps)[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-paula-2) - [Martin Sheen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Sheen "Martin Sheen") as 1st Lt. Dobbs (Pilot) - [Jon Voight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Voight "Jon Voight") as 1st [Lt. Milo Minderbinder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Minderbinder "Milo Minderbinder") (Mess Officer) - [Orson Welles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles "Orson Welles") as Brigadier General Dreedle (Wing Commander) ## Production \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=3 "Edit section: Production")\] ### Development \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=4 "Edit section: Development")\] [Orson Welles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles "Orson Welles") first tried to buy the rights to Heller's novel to independently produce and direct it in 1962, but was unsuccessful. He wound up cast in the role of [General Dreedle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dreedle "General Dreedle"). [Columbia Pictures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Pictures "Columbia Pictures") purchased the rights to it in 1965 and attempted to develop the film with [Richard Brooks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Brooks "Richard Brooks") or [Richard Quine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Quine "Richard Quine") as potential directors, while [Jack Lemmon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Lemmon "Jack Lemmon") was considered as Captain Yossarian. Heller grew dissatisfied with the two as he believed they were “incapable of pursuing the wildly satirical (and anti-military) point of view of his novel.” The studio subsequently sold the rights to [Martin Ransohoff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Ransohoff "Martin Ransohoff") at [Filmways](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmways "Filmways") in 1967, which had already hired Mike Nichols to direct. Nichols originally announced that principal photography would begin in “late 1967-early 1968” in [Yugoslavia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia "Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia") and [Italy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy "Italy"). However, the project was delayed for several years as Nichols and [John Calley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calley "John Calley") searched for Italian terrain that had not been destroyed by [World War II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Italy_during_World_War_II "Military history of Italy during World War II"). [Daily Variety](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_magazine "Variety magazine") in the period 1967-69 reported that [Andre Previn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Previn "Andre Previn") would score the picture and that Nichols sought to cast [Walter Matthau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Matthau "Walter Matthau") and [Al Pacino](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Pacino "Al Pacino") in the movie, but none of them participated in the picture. [Stacy Keach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stacy_Keach "Stacy Keach") was also cast in the film before departing a month prior to filming.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-:0-3) ### Filming \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=5 "Edit section: Filming")\] Nichols eventually decided on [Mexico](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico "Mexico") as the primary shooting location of the film. Production began on January 13, 1969, at an airfield constructed for the film near [Guaymas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaymas "Guaymas"), [Sonora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonora "Sonora"), on the [Gulf of California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_California "Gulf of California"). The filmmakers spent \$180,000 building a five-mile highway to the site (which previously could only be accessed by boat) and an additional \$250,000 for a 6,000-ft. runway; the airfield today is Guaymas airport. After a week of filming, Nichols sent back 200 of the American extras in order to give the base in the film a more isolated atmosphere. Welles filmed his cameo appearance as General Dreedle in eight days. Some filming also took place at the [Palazzo Farnese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Farnese "Palazzo Farnese") and the Palazzo Navona in [Rome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome "Rome"). Production concluded in August 1969 after a final two months of interior filming in [Hollywood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood,_Los_Angeles "Hollywood, Los Angeles").[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-:0-3) [Paul Simon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Simon "Paul Simon") was cast in a part, as was Art Garfunkel, his partner in the musical group [Simon and Garfunkel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_and_Garfunkel "Simon and Garfunkel"). Garfunkel's part grew while Simon's part was cut from the final film, a move which contributed to the breakup of the duo, according to Garfunkel.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-simon-4) ### Adaptation \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=6 "Edit section: Adaptation")\] The adaptation changed the book's plot. Several [story arcs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Story_arc "Story arc") are left out, and many characters in the movie speak dialogue and experience events of other characters in the book.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-5) Despite the changes in the screenplay, Heller approved of the film, according to a commentary by Nichols and [Steven Soderbergh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Soderbergh "Steven Soderbergh") included on a [DVD](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD "DVD") release.[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Editor-6) According to Nichols, Heller was particularly impressed with a few scenes and bits of dialogue Henry created for the film, and said he wished he could have included them in the novel.[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-7) The pacing of the novel Catch-22 is frenetic, its tenor intellectual, and its tone largely [absurdist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absurdist_fiction "Absurdist fiction"),[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-variety-8) interspersed with brief moments of gritty, almost horrific, realism. The novel did not follow a normal chronological progression; rather, it was told as a series of different and often (seemingly, until later) unrelated events, most from the point of view of the central character Yossarian. The film simplified the plot,[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Canby-9)[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-10) but it preserved the frenetic pacing, intellectual tenor and realistic tone of the novel. ### Aircraft \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=7 "Edit section: Aircraft")\] [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/B-25_from_movie_Catch_22_%284877655203%29.jpg/250px-B-25_from_movie_Catch_22_%284877655203%29.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:B-25_from_movie_Catch_22_$4877655203$.jpg) B-25H 43-4432 featured in the film, still airworthy with the [EAA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_Aircraft_Association "Experimental Aircraft Association") as of 2024.[\[11\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-11) Main article: [B-25 Mitchell aircraft in Catch-22](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-25_Mitchell_aircraft_in_Catch-22 "B-25 Mitchell aircraft in Catch-22") Paramount assigned a \$17 million budget to the production and planned to film key flying scenes for six weeks, but the aerial sequences required six months of camera work, resulting in the bombers flying about 1,500 hours.[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Orriss_p._189-12) They appear on screen for approximately 10 minutes.[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Farmer_p._59-13)[\[Note 1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-14) Catch-22 is renowned for its role in saving the [B-25 Mitchell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-25_Mitchell "B-25 Mitchell") aircraft from possible extinction.[\[14\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-15) The film's budget accommodated 17 flyable B-25 Mitchells, and one hulk was acquired in Mexico, and flown with landing gear down to the [Guaymas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaymas "Guaymas"), [Sonora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonora "Sonora"), [Mexico](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico "Mexico") filming location.[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Editor-6) The aircraft was burned and destroyed in the crash landing scene. The wreck was then buried in the ground by the runway, where it remains.[\[15\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-16) For the film, prop upper turrets were installed, and to represent different models, several aircraft had turrets installed behind the wings representing early (B-25C/D type) aircraft.[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Farmer_p._59-13) Initially, the camera ships also had mock turrets installed, but problems with buffeting necessitated their removal.[\[16\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-17) Many of the "Tallmantz Air Force fleet" went on to careers in films and television, before being sold as surplus.[\[17\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-18) Fifteen of the 18 bombers remain intact, including one displayed at the [Smithsonian Institution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution "Smithsonian Institution")'s [National Air and Space Museum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Air_and_Space_Museum "National Air and Space Museum").[\[18\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-nasm-19) ### Death on the set \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=8 "Edit section: Death on the set")\] Second unit director John Jordan refused to wear a harness during a bomber scene and fell out of the open tail turret 4,000 ft (1,200 m) into the [Pacific Ocean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ocean "Pacific Ocean") to his death.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-:0-3)[\[19\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-The_70's_movies_Rewind-20) ## Release \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=9 "Edit section: Release")\] A half-hour preview of the film was held at the [San Francisco International Film Festival](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_International_Film_Festival "San Francisco International Film Festival") on October 31, 1969.[\[20\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-21) The film had premieres on June 24, 1970, in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Toronto.[\[21\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-22) ### Home media \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=10 "Edit section: Home media")\] Catch-22 was released for home viewing on VHS and Beta in 1979, Laserdisc in 1982, and SelectaVision CED disc. Some of the music was changed for the 1992 VHS Hi-Fi re-release. Catch-22 was re-released to DVD by [Paramount Home Entertainment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramount_Home_Entertainment "Paramount Home Entertainment") on May 21, 2013; a previous version was released on May 22, 2001. The DVD contains commentary by director Mike Nichols moderated by [Steven Soderbergh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Soderbergh "Steven Soderbergh"). [Shout! Studios](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shout!_Studios "Shout! Studios") is scheduled to release the film on 4K Blu-ray on October 28, 2025. ## Reception \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=11 "Edit section: Reception")\] ### Critical reaction \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=12 "Edit section: Critical reaction")\] On the [review aggregator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Review_aggregator "Review aggregator") website [Rotten Tomatoes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotten_Tomatoes "Rotten Tomatoes"), 81% of 31 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Catch-22 takes entertainingly chaotic aim at the insanity of armed combat, supported by a terrific cast and smart, funny work from Buck Henry and Mike Nichols."[\[22\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-23) [Metacritic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacritic "Metacritic"), which uses a [weighted average](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weighted_arithmetic_mean "Weighted arithmetic mean"), assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[\[23\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-24) [Vincent Canby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Canby "Vincent Canby") of [The New York Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times "The New York Times") praised the film as "the most moving, the most intelligent, the most humane--oh, to hell with it!--it's the best American film I've seen this year." He felt the film was "complete and consistent", and commended its balance of comedy and seriousness as well as the ensemble cast.[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Canby-9) In a cover story about Mike Nichols, [Time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_$magazine$ "Time (magazine)") wrote "It is the book's cold rage that he has nurtured. In the jokes that matter, the film is as hard as a diamond, cold to the touch and brilliant to the eye. To Nichols, Catch-22 is 'about dying'; to Arkin, it is 'about selfishness'; to audiences, it will be a memorable horror comedy of war, with the accent on horror."[\[24\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-25) [Roger Ebert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert "Roger Ebert") of the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Sun-Times "Chicago Sun-Times") gave the film 3 stars out of 4, calling it "a disappointment, and not simply because it fails to do justice to the Heller novel." Ebert wrote there were "some fine moments" in Catch 22, but he condemned the shift in tone from farcical satire in the first half of the film to gore and violence in the final scenes. He also felt the Arkin was "a tremendously gifted actor" but it was an error for him to play Yosarrian as an edgy paranoid, when "the point of the performance should be precisely that he isn’t nuts". The other cast members were not believable in their roles, apart from Perkins, and as a result "the characters don’t come across as human". Nichols's film used a fashionable anti-war message without, as Ebert wrote, "realizing that for Heller World War II was symbolic of a much larger disease: life."[\[25\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-26) Similarly, [Gene Siskel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Siskel "Gene Siskel") for the [Chicago Tribune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tribune "Chicago Tribune") gave the film 2\+1⁄2 stars out of four arguing the film "spends too much time accommodating a huge cast", and instead the film should have properly focused on "Yossarian's combat, with the catch into his head where it belongs". Nevertheless, he wrote "The film's technical credits, photography, and special effects are uniformly outstanding. Of the huge supporting cast, Dick Benjamin, Bob Newhart, and Jack Gilford are the best."[\[26\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-27) [Charles Champlin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Champlin "Charles Champlin"), reviewing for the [Los Angeles Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Times "Los Angeles Times"), felt that Catch-22 is awfully good, and also a disappointment: Chilly brilliant at its best but flawed at last by its detachment and by its failure to catch fire and give off heat. Its fury is cold and intellectual and cannot reach us or involve us at gut level."[\[27\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-28) [Richard Schickel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Schickel "Richard Schickel") in [LIFE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIFE_Magazine "LIFE Magazine") panned the film, saying it failed to translate what made Joseph Heller's novel a generational phenomenon to the screen. In his review entitled "One of our novels is missing," Schickel wrote: > Mike Nichols' movie version of the novel is, in tone, as hot and heavy as the original was cool and light. Charitably, one might say that he was seeking the visual equivalent of the book's verbal style. But he failed abysmally, and in the process he and Writer Buck Henry have mislaid every bit of the humor that made the novel emotionally bearable and esthetically memorable, replacing it with desperately earnest proof they hate war.... \[T\]he key to the film's almost total failure lies in its restructuring of the novel. It is shot as if it were a single hallucinatory flashback suffered by Yossarian, Heller's Everyman-turned-Bombardier.... Far from seeming wild and free, this dream structure struck me as inhumanly manipulative, for it imposes on both the material and the audience a single, simple point of view: I'm crazy, they're crazy, we're all crazy in this crazy world. The characters can't wiggle free of it and live for so much as a single wayward, truly human moment. We, as an audience, are never allowed to think, feel, respond as we will. We are as trapped at a single level of response as ever we were in those hack war movies Nichols mocks.[\[28\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-LIFE_Magazine-29) In later years, film historians and reviewers Jack Harwick and Ed Schnepf characterized the film as deeply flawed, calling Henry's screenplay disjointed, and claimed its only redeeming features were the limited aerial sequences.[\[29\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-30) ### Box office \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=13 "Edit section: Box office")\] Upon the initial release, Catch-22 earned US\$24.9 million out of the budget of US\$18 million, earning it a spot in the top ten box office hits of 1970, but falling short of being profitable.[\[30\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-31) It was director [Mike Nichols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Nichols "Mike Nichols")' third film, after the acclaimed [Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_Afraid_of_Virginia_Woolf%3F_$film$ "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)") and [The Graduate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Graduate "The Graduate"). It was not regarded as a comparable success, earning less money and critical acclaim than the film version of [MASH](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MASH_$film$ "MASH (film)"), another war-themed [black comedy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_comedy "Black comedy") released earlier the same year. In addition, some critics believed that the film appeared as Americans were becoming more resentful of the bitter and ugly experience of the Vietnam War, leading to a general decline in the interest of war pictures, with the notable exceptions of MASH and [Patton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patton_$film$ "Patton (film)").[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Orriss_p._189-12) Critic Lucia Bozzola wrote "Paramount spent a great deal of money on Catch-22, but it wound up getting trumped by another 1970 antiwar farce: [Robert Altman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Altman "Robert Altman")'s MASH."[\[31\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-variety-bozzola-32) ## Adaptations in other media \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=14 "Edit section: Adaptations in other media")\] A [pilot episode](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_pilot "Television pilot") for a Catch-22 television series was aired on ABC in 1973, with [Richard Dreyfuss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dreyfuss "Richard Dreyfuss") in the Captain Yossarian role.[\[32\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-33) A six-part [Catch 22](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$miniseries$ "Catch-22 (miniseries)") miniseries, produced by [Hulu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulu "Hulu") and [Sky Italia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Italia "Sky Italia"), premiered worldwide in 2019. There have been other films with "Catch-22" in their names, including the documentary Catch-22 (2007) and the short films Catch 22: The New Contract (2009) and Catch22 (2010), but they have been unrelated to either the book or film adaptation.[\[33\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-34) ## In popular culture \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=15 "Edit section: In popular culture")\] The anti-war song "Survivor Guilt" by [punk rock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punk_rock "Punk rock") band [Rise Against](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rise_Against "Rise Against") features samples of dialog from the movie, specifically the discussion between Nately and the old man about the fall of great countries and potential fall of the US, and their argument about the phrase "It's better to live on your feet than die on your knees." The same excerpts from the film previously were used by lead singer Tim McIlrath, in the song "Burden", recorded by his former band, Baxter.[\[34\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-35) ## See also \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=16 "Edit section: See also")\] - [List of American films of 1970](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_1970 "List of American films of 1970") ## References \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=17 "Edit section: References")\] ### Notes \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=18 "Edit section: Notes")\] 1. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-14) Most of the aerial footage was unused due to a directorial conflict between Nichols and Tallman, head of the Air Operations and Aerial Unit. ### Citations \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=19 "Edit section: Citations")\] 1. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-1) ["Catch-22, Box Office Information"](http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1970/0CT22.php). [The Numbers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Numbers_$website$ "The Numbers (website)"). Retrieved May 23, 2012. 2. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-paula_2-0) Vagg, Stephen (August 12, 2025). ["Not Quite Movie Stars: Paula Prentiss"](https://www.filmink.com.au/not-quite-movie-stars-paula-prentiss/). Filmink. Retrieved August 12, 2025. 3. ^ [*a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-:0_3-0) [b](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-:0_3-1) [c](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-:0_3-2) ["Catch-22"](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23456-CATCH-22?cxt=filmography). AFI Catalog. Retrieved April 20, 2023. 4. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-simon_4-0)* [Michaels, Sean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Michaels_$writer$ "Sean Michaels (writer)") (February 13, 2013). ["Art Garfunkel implicates film director Mike Nichols in split with Paul Simon"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/12/art-garfunkel-paul-simon). [The Guardian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian "The Guardian"). Retrieved October 2, 2024. 5. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-5) [Ephron, Nora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Ephron "Nora Ephron") (March 16, 1969). ["Yossarian Is Alive And Well in the Mexican Desert"](https://movies2.nytimes.com/books/98/02/15/home/heller-yossarian.html). [The New York Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times "The New York Times"). Retrieved October 23, 2020. 6. ^ [*a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Editor_6-0) [b](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Editor_6-1) Tallman 2008, p. 15 (Editor's Note). 7. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-7)* Nichols and Soderbergh 2001 8. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-variety_8-0) McCarthy, Todd. ["Catch-22 (Review)."](https://variety.com/1969/film/reviews/catch-22-1200422261/) [Variety](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_$magazine$ "Variety (magazine)"), December 31, 1969. 9. ^ [*a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Canby_9-0) [b](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Canby_9-1) Canby, Vincent (June 28, 1970). ["A Triumphant 'Catch'"](https://movies2.nytimes.com/books/98/02/15/home/heller-canby.html). The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2020. 10. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-10)* Evans 2000, p. 38. 11. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-11) ["B-25H 43-4432"](https://b-25history.org/aircraft/434432.htm) B-25 History Project. Retrieved 23 July 2024. 12. ^ [*a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Orriss_p._189_12-0) [b](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Orriss_p._189_12-1) Orriss 1984, p. 189. 13. ^ [a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Farmer_p._59_13-0) [b](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Farmer_p._59_13-1) Farmer 1972, p. 59. 14. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-15)* Farmer 1972, pp. 20–21. 15. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-16) Thompson 1980, p. 75. 16. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-17) Farmer 1972, p. 23. 17. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-18) Farmer 1972, pp. 58–59. 18. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-nasm_19-0) ["National Air and Space Museum Collections Database."](http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19860003000) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110402204004/http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19860003000) 2011-04-02 at the [Wayback Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine") [Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution "Smithsonian Institution"). Retrieved: April 16, 2008. 19. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-The_70's_movies_Rewind_20-0) Conant, Richard. ["The 70's movies Rewind."](http://70s.fast-rewind.com/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090605201308/http://70s.fast-rewind.com/) 2009-06-05 at the [Wayback Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine") 70s.fast-rewind.com. Retrieved: June 27, 2009. 20. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-21) "Mike Nichols To Unveil 'Catch' Footage at Frisco". [Variety](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_$magazine$ "Variety (magazine)"). October 15, 1969. p. 19. 21. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-22) "Catch-22 (advertisement)". [Variety](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_$magazine$ "Variety (magazine)"). June 17, 1970. p. 12. 22. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-23) ["Catch-22 (1970)"](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/catch22). [Rotten Tomatoes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotten_Tomatoes "Rotten Tomatoes"). [Fandango Media](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fandango_Media "Fandango Media"). Retrieved November 20, 2022. 23. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-24) ["Catch-22 Reviews"](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/catch-22). [Metacritic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacritic "Metacritic"). [Fandom, Inc.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fandom_$website$#Fandom,_Inc. "Fandom (website)") Retrieved November 20, 2022. 24. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-25) ["Cinema: Some are More Yossarian than Others"](https://time.com/3597288/some-are-more-yossarian-than-others/). Time. Vol. 95, no. 24. June 14, 1970. pp. 66–74. Retrieved October 23, 2020. [![Open access icon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg/20px-Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg.png)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access "open access publication – free to read") 25. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-26) Ebert, Roger (June 1970). ["Catch-22 movie review & film summary (1970)"](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/catch-22-1970). Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved October 23, 2020 – via [RogerEbert.com](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RogerEbert.com "RogerEbert.com"). 26. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-27) Siskel, Gene (June 26, 1970). ["Movie Review: 'Catch-22'"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61571700/gene-siskels-review-of-catch-22/). Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 1 – via [Newspapers.com](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspapers.com "Newspapers.com"). [![Open access icon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg/20px-Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg.png)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access "open access publication – free to read") 27. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-28) Champlin, Charles (June 28, 1970). ["Heller's Novel 'Catch-22' Becomes a Big, Icy Movie"](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/165955651/). Los Angeles Times. pp. 1, 20, 22. Retrieved October 23, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. 28. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-LIFE_Magazine_29-0) "One of our novels is missing". LIFE Magazine. 69 (1): 12. July 4, 1970. 29. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-30) Harwick and Schnepf 1989, p. 62. 30. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-31) ["Catch-22 (1970) - Financial Information"](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Catch-22). The Numbers. Retrieved June 2, 2022. 31. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-variety-bozzola_32-0) Bozzola, Lucia (2007). ["Catch-22 (overview)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071019075708/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/8628/Catch-22/overview). Movies & TV Dept. [The New York Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times "The New York Times"). Archived from [the original](https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/8628/Catch-22/overview) on October 19, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2008. 32. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-33) ["Catch 22 (1973)."](https://web.archive.org/web/20130723134103/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/463102/Catch-22/) Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: November 20, 2011. 33. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-34) ["Catch-22."](https://www.imdb.com/find?q=Catch-22&s=all) IMDb. Retrieved: November 20, 2011. 34. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-35) ["Reviews: "File under: Rejuvenated political punk (from Rise Against Endgame)."](http://www.altpress.com/reviews/entry/rise_against_endgame) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140317020334/http://www.altpress.com/reviews/entry/rise_against_endgame) March 17, 2014, at the [Wayback Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine") altpress.com, March 15, 2011. Retrieved: May 22, 2012. ### Bibliography \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=20 "Edit section: Bibliography")\] - Bennighof, James. The Words and Music of Paul Simon. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_$identifier$ "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0-27599-163-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-27599-163-0 "Special:BookSources/978-0-27599-163-0") . - Evans, Alun. Brassey's Guide to War Films. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_$identifier$ "ISBN (identifier)") [1-57488-263-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-57488-263-5 "Special:BookSources/1-57488-263-5") . - Farmer, James H. "The Catch-22 Air Force." Air Classics, Volume 8, No. 14, December 1972. - Harwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies". The Making of the Great Aviation Films, General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989. - Nichols, Mike and Steven Soderbergh. "Commentary." Catch-22 DVD (Special Features). Los Angeles: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, 2001. - Orriss, Bruce. When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_$identifier$ "ISBN (identifier)") [0-9613088-0-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9613088-0-X "Special:BookSources/0-9613088-0-X") . - Tallman, Frank. "The Making of Catch-22." Warbirds International, Vol. 27, no. 4, May/June 2008. - Thegze, Chuck "I See Everything Twice": An Examination of Catch-22, University of California Press. - Thompson, Scott A. "Hollywood Mitchells." Air Classics, Vol. 16, No. 9, September 1980. ## External links \[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_$film$&action=edit&section=21 "Edit section: External links")\] [![logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/40px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wikiquote-logo.svg) Wikiquote has quotations related to *[Catch-22 (film)](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/Catch-22_$film$ "q:Special:Search/Catch-22 (film)"). [![logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/40px-Commons-logo.svg.png)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Commons-logo.svg) Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Catch-22 (film)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Catch-22_$film$ "commons:Category:Catch-22 (film)"). - [Catch-22](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/23456) at the [AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI_Catalog_of_Feature_Films "AFI Catalog of Feature Films")* - [Catch-22](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065528/) at [IMDb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMDb_$identifier$ "IMDb (identifier)") - [Catch-22](https://web.archive.org/web//https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/16665/enwp) at the [TCM Movie Database](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turner_Classic_Movies#TCMdb "Turner Classic Movies") (archived version) - [Catch-22](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/catch22) at [Rotten Tomatoes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotten_Tomatoes "Rotten Tomatoes") - [Catch-22 camera aircraft history](https://www.aerovintage.com/tallmantz-aviation/tallmantz-n1203/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20211121054107/http://www.aerovintage.com/N1203.htm) 2021-11-21 at the [Wayback Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine") \| [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Catch-22 "Template:Catch-22") [t](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Catch-22 "Template talk:Catch-22") [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Catch-22 "Special:EditPage/Template:Catch-22")[Joseph Heller's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Heller "Joseph Heller") [Catch-22](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22 "Catch-22")* \| \| \|---\|---\| \| Catch-22 \| [Catch-22](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22 "Catch-22") [Closing Time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closing_Time_$novel$ "Closing Time (novel)") [Catch-22 (film)]() [Catch-22 (play)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$play$ "Catch-22 (play)") [Clevinger's Trial (play)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clevinger%27s_Trial "Clevinger's Trial") [Catch-22 (miniseries)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$miniseries$ "Catch-22 (miniseries)") [Catch-22 (logic)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$logic$ "Catch-22 (logic)") \| \| [Characters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Catch-22_characters "List of Catch-22 characters") \| [John Yossarian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yossarian "Yossarian") [Capt. Aardvark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Aardvark "Captain Aardvark") [Chaplain Tappman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplain_Tappman "Chaplain Tappman") [Col. Cathcart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Cathcart "Colonel Cathcart") [Doc Daneeka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Daneeka "Doc Daneeka") [Major Major Major Major](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Major_Major_Major "Major Major Major Major") [Milo Minderbinder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Minderbinder "Milo Minderbinder") [Nately](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nately "Nately") [Orr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orr_$Catch-22$ "Orr (Catch-22)") [Scheisskopf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheisskopf "Scheisskopf") \| \| [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Mike_Nichols "Template:Mike Nichols") [t](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Mike_Nichols "Template talk:Mike Nichols") [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Mike_Nichols "Special:EditPage/Template:Mike Nichols")[Mike Nichols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Nichols "Mike Nichols") \| \| \|---\|---\| \| [On screen and stage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Nichols_on_screen_and_stage "Mike Nichols on screen and stage") [Awards and nominations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Mike_Nichols "List of awards and nominations received by Mike Nichols") [Unrealized projects](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Nichols%27_unrealized_projects "Mike Nichols' unrealized projects") \| \| \| Feature films \| [Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_Afraid_of_Virginia_Woolf%3F_$film$ "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)") (1966) [The Graduate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Graduate "The Graduate") (1967) [Catch-22]() (1970) [Carnal Knowledge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnal_Knowledge_$film$ "Carnal Knowledge (film)") (1971) [The Day of the Dolphin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Dolphin "The Day of the Dolphin") (1973) [The Fortune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fortune "The Fortune") (1975) [Gilda Live](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilda_Live "Gilda Live") (1980) [Silkwood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silkwood "Silkwood") (1983) [Heartburn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartburn_$film$ "Heartburn (film)") (1986) [Biloxi Blues](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biloxi_Blues_$film$ "Biloxi Blues (film)") (1988) [Working Girl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_Girl "Working Girl") (1988) [Postcards from the Edge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcards_from_the_Edge_$film$ "Postcards from the Edge (film)") (1990) [Regarding Henry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regarding_Henry "Regarding Henry") (1991) [Wolf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_$1994_film$ "Wolf (1994 film)") (1994) [The Birdcage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birdcage "The Birdcage") (1996) [Primary Colors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_Colors_$film$ "Primary Colors (film)") (1998) [What Planet Are You From?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Planet_Are_You_From%3F "What Planet Are You From?") (2000) [Closer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closer_$film$ "Closer (film)") (2004) [Charlie Wilson's War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Wilson%27s_War_$film$ "Charlie Wilson's War (film)") (2007) \| \| Television \| [Wit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wit_$film$ "Wit (film)") (2001) [Angels in America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_in_America_$miniseries$ "Angels in America (miniseries)") (2003) \| \| Related \| [Nichols and May](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichols_and_May "Nichols and May") [Mike Nichols: American Masters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Nichols:_American_Masters "Mike Nichols: American Masters") (2016 documentary) [Becoming Mike Nichols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becoming_Mike_Nichols "Becoming Mike Nichols") (2016 documentary) \| \| [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Buck_Henry "Template:Buck Henry") [t](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Buck_Henry "Template talk:Buck Henry") [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Buck_Henry "Special:EditPage/Template:Buck Henry")Films by [Buck Henry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Henry "Buck Henry") \| \| \|---\|---\| \| As director \| [Heaven Can Wait](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_Can_Wait_$1978_film$ "Heaven Can Wait (1978 film)") (1978) [First Family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Family_$film$ "First Family (film)") (1980) \| \| As writer \| [The Troublemaker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troublemaker_$1964_film$ "The Troublemaker (1964 film)") (1964) [The Graduate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Graduate "The Graduate") (1967) [Candy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_$1968_film$ "Candy (1968 film)") (1968) [Catch-22]() (1970) [The Owl and the Pussycat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Owl_and_the_Pussycat_$film$ "The Owl and the Pussycat (film)") (1970) [What's Up, Doc?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What%27s_Up,_Doc%3F_$1972_film$ "What's Up, Doc? (1972 film)") (1972) [The Day of the Dolphin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Dolphin "The Day of the Dolphin") (1973) [Protocol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_$film$ "Protocol (film)") (1984) [To Die For](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Die_For "To Die For") (1995) [Town & Country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_%26_Country_$film$ "Town & Country (film)") (2001) [The Humbling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Humbling_$film$ "The Humbling (film)") (2014) \| ![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?useformat=desktop&type=1x1&usesul3=1) Retrieved from "<https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catch-22_(film)&oldid=1339536349>" [Categories](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Category "Help:Category"): - [1970 films](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1970_films "Category:1970 films") - [Catch-22](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Catch-22 "Category:Catch-22") - [1970 war films](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1970_war_films "Category:1970 war films") - 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Readable Markdown	\| Catch-22 \| \| \|---\|---\| \| [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d6/Catch-22_poster.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Catch-22_poster.jpg)Theatrical release poster \| \| \| Directed by \| [Mike Nichols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Nichols "Mike Nichols") \| \| Screenplay by \| [Buck Henry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Henry "Buck Henry") \| \| Based on \| [Catch-22](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22 "Catch-22") by [Joseph Heller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Heller "Joseph Heller") \| \| Produced by \| [John Calley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calley "John Calley") [Martin Ransohoff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Ransohoff "Martin Ransohoff") \| \| Starring \| [Alan Arkin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Arkin "Alan Arkin") [Martin Balsam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Balsam "Martin Balsam") [Richard Benjamin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Benjamin "Richard Benjamin") [Art Garfunkel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Garfunkel "Art Garfunkel") [Jack Gilford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Gilford "Jack Gilford") Buck Henry [Bob Newhart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Newhart "Bob Newhart") [Anthony Perkins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Perkins "Anthony Perkins") [Paula Prentiss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Prentiss "Paula Prentiss") [Martin Sheen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Sheen "Martin Sheen") [Jon Voight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Voight "Jon Voight") [Orson Welles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles "Orson Welles") \| \| Cinematography \| [David Watkin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Watkin_$cinematographer$ "David Watkin (cinematographer)") \| \| Edited by \| [Sam O'Steen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_O%27Steen "Sam O'Steen") \| \| Music by \| [Richard Strauss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Strauss "Richard Strauss") \| \| Production companies \| [Filmways](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmways "Filmways") [Paramount Pictures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramount_Pictures "Paramount Pictures") \| \| Distributed by \| Paramount Pictures \| \| Release date \| June 24, 1970 \| \| Running time \| 122 minutes \| \| Country \| United States \| \| Language \| English \| \| Budget \| \$18 million \| \| Box office \| \$24.9 million[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-1) \| *Catch-22* is a 1970 American [satirical](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satirical "Satirical") [comedy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy "Comedy") [war film](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_film "War film") adapted from the 1961 [novel of the same name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22 "Catch-22") by [Joseph Heller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Heller "Joseph Heller"). In creating a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical [anti-war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-war "Anti-war") [novel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novel "Novel") set at a fictional [Mediterranean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea "Mediterranean Sea") base during [World War II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II "World War II"), director [Mike Nichols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Nichols "Mike Nichols") and screenwriter [Buck Henry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Henry "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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Arkin "Alan Arkin"), [Bob Balaban](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Balaban "Bob Balaban"), [Martin Balsam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Balsam "Martin Balsam"), [Richard Benjamin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Benjamin "Richard Benjamin"), Italian actress [Olimpia Carlisi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olimpia_Carlisi "Olimpia Carlisi"), French comedian [Marcel Dalio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Dalio "Marcel Dalio"), [Art Garfunkel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Garfunkel "Art Garfunkel") in his acting debut, [Jack Gilford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Gilford "Jack Gilford"), [Charles Grodin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Grodin "Charles Grodin"), [Bob Newhart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Newhart "Bob Newhart"), [Anthony Perkins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Perkins "Anthony Perkins"), [Austin Pendleton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Pendleton "Austin Pendleton"), [Paula Prentiss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Prentiss "Paula Prentiss"), [Martin Sheen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Sheen "Martin Sheen"), [Jon Voight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Voight "Jon Voight"), and [Orson Welles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles "Orson Welles"). Garfunkel's songwriting partner [Paul Simon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Simon "Paul Simon") also appeared, but his scenes were cut. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/AL77A-126_%2814334553607%29.jpg/330px-AL77A-126_%2814334553607%29.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AL77A-126_$14334553607$.jpg) Photo of plane crash from the film taken by a person on the set Captain [John Yossarian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Yossarian "John Yossarian"), a [U.S. Army Air Force](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Army_Air_Force "U.S. Army Air Force") [B-25](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_B-25_Mitchell "North American B-25 Mitchell") [bombardier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_$air_force$ "Bombardier (air force)"), is stationed on the Mediterranean base on [Pianosa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pianosa "Pianosa") during World War II. Along with his squadron members, Yossarian is committed to flying dangerous missions, but after watching friends die, he seeks a means of escape. While most bomber crews are rotated out after 25 missions, Yossarian's commanding officer, [Colonel Cathcart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Cathcart "Colonel Cathcart"), keeps raising the minimum number of missions for this base before anyone can reach it, eventually to an unobtainable 80 missions, a figure resulting from Cathcart's craving for publicity, primarily a mention in the nationally syndicated [Saturday Evening Post](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Evening_Post "Saturday Evening Post") magazine. Futilely appealing to Cathcart, Yossarian learns that even a [mental breakdown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_breakdown "Mental breakdown") is no release when [Doc Daneeka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Daneeka "Doc Daneeka") explains the "Catch-22" the Army Air Force employs: > An airman would have to be crazy to fly more missions, and if he were crazy, he would be unfit to fly. Yet, if an airman were to refuse to fly more missions, this would indicate that he is sane, which would mean that he would be fit to fly the missions. The airman is thus in an impossible "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. Yossarian is haunted, in several recurring flashbacks during the film, by the bloody death of [Snowden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowden_$character$ "Snowden (character)"), the young turret gunner on his B-25. After Snowden's death, Yossarian temporarily refuses to wear his uniform, which Snowden bled on. He shows up at a medal ceremony naked, and later morosely sits naked in a tree, where he is visited by Lieutenant [Milo Minderbinder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Minderbinder "Milo Minderbinder"), who rapidly progresses from squadron supply officer to a capitalistic tycoon involved in black-market money-making schemes. The bomber squadron is populated by many other comically strange characters. [Major Major](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Major_Major_Major "Major Major Major Major"), the squadron's operations officer, is promoted to a squadron commander without ever having flown in a plane and refuses to see anyone in his office while he is in, instructing [Sergeant Towser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergeant_Towser "Sergeant Towser") that people can see him when he's out. The person has to wait in the waiting room until Major Major is gone, then can go right in. Trapped by this convoluted logic, Yossarian watches as individuals in the squadron resort to unusual means to cope; Milo concocts elaborate black market schemes while crazed Captain ["Aarfy" Aardvark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Aardvark "Captain Aardvark") commits murder to silence a girl he has raped. Lieutenant [Nately](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nately "Nately") falls for a sex worker, [Major Danby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Danby "Major Danby") delivers goofy pep talks before every bomb run, and Captain [Orr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orr_$Catch-22$ "Orr (Catch-22)") keeps crashing at sea. Meanwhile, [Nurse Duckett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurse_Duckett "Nurse Duckett") occasionally beds Yossarian. Nately dies as a result of an agreement between Milo and the Germans, trading surplus cotton in exchange for the squadron bombing its own base. While on a pass, Yossarian shares this news with Nately's romantic partner, who then tries to kill him. Because of Yossarian's constant complaints, Cathcart and [Lieutenant Colonel Korn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_Colonel_Korn "Lieutenant Colonel Korn") eventually agree to send him home, promising him a promotion to major and awarding him a medal for the fictitious saving of Cathcart's life; the only requirement being that Yossarian agrees to "like" the colonels and praise them when he gets home. Immediately after agreeing to Cathcart's and Korn's plan, Yossarian survives an attempt on his life when stabbed by Nately's partner, who had disguised herself as a janitor. Once recovered, Yossarian learns from Danby and [Chaplain Tappman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplain_Tappman "Chaplain Tappman") that Orr's supposed death was a hoax and that Orr's repeated "crash" landings had been a subterfuge for practicing and planning his own escape from the madness. Yossarian is informed that Orr ditched the plane and paddled a rescue raft all the way to Sweden on his last run. Yossarian decides to abandon the deal with Cathcart, leaps out of the hospital window, takes a raft from a damaged plane and, while a marching band practices for the ceremony to award Yossarian the promotion and medal, he hops into the sea, climbs into the raft and starts paddling. Main cast (as appearing in screen credits): - [Alan Arkin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Arkin "Alan Arkin") as [Captain John Yossarian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yossarian "Yossarian") (Bombardier) - [Bob Balaban](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Balaban "Bob Balaban") as [Captain Orr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orr_$Catch-22$ "Orr (Catch-22)") (Bomber Pilot) - [Martin Balsam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Balsam "Martin Balsam") as [Colonel Chuck Cathcart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Cathcart "Colonel Cathcart") (Group Commander, 256th Bomb Group) - [Richard Benjamin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Benjamin "Richard Benjamin") as Major Danby (Group Operations Officer) - [Susanne Benton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanne_Benton "Susanne Benton") as Dreedle's [WAC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Army_Corps "Women's Army Corps") - [Olimpia Carlisi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olimpia_Carlisi "Olimpia Carlisi") as Luciana, the Alluring Passerby - [Marcel Dalio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Dalio "Marcel Dalio") as Old Man in Whorehouse - [Norman Fell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Fell "Norman Fell") as First Sgt. Towser (Major Major's Desk Clerk, later Acting Squadron Commander) - [Art Garfunkel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Garfunkel "Art Garfunkel") (billed Arthur Garfunkel) as [Lt. Edward J. Nately III](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nately "Nately") (Pilot) - [Jack Gilford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Gilford "Jack Gilford") as Dr. "Doc" Daneeka (Group Flight Surgeon) - [Charles Grodin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Grodin "Charles Grodin") as [Captain "Aarfy" Aardvark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Aardvark "Captain Aardvark") (Navigator) - [Buck Henry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Henry "Buck Henry") as Lt. Colonel Korn (Group XO / Roman policeman) - [Bob Newhart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Newhart "Bob Newhart") as [Captain/Major Major](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Major_Major_Major "Major Major Major Major") (Laundry Officer, later Squadron Commander) - [Austin Pendleton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Pendleton "Austin Pendleton") as Lt. Col. Moodus - [Anthony Perkins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Perkins "Anthony Perkins") as [Capt. Fr. Albert Taylor "A. T." Tappman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplain_A._T._Tappman "Chaplain A. T. Tappman") (Chaplain) - [Paula Prentiss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Prentiss "Paula Prentiss") as Nurse Duckett (Army Medical Nurse Corps)[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-paula-2) - [Martin Sheen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Sheen "Martin Sheen") as 1st Lt. Dobbs (Pilot) - [Jon Voight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Voight "Jon Voight") as 1st [Lt. Milo Minderbinder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Minderbinder "Milo Minderbinder") (Mess Officer) - [Orson Welles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles "Orson Welles") as Brigadier General Dreedle (Wing Commander) [Orson Welles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles "Orson Welles") first tried to buy the rights to Heller's novel to independently produce and direct it in 1962, but was unsuccessful. He wound up cast in the role of [General Dreedle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dreedle "General Dreedle"). [Columbia Pictures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Pictures "Columbia Pictures") purchased the rights to it in 1965 and attempted to develop the film with [Richard Brooks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Brooks "Richard Brooks") or [Richard Quine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Quine "Richard Quine") as potential directors, while [Jack Lemmon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Lemmon "Jack Lemmon") was considered as Captain Yossarian. Heller grew dissatisfied with the two as he believed they were “incapable of pursuing the wildly satirical (and anti-military) point of view of his novel.” The studio subsequently sold the rights to [Martin Ransohoff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Ransohoff "Martin Ransohoff") at [Filmways](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmways "Filmways") in 1967, which had already hired Mike Nichols to direct. Nichols originally announced that principal photography would begin in “late 1967-early 1968” in [Yugoslavia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia "Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia") and [Italy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy "Italy"). However, the project was delayed for several years as Nichols and [John Calley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calley "John Calley") searched for Italian terrain that had not been destroyed by [World War II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Italy_during_World_War_II "Military history of Italy during World War II"). [Daily Variety](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_magazine "Variety magazine") in the period 1967-69 reported that [Andre Previn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Previn "Andre Previn") would score the picture and that Nichols sought to cast [Walter Matthau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Matthau "Walter Matthau") and [Al Pacino](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Pacino "Al Pacino") in the movie, but none of them participated in the picture. [Stacy Keach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stacy_Keach "Stacy Keach") was also cast in the film before departing a month prior to filming.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-:0-3) Nichols eventually decided on [Mexico](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico "Mexico") as the primary shooting location of the film. Production began on January 13, 1969, at an airfield constructed for the film near [Guaymas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaymas "Guaymas"), [Sonora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonora "Sonora"), on the [Gulf of California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_California "Gulf of California"). The filmmakers spent \$180,000 building a five-mile highway to the site (which previously could only be accessed by boat) and an additional \$250,000 for a 6,000-ft. runway; the airfield today is Guaymas airport. After a week of filming, Nichols sent back 200 of the American extras in order to give the base in the film a more isolated atmosphere. Welles filmed his cameo appearance as General Dreedle in eight days. Some filming also took place at the [Palazzo Farnese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Farnese "Palazzo Farnese") and the Palazzo Navona in [Rome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome "Rome"). Production concluded in August 1969 after a final two months of interior filming in [Hollywood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood,_Los_Angeles "Hollywood, Los Angeles").[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-:0-3) [Paul Simon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Simon "Paul Simon") was cast in a part, as was Art Garfunkel, his partner in the musical group [Simon and Garfunkel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_and_Garfunkel "Simon and Garfunkel"). Garfunkel's part grew while Simon's part was cut from the final film, a move which contributed to the breakup of the duo, according to Garfunkel.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-simon-4) The adaptation changed the book's plot. Several [story arcs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Story_arc "Story arc") are left out, and many characters in the movie speak dialogue and experience events of other characters in the book.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-5) Despite the changes in the screenplay, Heller approved of the film, according to a commentary by Nichols and [Steven Soderbergh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Soderbergh "Steven Soderbergh") included on a [DVD](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD "DVD") release.[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Editor-6) According to Nichols, Heller was particularly impressed with a few scenes and bits of dialogue Henry created for the film, and said he wished he could have included them in the novel.[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-7) The pacing of the novel Catch-22 is frenetic, its tenor intellectual, and its tone largely [absurdist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absurdist_fiction "Absurdist fiction"),[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-variety-8) interspersed with brief moments of gritty, almost horrific, realism. The novel did not follow a normal chronological progression; rather, it was told as a series of different and often (seemingly, until later) unrelated events, most from the point of view of the central character Yossarian. The film simplified the plot,[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Canby-9)[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-10) but it preserved the frenetic pacing, intellectual tenor and realistic tone of the novel. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/B-25_from_movie_Catch_22_%284877655203%29.jpg/250px-B-25_from_movie_Catch_22_%284877655203%29.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:B-25_from_movie_Catch_22_$4877655203$.jpg) B-25H 43-4432 featured in the film, still airworthy with the [EAA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_Aircraft_Association "Experimental Aircraft Association") as of 2024.[\[11\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-11) Paramount assigned a \$17 million budget to the production and planned to film key flying scenes for six weeks, but the aerial sequences required six months of camera work, resulting in the bombers flying about 1,500 hours.[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Orriss_p._189-12) They appear on screen for approximately 10 minutes.[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Farmer_p._59-13)[\[Note 1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-14) Catch-22 is renowned for its role in saving the [B-25 Mitchell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-25_Mitchell "B-25 Mitchell") aircraft from possible extinction.[\[14\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-15) The film's budget accommodated 17 flyable B-25 Mitchells, and one hulk was acquired in Mexico, and flown with landing gear down to the [Guaymas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaymas "Guaymas"), [Sonora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonora "Sonora"), [Mexico](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico "Mexico") filming location.[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Editor-6) The aircraft was burned and destroyed in the crash landing scene. The wreck was then buried in the ground by the runway, where it remains.[\[15\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-16) For the film, prop upper turrets were installed, and to represent different models, several aircraft had turrets installed behind the wings representing early (B-25C/D type) aircraft.[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Farmer_p._59-13) Initially, the camera ships also had mock turrets installed, but problems with buffeting necessitated their removal.[\[16\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-17) Many of the "Tallmantz Air Force fleet" went on to careers in films and television, before being sold as surplus.[\[17\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-18) Fifteen of the 18 bombers remain intact, including one displayed at the [Smithsonian Institution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution "Smithsonian Institution")'s [National Air and Space Museum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Air_and_Space_Museum "National Air and Space Museum").[\[18\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-nasm-19) Second unit director John Jordan refused to wear a harness during a bomber scene and fell out of the open tail turret 4,000 ft (1,200 m) into the [Pacific Ocean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ocean "Pacific Ocean") to his death.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-:0-3)[\[19\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-The_70's_movies_Rewind-20) A half-hour preview of the film was held at the [San Francisco International Film Festival](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_International_Film_Festival "San Francisco International Film Festival") on October 31, 1969.[\[20\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-21) The film had premieres on June 24, 1970, in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Toronto.[\[21\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-22) Catch-22 was released for home viewing on VHS and Beta in 1979, Laserdisc in 1982, and SelectaVision CED disc. Some of the music was changed for the 1992 VHS Hi-Fi re-release. Catch-22 was re-released to DVD by [Paramount Home Entertainment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramount_Home_Entertainment "Paramount Home Entertainment") on May 21, 2013; a previous version was released on May 22, 2001. The DVD contains commentary by director Mike Nichols moderated by [Steven Soderbergh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Soderbergh "Steven Soderbergh"). [Shout! Studios](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shout!_Studios "Shout! Studios") is scheduled to release the film on 4K Blu-ray on October 28, 2025. On the [review aggregator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Review_aggregator "Review aggregator") website [Rotten Tomatoes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotten_Tomatoes "Rotten Tomatoes"), 81% of 31 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Catch-22 takes entertainingly chaotic aim at the insanity of armed combat, supported by a terrific cast and smart, funny work from Buck Henry and Mike Nichols."[\[22\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-23) [Metacritic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacritic "Metacritic"), which uses a [weighted average](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weighted_arithmetic_mean "Weighted arithmetic mean"), assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[\[23\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-24) [Vincent Canby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Canby "Vincent Canby") of [The New York Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times "The New York Times") praised the film as "the most moving, the most intelligent, the most humane--oh, to hell with it!--it's the best American film I've seen this year." He felt the film was "complete and consistent", and commended its balance of comedy and seriousness as well as the ensemble cast.[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Canby-9) In a cover story about Mike Nichols, [Time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_$magazine$ "Time (magazine)") wrote "It is the book's cold rage that he has nurtured. In the jokes that matter, the film is as hard as a diamond, cold to the touch and brilliant to the eye. To Nichols, Catch-22 is 'about dying'; to Arkin, it is 'about selfishness'; to audiences, it will be a memorable horror comedy of war, with the accent on horror."[\[24\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-25) [Roger Ebert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert "Roger Ebert") of the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Sun-Times "Chicago Sun-Times") gave the film 3 stars out of 4, calling it "a disappointment, and not simply because it fails to do justice to the Heller novel." Ebert wrote there were "some fine moments" in Catch 22, but he condemned the shift in tone from farcical satire in the first half of the film to gore and violence in the final scenes. He also felt the Arkin was "a tremendously gifted actor" but it was an error for him to play Yosarrian as an edgy paranoid, when "the point of the performance should be precisely that he isn’t nuts". The other cast members were not believable in their roles, apart from Perkins, and as a result "the characters don’t come across as human". Nichols's film used a fashionable anti-war message without, as Ebert wrote, "realizing that for Heller World War II was symbolic of a much larger disease: life."[\[25\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-26) Similarly, [Gene Siskel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Siskel "Gene Siskel") for the [Chicago Tribune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tribune "Chicago Tribune") gave the film 2\+1⁄2 stars out of four arguing the film "spends too much time accommodating a huge cast", and instead the film should have properly focused on "Yossarian's combat, with the catch into his head where it belongs". Nevertheless, he wrote "The film's technical credits, photography, and special effects are uniformly outstanding. Of the huge supporting cast, Dick Benjamin, Bob Newhart, and Jack Gilford are the best."[\[26\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-27) [Charles Champlin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Champlin "Charles Champlin"), reviewing for the [Los Angeles Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Times "Los Angeles Times"), felt that Catch-22 is awfully good, and also a disappointment: Chilly brilliant at its best but flawed at last by its detachment and by its failure to catch fire and give off heat. Its fury is cold and intellectual and cannot reach us or involve us at gut level."[\[27\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-28) [Richard Schickel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Schickel "Richard Schickel") in [LIFE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIFE_Magazine "LIFE Magazine") panned the film, saying it failed to translate what made Joseph Heller's novel a generational phenomenon to the screen. In his review entitled "One of our novels is missing," Schickel wrote: > Mike Nichols' movie version of the novel is, in tone, as hot and heavy as the original was cool and light. Charitably, one might say that he was seeking the visual equivalent of the book's verbal style. But he failed abysmally, and in the process he and Writer Buck Henry have mislaid every bit of the humor that made the novel emotionally bearable and esthetically memorable, replacing it with desperately earnest proof they hate war.... \[T\]he key to the film's almost total failure lies in its restructuring of the novel. It is shot as if it were a single hallucinatory flashback suffered by Yossarian, Heller's Everyman-turned-Bombardier.... Far from seeming wild and free, this dream structure struck me as inhumanly manipulative, for it imposes on both the material and the audience a single, simple point of view: I'm crazy, they're crazy, we're all crazy in this crazy world. The characters can't wiggle free of it and live for so much as a single wayward, truly human moment. We, as an audience, are never allowed to think, feel, respond as we will. We are as trapped at a single level of response as ever we were in those hack war movies Nichols mocks.[\[28\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-LIFE_Magazine-29) In later years, film historians and reviewers Jack Harwick and Ed Schnepf characterized the film as deeply flawed, calling Henry's screenplay disjointed, and claimed its only redeeming features were the limited aerial sequences.[\[29\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-30) Upon the initial release, Catch-22 earned US\$24.9 million out of the budget of US\$18 million, earning it a spot in the top ten box office hits of 1970, but falling short of being profitable.[\[30\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-31) It was director [Mike Nichols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Nichols "Mike Nichols")' third film, after the acclaimed [Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_Afraid_of_Virginia_Woolf%3F_$film$ "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)") and [The Graduate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Graduate "The Graduate"). It was not regarded as a comparable success, earning less money and critical acclaim than the film version of [MASH](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MASH_$film$ "MASH (film)"), another war-themed [black comedy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_comedy "Black comedy") released earlier the same year. In addition, some critics believed that the film appeared as Americans were becoming more resentful of the bitter and ugly experience of the Vietnam War, leading to a general decline in the interest of war pictures, with the notable exceptions of MASH and [Patton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patton_$film$ "Patton (film)").[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-Orriss_p._189-12) Critic Lucia Bozzola wrote "Paramount spent a great deal of money on Catch-22, but it wound up getting trumped by another 1970 antiwar farce: [Robert Altman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Altman "Robert Altman")'s MASH."[\[31\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-variety-bozzola-32) A [pilot episode](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_pilot "Television pilot") for a Catch-22 television series was aired on ABC in 1973, with [Richard Dreyfuss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dreyfuss "Richard Dreyfuss") in the Captain Yossarian role.[\[32\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-33) A six-part [Catch 22](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$miniseries$ "Catch-22 (miniseries)") miniseries, produced by [Hulu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulu "Hulu") and [Sky Italia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Italia "Sky Italia"), premiered worldwide in 2019. There have been other films with "Catch-22" in their names, including the documentary Catch-22 (2007) and the short films Catch 22: The New Contract (2009) and Catch22 (2010), but they have been unrelated to either the book or film adaptation.[\[33\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-34) The anti-war song "Survivor Guilt" by [punk rock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punk_rock "Punk rock") band [Rise Against](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rise_Against "Rise Against") features samples of dialog from the movie, specifically the discussion between Nately and the old man about the fall of great countries and potential fall of the US, and their argument about the phrase "It's better to live on your feet than die on your knees." The same excerpts from the film previously were used by lead singer Tim McIlrath, in the song "Burden", recorded by his former band, Baxter.[\[34\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_note-35) - [List of American films of 1970](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_1970 "List of American films of 1970") 1. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-14) Most of the aerial footage was unused due to a directorial conflict between Nichols and Tallman, head of the Air Operations and Aerial Unit. 1. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-1) ["Catch-22, Box Office Information"](http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1970/0CT22.php). [The Numbers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Numbers_$website$ "The Numbers (website)"). Retrieved May 23, 2012. 2. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-paula_2-0) Vagg, Stephen (August 12, 2025). ["Not Quite Movie Stars: Paula Prentiss"](https://www.filmink.com.au/not-quite-movie-stars-paula-prentiss/). Filmink. Retrieved August 12, 2025. 3. ^ [*a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-:0_3-0) [b](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-:0_3-1) [c](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-:0_3-2) ["Catch-22"](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23456-CATCH-22?cxt=filmography). AFI Catalog. Retrieved April 20, 2023. 4. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-simon_4-0)* [Michaels, Sean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Michaels_$writer$ "Sean Michaels (writer)") (February 13, 2013). ["Art Garfunkel implicates film director Mike Nichols in split with Paul Simon"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/12/art-garfunkel-paul-simon). [The Guardian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian "The Guardian"). Retrieved October 2, 2024. 5. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-5) [Ephron, Nora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Ephron "Nora Ephron") (March 16, 1969). ["Yossarian Is Alive And Well in the Mexican Desert"](https://movies2.nytimes.com/books/98/02/15/home/heller-yossarian.html). [The New York Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times "The New York Times"). Retrieved October 23, 2020. 6. ^ [*a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Editor_6-0) [b](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Editor_6-1) Tallman 2008, p. 15 (Editor's Note). 7. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-7)* Nichols and Soderbergh 2001 8. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-variety_8-0) McCarthy, Todd. ["Catch-22 (Review)."](https://variety.com/1969/film/reviews/catch-22-1200422261/) [Variety](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_$magazine$ "Variety (magazine)"), December 31, 1969. 9. ^ [*a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Canby_9-0) [b](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Canby_9-1) Canby, Vincent (June 28, 1970). ["A Triumphant 'Catch'"](https://movies2.nytimes.com/books/98/02/15/home/heller-canby.html). The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2020. 10. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-10)* Evans 2000, p. 38. 11. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-11) ["B-25H 43-4432"](https://b-25history.org/aircraft/434432.htm) B-25 History Project. Retrieved 23 July 2024. 12. ^ [*a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Orriss_p._189_12-0) [b](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Orriss_p._189_12-1) Orriss 1984, p. 189. 13. ^ [a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Farmer_p._59_13-0) [b](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-Farmer_p._59_13-1) Farmer 1972, p. 59. 14. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-15)* Farmer 1972, pp. 20–21. 15. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-16) Thompson 1980, p. 75. 16. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-17) Farmer 1972, p. 23. 17. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-18) Farmer 1972, pp. 58–59. 18. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-nasm_19-0) ["National Air and Space Museum Collections Database."](http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19860003000) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110402204004/http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19860003000) 2011-04-02 at the [Wayback Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine") [Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution "Smithsonian Institution"). Retrieved: April 16, 2008. 19. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-The_70's_movies_Rewind_20-0) Conant, Richard. ["The 70's movies Rewind."](http://70s.fast-rewind.com/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090605201308/http://70s.fast-rewind.com/) 2009-06-05 at the [Wayback Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine") 70s.fast-rewind.com. Retrieved: June 27, 2009. 20. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-21) "Mike Nichols To Unveil 'Catch' Footage at Frisco". [Variety](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_$magazine$ "Variety (magazine)"). October 15, 1969. p. 19. 21. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-22) "Catch-22 (advertisement)". [Variety](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_$magazine$ "Variety (magazine)"). June 17, 1970. p. 12. 22. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-23) ["Catch-22 (1970)"](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/catch22). [Rotten Tomatoes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotten_Tomatoes "Rotten Tomatoes"). [Fandango Media](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fandango_Media "Fandango Media"). Retrieved November 20, 2022. 23. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-24) ["Catch-22 Reviews"](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/catch-22). [Metacritic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacritic "Metacritic"). [Fandom, Inc.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fandom_$website$#Fandom,_Inc. "Fandom (website)") Retrieved November 20, 2022. 24. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-25) ["Cinema: Some are More Yossarian than Others"](https://time.com/3597288/some-are-more-yossarian-than-others/). Time. Vol. 95, no. 24. June 14, 1970. pp. 66–74. Retrieved October 23, 2020. [![Open access icon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg/20px-Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg.png)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access "open access publication – free to read") 25. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-26) Ebert, Roger (June 1970). ["Catch-22 movie review & film summary (1970)"](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/catch-22-1970). Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved October 23, 2020 – via [RogerEbert.com](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RogerEbert.com "RogerEbert.com"). 26. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-27) Siskel, Gene (June 26, 1970). ["Movie Review: 'Catch-22'"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61571700/gene-siskels-review-of-catch-22/). Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 1 – via [Newspapers.com](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspapers.com "Newspapers.com"). [![Open access icon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg/20px-Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg.png)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access "open access publication – free to read") 27. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-28) Champlin, Charles (June 28, 1970). ["Heller's Novel 'Catch-22' Becomes a Big, Icy Movie"](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/165955651/). Los Angeles Times. pp. 1, 20, 22. Retrieved October 23, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. 28. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-LIFE_Magazine_29-0) "One of our novels is missing". LIFE Magazine. 69 (1): 12. July 4, 1970. 29. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-30) Harwick and Schnepf 1989, p. 62. 30. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-31) ["Catch-22 (1970) - Financial Information"](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Catch-22). The Numbers. Retrieved June 2, 2022. 31. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-variety-bozzola_32-0) Bozzola, Lucia (2007). ["Catch-22 (overview)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071019075708/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/8628/Catch-22/overview). Movies & TV Dept. [The New York Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times "The New York Times"). Archived from [the original](https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/8628/Catch-22/overview) on October 19, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2008. 32. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-33) ["Catch 22 (1973)."](https://web.archive.org/web/20130723134103/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/463102/Catch-22/) Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: November 20, 2011. 33. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-34) ["Catch-22."](https://www.imdb.com/find?q=Catch-22&s=all) IMDb. Retrieved: November 20, 2011. 34. [^](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_$film$#cite_ref-35) ["Reviews: "File under: Rejuvenated political punk (from Rise Against Endgame)."](http://www.altpress.com/reviews/entry/rise_against_endgame) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140317020334/http://www.altpress.com/reviews/entry/rise_against_endgame) March 17, 2014, at the [Wayback Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine") altpress.com, March 15, 2011. Retrieved: May 22, 2012. - Bennighof, James. The Words and Music of Paul Simon. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_$identifier$ "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0-27599-163-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-27599-163-0 "Special:BookSources/978-0-27599-163-0") . - Evans, Alun. Brassey's Guide to War Films. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_$identifier$ "ISBN (identifier)") [1-57488-263-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-57488-263-5 "Special:BookSources/1-57488-263-5") . - Farmer, James H. "The Catch-22 Air Force." Air Classics, Volume 8, No. 14, December 1972. - Harwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies". The Making of the Great Aviation Films, General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989. - Nichols, Mike and Steven Soderbergh. "Commentary." Catch-22 DVD (Special Features). Los Angeles: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, 2001. - Orriss, Bruce. When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_$identifier$ "ISBN (identifier)") [0-9613088-0-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9613088-0-X "Special:BookSources/0-9613088-0-X") . - Tallman, Frank. "The Making of Catch-22." Warbirds International, Vol. 27, no. 4, May/June 2008. - Thegze, Chuck "I See Everything Twice": An Examination of Catch-22, University of California Press. - Thompson, Scott A. "Hollywood Mitchells." Air Classics, Vol. 16, No. 9, September 1980. - [Catch-22](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/23456) at the [AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI_Catalog_of_Feature_Films "AFI Catalog of Feature Films") - [Catch-22](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065528/) at [IMDb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMDb_$identifier$ "IMDb (identifier)") - [Catch-22](https://web.archive.org/web//https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/16665/enwp) at the [TCM Movie Database](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turner_Classic_Movies#TCMdb "Turner Classic Movies") (archived version) - [Catch-22*](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/catch22) at [Rotten Tomatoes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotten_Tomatoes "Rotten Tomatoes") - [Catch-22 camera aircraft history](https://www.aerovintage.com/tallmantz-aviation/tallmantz-n1203/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20211121054107/http://www.aerovintage.com/N1203.htm) 2021-11-21 at the [Wayback Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine")
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