Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by danj (A) on February 10, 2002 at 23:46:39

In Reply to: Catch 22 rerun on AMC posted by edta on February 10, 2002 at 19:55:53:

The movie is probably as good as it was possible to make from such a deep and convoluted book. The novel is, IMHO, one of the great books of my lifetime.

I agree with your praise of Arkin. He's always been very good. The cast of Catch-22 is first-rate. I especially like Richard Benjamin and Buck Henry. And Martin Balsam as the officer without a clue is so funny.

Those of us who served in the military in the Vietnam era have a special affinity for this book. Absurd as some of the situations are, they ring true. The twisted logic that is Catch-22 is not that far from real military thinking.

I don't watch the movie any more. The book is so good and the movie is good but only a pale shadow of the book. Read it and you won't be sorry. It is very long but worth the time.