"And that has made all the difference"

Rating: 10/10 (7 December 2003)

This is your only spoiler warning.
Where do I begin? Mike Nichols goes for the grandiose in ways that make other war movies inferior by a landslide. The first 20 minutes of 'Catch-22' are so flawless that it seems a shame when the movie slides into Orwellian nihilism. By the end, it is 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest', that is the sad part. Better yet, the dialog is near Shakespearean in rhythm and interaction that it supersedes the monochrome characterizations. Finally, this and 'Apocalypse Now' are all you ever need to know about "audio experience". Phenomenal.
Directors make three movies. The first is the experimental one that gives them notoriety. Then there is the commercial film that garners them the financial power to make the third film--the personal one that is close to their soul. Nichols worked in reverse order here, the 'Graduate' was his commercial film, here is his experiment--and get ready for something deeply complex yet hilarious.
Immediate peers--'MASH' and 'Slaughterhouse 5'--'Catch-22' is the best. 'MASH' is sophomoric and unsophisticated. For the sake of better contrasting, 'MASH' is 'Weird Science', '22' is 'Breakfast Club'. Altman is not as unbound as Nichols and is too concerned about entertaining the audience at the expense of the message. '5' is poorly constructed due to Hill's interference, a more competent director could've succeeded.
General peers--the 1970 crowd--aren't as powerful either. 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' is a giant documentary. 'Kelly's Heroes' continues in the footsteps of 'MASH', rarely offering the same glimmer of creativity that '22' holds. 'Patton' is the closest to '22' because both are "Love of Glory" movies. Yet 'Patton' is a character at war study while '22' is war itself being studied. I already covered 'MASH'.
Abstract peers--all other war movies--are mixed in their comparisons. 'Memphis Belle', 'We Were Soldiers', 'Blackhawk Down', and 'Windtalkers' are John Wayne movies--the glory and grit of battle. 'Platoon' and 'Casualties of War' are "bleeding heart" movies that aim for the heart of the audience. 'Full Metal Jacket' and Saving Private Ryan' display war as a noisy excursion of human morals. 'The Thin Red Line' is war as an extension of nature. 'Catch-22' is unique because it appeals to the LOGIC of the viewer and certainly is the most cerebral of all I've listed. 'Apocalypse Now' and 'A Bridge Too Far' are better only because they know that everything ends on "a whimper."
Overall, I was surprised by this movie. Hearing Nichols' commentary on the DVD was a bonus. If only it had kept the energy of the opening throughout the whole movie. (75%)