Catch it

Rating: 8/10 (13 June 2004)

Of course, its nearly impossible to consider the film apart from the book, which is a great pity. I had the good fortune to see the film first, and it made a vivid impression. I was swept away by it. To this day, I have yet to see another where the director has evidenced such a total mastery of the medium.
But, unfortunately, in so far as its wider reputation is concerned, the film seems destined to remain forever in the book's shadow, to be either overlooked, or considered a pale imitation. This does it a great injustice.
I like to imagine that the book was never written and, instead, the film was based on an original screenplay. In this parallel universe, "Catch-22" reaps a swag of Academy Awards, and goes on to take its place, alongside the likes of "Citizen Kane" and "The Godfather", as an enduring American classic.