Best and most under-rated American movie ever?

Rating: 10/10 (17 February 2007)

The opening of this movie is one of the most awesome I have seen since 'Dr Mabuses Testament' some 45 years ago. The planes taking off, the lighting, Yossarian on the ground, the noise. The whole setting is so sombre, but spectacular that one is rightly wondering what is to come. And that is one of the great features of this movie, the lack of warning of what will happen next. Another feature is the irony and gallows humor that comes through, so much so that it could been mistaken for a British movie, because there is no relapse into the normal Hollywood clichÃ©s. The biting and harsh lines and logic, and (in)sanity of war is more pertinent than ever. This movie is a must-see, in particular in todays world with its warped values of profiteering, corruption, abuse of power, lying, cheating and claims of being guided by 'higher' forces. Get it, see it, see it. I can understand why it wasn't an Oscar candidate, because that would have required large audiences of some sophistication, and where would you get that in the US (in particular today)?