Brilliant screenplay

Rating: 8/10 (10 April 2011)

Directed by Mike Nichols, the screenplay by Buck Henry is totally brilliant. The novel by Joseph Heller is itself brilliantly written, with nuances and subtleties many readers miss. Henry caught the gist of the novel and got it on screen, using the device of returning again and again to an airplane with a scene we don't fully see, showing us a little more each time, then fading to white as we get the voice over of the next scene. We get the circularity of the novel and the scattered sanity of Yossarian as he struggles to keep his shredded reality less tattered if not totally intact.
The cast is incredible. Nichols gives us an all-star cast without the drivel of such disasters as "A Bridge Too Far" and "The Longest Day." The cast includes Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Buck Henry, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Paula Prentiss, Martin Sheen, John Voight, and Orson Welles, among many, many others.
Henry had to make a movie out of the novel, so he made some hard choices, excising characters and situations that some find disappointing. My suggestion is to see the movie as the movie without comparing it to the book; on the other hand, I'm astounded at how well Henry captured the essence of Heller and his work. Jon Voight is chilling as Minderbinder, who is in my very humble opinion the lynchpin of the movie. When Minderbinder tells Yossarian, "Then they'll understand," the full impact of World War II (and who's the real enemy) shatters Yossarian's weakening sanity.
For me the end of the novel and the end of the movie are unsatisfying, but the ride is still worth it.
Trivial notes concerning the people involved in the movie. Mike Nichols also directed "The Graduate," with Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman. Charles Grodin (Arfy Aardvark) was supposed to play Benjamin, but couldn't agree on a salary with Nichols, so Bancroft suggest Dustin Hoffman to Nichols - she'd heard about Hoffman from her husband, Mel Brooks, who had just signed Hoffman for his movie "The Producers." Hoffman bailed on Brooks and did "The Graduate" instead. Norman Fell (Sgt. Towser) played Benjamin's landlord in a short scene (also involving Richard Dreyfus) in "The Graduate." Bob Balaban (Capt. Orr) was in "Midnight Cowboy" with Jon Voight (and Dustin Hoffman, of course). Buck Henry wrote a TV series for Richard Benjamin (Major Danby), who is married to Paula Prentiss (Nurse Duckett). Orson Welles (General Dreedle) did the voice-over narration for Mel Brooks's "History of the World." Mel Brooks and Buck Henry developed "Get Smart." Bob Newhart (Major Major Major) and Peter Bonerz (Capt. McWatt) were in The Bob Newhart Show together. And Susanne Benton (Dreedle's WAC) had a completely unrelated role in the totally unrelated "A Boy and his Dog." Hollywood is a small town.