Everyone's right - read the book first

Rating: Null/10 (3 October 2002)

Pretty much all of the comments here are dead-on. I never have read the book, although it was one of those that was on my parents' shelf for years, but I happened across the movie on cable yesterday and was drawn in by the quality of the cast. I like to consider myself something of an intellectual in movie-going, but without having read the book previously, I found myself lost and confused more often than I would like to admit.
Nevertheless, I found humor and pathos in the appropriate places and picked up on the anti-war theme immediately. It helps, too, to understand the historical context of the time the book was written and the movie made, during the Vietnam War.
The characters, except for Yossarian, did not seem to be fleshed out adequately, probably due to the necessary condensing of the story, and the recurring scenes with Snowden became frustrating and predictable, again probably a function of my not having read the book. I will be heading posthaste to my local library to check it out - hopefully, it will give me a better perspective on the story and, perhaps, a better appreciation for the movie (which I actually enjoyed this time around) next time I see it.
Again, just to clarify, I DID enjoy this movie and would recommend it highly to anyone. However, I would caution the viewer to be prepared to think, not merely to be entertained, and I would strongly suggest reading the book first.