'' is a
1970 film, adapted from the
Book Of The Same Name by
Joseph Heller .
Mike Nichols was the director; the screenplay was written by
Buck Henry , who also acted in the film.
Along with Henry, the cast included
Alan Arkin ,
Martin Balsam ,
Richard Benjamin ,
Norman Fell ,
Art Garfunkel ,
Jack Gilford ,
Bob Newhart ,
Anthony Perkins ,
Paula Prentiss ,
Martin Sheen ,
Jon Voight , and
Orson Welles . It was not regarded as a great success, earning less money and acclaim than ''
MASH '', another war-themed
Black Comedy from the same year.
The story follows the adventures and misadventures of Capt.
Yossarian , a fictional
World War II US Army Air Forces B-25 Bombardier , and the other members of his squadron stationed on the Mediterranean island of
Pianosa during
World War II . The pacing of ''Catch-22'' is frenetic, its tenor intellectual, and its tone largely
Absurdist , interspersed with brief moments of gritty, almost horrific, realism. The film does not follow a normal chronological progression. Rather, it is told as a series of flashbacks and dream sequences from the point of view of the central character.
The adaptation to film changed the book's plot substantially. Several
Story Arc s are left out, and many characters in the movie speak the dialogue and experience the events of other characters in the book.
Despite the changes in the screenplay, Heller approved of the film, according to a commentary by Nichols and
Steven Soderbergh included on a
DVD release. According to Nichols, Heller was particularly impressed with a few scenes and bits of dialogue Henry created for the film, and said he wished he could have included them in the novel.
The film's budget could only accommodate 17 flyable
B-25 Mitchell s, and an additional non-flyable hulk was acquired in Mexico, made barely ferry-able and flown with landing gear down to the
Guaymas ,
Sonora ,
Mexico filming location, only to be burned and destroyed in the landing crash scene. The wreck was then buried in the ground next to the runway, where it remains to this day.
Sixteen of the eighteen bombers used in the film still fly, and the remaining airplane is now at the
Smithsonian Institution 's
National Air And Space Museum .
{Link without Title}
Paramount planned to film for six weeks but the production required three months to shoot and the bombers flew a total of about 1,500 hours. They appear on screen for twelve minutes.
