Put Alan Arkin, Richard Benjamin, Martin Balsam, Jon Voight, Anthony Perkins, Martin Sheen and Orson Welles together in a film version of Joseph Heller's classic anti-war satire, scripted by Buck Henry and directed by Mike Nichols no less, and you can't go wrong, right? Sigh. Hard to believe such a line-up could fail so miserably, but Catch-22 remains one of the most disappointing releases in film history. There's more than enough blame to go around, but we'd probably start with Henry's ponderous script, which is laden with Heller's absurdity but bereft of the author's wit or humor. As for the anticipated commentary by Mike Nichols and director du jour Steven Soderbergh, it's a major snore. Not recommended. (S. C. Sickles)
Catch-22
Paramount, 121 min., R DVD: $29.99 July 16, 2001
Catch-22
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