Catch-22

Starring: Christopher Abbott, George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, et al.

Catch-22 follows the adventures and misadventures of a U.S. air squadron in Italy during World War II. Yossarian (Christopher Abbott), a bombardier, whose frantic obsession every time he goes up on a mission is "to come down alive." The real enemy for Yossarian and his rag-tag bunch of friends is the bureaucracy of the military, inverting logic at every turn. The pinnacle of this is Catch-22, a military by-law which states that if you fly your missions, you're crazy, and don't have to fly them; all you have to do is ask. But if you ask not to, then you're sane, and so you have to fly them.

• Format: DVD
• Language: English
• UPC: 032429328564
• Release Date: November 2019
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Publisher: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment
• Starring: Christopher Abbott, George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Kyle Chandler
• Runtime: 4 hours, 28 minutes
• Number of Disks: 2
• Other Video Info: subtitled
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.5" x 5.4" x 0.7"

Customer Reviews

Close enough to the book for government work.

This is more of an extension of the book (written by Joseph Heller, pub 1961). Just keep in mind that what works for a book may not work for a series, so there will be differences based on the book. The teleplay is by Luke Davies & David Michôd. It also has the feel of the movie (1973). The only problem is that it is stretched out and out and out. Lots of potty mouth. Well-paced, but after 10 minutes, it is like a broken record. If you can take this long enough, there are a few grains of profound philosophical truth. A lot of known characters are played by known actors and do not last but a few episodes. Many of the actors can allow their characters to take over as they should. However, every time I see Major de Coverley played by Hugh Laurie, all I can think of is his part in the series “House” (2004-2012). Again, if you can take the slow-paced monotony, you will find some sentences worth repeating, as in Shakespeare. Will the person you are talking to recognize those statements? It took the whole first episode to try to explain the title. The next episodes produce a bunch of little 22s. If you hang in there, you sort of get used to it. We also get great music: “Straighten Up and Fly Right” - Nat King Cole. “It's A Pair of Wings for Me” - Nat Gonella “Till My Baby Comes Home.” “No Love No Nothin'” – Ellamay Mores “I've Got My Fingers Crossed.” “Shoo Shoo Baby” - The Andrews Sisters “Paper Doll” - The Mills Brothers “Massachusetts” -The Andrews Sisters “Don't Fence Me In” -by Ella Fitzgerald “Let's Call It a Day” – by Marlene Dietrich This is not every song. I was sure they would miss this one - “We'll Meet Again” - Vera Lynn Hear it again (Dr. Strangelove (1964)