Catch-22

[PHC1]

Anyone watching Catch-22? I enjoyed the first season.

“Based on the acclaimed Joseph Heller novel, Catch-22 follows the adventures and misadventures of a US air squadron in Italy in World War II. Yossarian, a bombardier, whose frantic obsession every time he goes up on a mission is “to come down alive”. His odds of success at such a simple aim keep getting worse because Colonel Cathcart keeps raising the number of missions the men have to fly. More than the retreating Germans, the real enemy for Yossarian and his rag-tag bunch of friends is the bureaucracy of the military, inverting logic at every turn.”

Oscar winner George Clooney serves as an executive producer of the six-episode series, which is based on the 1961 novel by Joseph Heller.

[Toccata]

For me, having taught the novel for 15 years in AP English, this version is unbearably awful. I have rarely seen such an inaccurate adaptation: only the 1990 Lord of the Flies comes close! I'm only enduring it because my wife is a huge George Clooney fan. (And I suppose out of morbid curiosity...) Just one episode left--it concerns me that Snowden hasn't even been mentioned yet. Heller builds up his horrifying death scene throughout the novel, giving the reader more and more of a glimpse each time. I assume this version will use it as a single scene, if at all. If it does omit it, then this movie gets my vote for the worst adaptation of all time! (It will be a few days before I watch the final episode.)

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Toccata

For me, having taught the novel for 15 years in AP English, this version is unbearably awful. I have rarely seen such an inaccurate adaptation: only the 1990 Lord of the Flies comes close! I'm only enduring it because my wife is a huge George Clooney fan. (And I suppose out of morbid curiosity...) Just one episode left--it concerns me that Snowden hasn't even been mentioned yet. Heller builds up his horrifying death scene throughout the novel, giving the reader more and more of a glimpse each time. I assume this version will use it as a single scene, if at all. If it does omit it, then this movie gets my vote for the worst adaptation of all time! (It will be a few days before I watch the final episode.)

I suppose if one is comparing the adaptation to the novel, it will indeed fall short as they almost always do. As it stands on its own, the series is definitely interesting enough and offers a good insight of the bombing missions and hell endured by the pilots of the 340th bomber group.

Of course there were actually 102 missions flown by (George Wells (combat pilot)) so if the series is aiming for an accurate adaptation, we have some more seasons to look forward to.

Since the novel was a “satirical novel”, I feel it was quite a feat to adopt the hell endured by the pilots with enough of satire thrown into the mix to achieve a balance. George Clooney as a director has done a reasonably good job of it so far. I guess we will see how the rest of the series develops

[PHC1]

The fact that the series used real and restored B-25 Mitchell bombers that actually flew their way to Italy for the movie shoot is simply incredible and to any aviation fan adds a level of authenticity rarely achieved these days.

[Still-One]

Attempting to compare most movies to the best seller they are based on is often futile. I enjoyed the first two episodes and will finish out remaining ones in the next few days.