Apocalypse Now - Redux [1979]:

Apocalypse Now - Redux [1979].

Conex Container scene.

Kurtz reads articles to Willard: 

INT. CONEX CONTAINER – DAY

Willard is passed out, lying on the floor of a metal CONEX CONTAINER. Stifling heat.

Kurtz, and a group of children, are peeking in at him. 

The two front doors of the container are opened. Light floods in. Kurtz is standing there with the children. He holds a bunch of magazine articles.

He sits down on a dirt step, surrounded by children. He looks down at a magazine article and begins to read it to Willard.

KURTZ (reading): 
"Time magazine."

"The weekly news magazine. September 22, 1967, volume ninety, number twelve. The War on the Horizon."

"The American people may find it hard to believe that the U.S. is winning the war in Vietnam."

"Nevertheless, one of the most exhaustive inquiries into the status of the conflict yet compiled, offers considerable evidence that the weight of U.S. power, two and a half years after the big buildup began, is beginning to make itself felt. White House officials maintain the impact of that strength may bring the enemy to the point where he could simply be unable to continue fighting." 

(to Willard) 

Is this familiar?

Willard reacts.

KURTZ (reading): 

"Because Lyndon Johnson fears that the U.S. public is in no mood to accept its optimistic conclusions, he may never permit the report to be released in full. Even so, he is sufficiently impressed with the findings, and sufficiently anxious to make their conclusions known, to permit experts who have been working on it to talk about it in general terms." No date, Time Magazine.

"Sir Robert Thompson, who led the victory over Communist guerrillas in Malaya, is now a RAND Corporation consultant, recently returned to Vietnam to sound out the situation for President Nixon."

"He told the president last week that things felt much better, and smelled much better over there."

He looks over at Willard.

KURTZ (to Willard): 

How do they smell to you, soldier?

Willard doesn't answer.

Kurtz rises.

The children are laughing and giggling. Kurtz drops the magazine articles in Willard's lap.

KURTZ: 
You'll be free. You'll be under guard. Read these at your leisure. Don't lose them. Don't try to escape, you'll be shot.

We can talk of these things later.

Kurtz turns and exits, closing one of the doors, leaving the other open.

Willard watches him go. The children stay, looking at him, laughing and giggling.

Willard slowly and painfully pulls himself to his feet. He stands there a moment looking at the children, then collapses to the floor.

DISSOLVE ...

Catch-22 (1970)

Captain Yossarian [Alan Arkin] has a problem ...

It’s World War 2, he’s stationed in Italy, he’s a bombardier flying high-risk missions in a B-25, and he’s seen too many of his friends die. Yossarian wants out! Another problem is that the base leader, Colonel Cathcart [Martin Balsam] keeps raising the amount of missions they have to fly before they are eligible for rotation, so it seems like he’ll never get out of there. He attempts to get Doc Daneeka [Jack Gilford] to examine his head, hoping the Doc will deem him medically unfit, too crazy for combat, and ground him. Sound simple? Not quite. There’s a catch! To be grounded, he has to convince the Doc that he’s crazy. To do that, he has to go to the Doc and ask to be grounded. But the Doc can’t ground him because asking to be grounded is proof of a man’s sanity; only a truly sane person knows they want to be out of combat. Catch-22!

I’m often asked what my favorite character and scene is. I can’t pick just one; there are so many:

DOBBS: [Over the radio]: “Help him! Help him!”

YOSSARIAN: “Help who?”

DOBBS: “Help the bombardier!”

YOSSARIAN: “I'm the bombardier, I'm all right.”

DOBBS: “Then help HIM, help HIM!”

The mess hall argument over who is paranoid:

MAJOR DANBY [Richard Benjamin]: “Weather conditions have improved tremendously over the mainland, so you won't have any trouble at all seeing the target. Of course, we mustn't forget, that means that they won't have any trouble at all seeing you.”

COLONEL CATHCART [Martin Balsam]: “Let’s see those thumbs-up!” 

Milo Minderbinder [Jon Voight] the greedy opportunist, taking everything for his self-serving ‘M & M Enterprises’ Syndicate:

Chaplain Tappman [Anthony Perkins], visiting Yossarian in hospital:

... followed by Nurse Cramer [Collin Wilcox Paxton], and Nurse Duckett [Paula Prentiss], breezing through the ward in a cacophony of chatter, unmindful of their bottle exchange:

... followed by that scream of despair from Yossarian:

Bob Newhart, as Major Major, who sets the rule that he is not to be disturbed when he is in his office; people are only permitted to see him when he is out:

Tappman explaining to Yossarian that Major Major won’t see anyone when he is in, but only when he isn’t there:

CATHCART’S RECEPTIONIST [John Brent]: “Take a seat ... FATHER!”

The exchange between Tappman and the sea-drenched Captain Orr [Bob Balaban]:

Colonel Cathcart leaning on Tappman to mind his own business and work to boost morale:

The men, the countdown, and General Dreedle’s WAC [Susanne Benton]:

General Dreedle [Orson Welles]: No moaning ... or else he’ll have you taken out and shot:

Hanging out and enjoying the sights in Italy:

Another mission and the perfect bombing pattern ... on the ocean:

Desperate measure from Yossarian:

Captain McWatt [Peter Bonerz], death by propellor:

The whorehouse exchange between Captain Nately [Art Garfunkel] and the old man [Marcel Dalio], hoping for success in defeat:

The self-inflicted bombing mission, run by Milo Minderbinder, as an M & M Enterprises operation:

The ultimatum from Colonel Cathcart and Colonel Korn [Buck Henry]: “Be our friend ... say nice things about us ... or we’ll court-martial you!”

Yossarian learning the news of Captain Orr and following his example:

Other memorable characters are Moodus [Austin Pendleton]; Aarfy Aardvark [Charles Grodin]; Hungry Joe [Seth Allen]; Towser [Norman Fell]; and Dobbs [Martin Sheen].

By turns hilarious and horrifying, Catch-22 is a brilliantly written, darkly-comic and thought-provoking satire on bureaucracy, immorality, selfishness, lack of empathy, and the human cost of war. There are significant differences between Joseph Heller’s source novel and Mike Nichols’ adaptation, but both versions work. Joseph Heller was himself a bomber pilot during World War II, making me wonder as I read the book and watched the movie how much was fiction based on fact.

Catch-22 is another of my favorite books and a great movie with numerous quoteable scenes that are fun to re-enact, good enough to coin a phrase that has endured.

Can you tell if you are crazy or not?