I 've seen the movie mostly because of the cast appeared on the screen and of the interest I find in Mike Nichols' movies. I feel I have to say that I was a bit disappointed about the structure of the film and the way the director handles the plot: lots of mixed scenes, scenes put in an undetermined row, characters with nothing to give and shots that bore rather than help the film evolve. It's kind of a confusing film, although it's quite entertaining and funny. The only great part in the movie is the character of Alan Arkin (Yossarian) which is very funny and his intention to avoid the flights gives birth to numerous hilarious scenes and quotes. Anthony Perkins and Orson Welles put some glamor in the movie, only thanks to their names and not their performance and Jon Voight can be seen only for a couple of minutes. I have to admit that I pushed the FF button several times, especially near the end of the movie... Yet, I cannot escape from recognizing to Mike Nichols the intention to show the gradual isolation of a person who fights to be considered as a crazy soldier in order to quit flying. He's step-by-step left out of friends and allies and his only goal is to escape from the camp at any cost, in order to retain his human identity and put an end in his war-time period. And I think that's the central message every spectator should get from this movie...