Papillon (1973)

I haven't yet seen the remake and don't know if I want to. This is a perfect film in every way. It's shot beautifully and there's really no reason to make it again. It's not like it's a silent film or in black and white, or was poorly acted. It's Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman at their best for Christ's sake. And a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo. What more could you want?I must have watched this film 10 times back when it came out and for the following few years after, and I just went back to view it again. I've always said, as so many others in these User Reviews have stated, this is one of the most underrated Hollywood films in the history of cinema. Franklin Schaffer was at his best. He didn't nominated for an Oscar and nor did the film. What an oversight. It's one of McQueen's best performances ever, and that's saying a lot. He got a Golden Globe nomination but no Oscar nomination. And overall, this film and the talented team that made it, never got their due.Papillon (the original) is and will always be in my TOP FIVE FILMS OF ALL TIME.

Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner (Planet Of The Apes/Patton), Screenplay by Dalton Trumbo ( Roman Holiday, Exodus, Spartacus) n Lorenzo Semple Jr. ( Never Say Never Again). The characters were really created very strong especially Hoffmans. Coz It was not that gud in the book. It stars Steve McQueen n Dustin Hoffman. Both of em acted very well. Cinematography by Fred J. Koenekamp (oscar for The Towering Inferno). Awesome cinematography of the jungle, marshland, islands, seas n prisons. Jerry Goldsmith provides the score. Editing by Robert Swink (Roman Holiday, Funny Girl and The Boys from Brazil). Some of the scenes were a bit long but the overall movie was good. It is an inspiring story of resilience and the triumph of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity. There is no doubt that this movie is good, I could write a lot about some interesting scenes, but that would spoil your experience with this movie. This movie also gives a good lesson in strong character, friendship, and freedom. Good supporting cast. Really wanted Woodrow to escape with em. But that dude was busy disposing off the body. The character was very decent. He offers McQueen n Hoffman anti malaria drugs. Woodrow Parfrey (Dirty Harry, Outlaw josey Wales). Don Gordon (The towering inferno, Bullit, Lethal weapon).

I am glad that i read the book first. This movie has not covered most of the major parts of the book. And many changes are made to the original story, i guess to adapt to the cast availability.Of course, I agree , no movie can be better than the book. But overall, as a movie it does justice to the story. The part where the Papillon lives with the Indians could have been made more interesting. It helped me give a life to my imagination. Many scenes that i have imagines while reading the book, i could relate to them after watching the movie. Very good acting by the lead characters. Kriti

Henri 'Papillion' Charriere (Steve McQueen) is given a life sentence for killing a pimp and is to serve his sentence at a penal colony in French Guyana. Whilst he's serving his time, he befriends master forger Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman). At first, the two men merely share a friendship of 'convenience' - Papillon offers to protect Dega from other prisoners who are trying to get his money and in return Dega promises to finance Papillon's escape once he gets to the penal colony. However, as time passes a much stronger bond begins to develop between the two men and they both decide to try to escape together.The first thing I'd like to address with this film is its running time and at close to 150 minutes it's a very long film and the problem is that it actually feels like a long film. The first half of the film is particularly long and drawn out and I couldn't help but feel that the film was badly in need of being edited a bit.Despite the above gripe the film is still engaging and at times it's very moving. As mentioned, Dega and Papillon's friendship was one of convenience at the start, but as the years pass by a strong bond began to exits between the men and each respective stage of this friendship is brought to life beautifully between Hoffman and McQueen.For me, the best part of the film was McQueen's first stint in solitary confinement. Here screenwriters Trumbo & Semple Jr really highlight how 2 years in solitary confinement can cause a gradual deterioration of the mind - the dream sequences and hallucinations really help to get into Papillon's mind-set and see what he's thinking. McQueen's performance really helps as well and when watching him here I really cared for his character and felt his pain... In truth at times I forgot that I was actually watching Steve McQueen as I've always felt that he's a bit of a mediocre actor (he was particularly wooden in Bullitt), but I was genuinely surprised how good he was here. The only slight downside with this aspect of the film is that I got no feeling that Papillon had been on half rations for 6 months; it probably would have been more convincing if McQueen had gone 'method' and lost some weight during production, but I realise that this is an actor's choice and it's possible that they may have had a tight scheduling limit. It's only a minor criticism and as I said McQueen was excellent here and throughout the film. Hoffman was good as well, but I already knew that he was a good actor, but McQueen was the real revelation here.Although this is a serious portrayal of man's desire to escape from prison the film does have some light hearted moments such as the scene where Papillon and Dega are trying to capture the crocodile - that bit was very funny. The film is also emotionally involving particularly towards the end - I got the impression that Dega didn't go with Papillon because he'd become somewhat institutionalised and perhaps saw Devil's island as his home. The fact that his wife left him as well may have also made him feel that he had no real reason to leave. That's just my assumption.Papillon is a good film, but it does drag at times and is far too long. As far as Prison escape films go then this is inferior to the likes of Shawshank Redemption, Escape from Alcatraz & The Great Escape. However, if you're a fan of those films then you should find plenty to enjoy here too.