Papillon (1973)

You won't be disappointed!

Touches You

Thanks for the memories!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A great drama, and an epic adventure. I saw this when it first came out; I remember the leper colony scene, but hardly anything else. Thankfully, I came back to Papillon. McQueen was perfectly cast as the title character; this might be his best performance. The zigzagging between hope and despair, idyllic freedom and abject suffering, with all the shades in between, shows excellent writing, even given the fascinating original story. McQueen's severe and abrupt changes of fortune point out the nuances of human behavior, as well as the role of chance in life.None of this highly complex atmosphere would work without the mixture of sympathy with sadism, hospitality with hostility, exotic, picturesque locales with the numb routine of the prison cell. Not all the guards are brutal, not all the prisoners deserve our sympathy. Likewise, the various 'outsider' cultures are in different worlds from the prison culture, as well as from each other.There are several poignant scenes: the guys in solitaire who introduce themselves as they poke their heads out of their cells, reassuring their neighbor that they 'look well', when they probably both know that the other looks terrible. The friendships broken by death, suddenly or slowly rendered, of an old friend or a new one, happen with pathetic regularity. The capacity to share and to help keeps the prisoners human, even uplifting them.I'm tempted to say that there's an existential thread running through Papillon, given that the book was written in the 30s, at the height of the French existentialist movement. Certainly there's meticulous attention to the existentialist theme of surviving in an absurd world with dignity. Oddly enough, with the crushing level of authority ruling the prisoners, they retain the considerable freedom of their attitude towards their dilemma.Even as pure adventure, Papillon succeeds. The cinematography is beautiful where beauty is present, and horrifying where terror rules. I usually zone-out when a movie runs more than two hours, but in this case I didn't want it to end. McQueen is the quintessential adventurer. He overcomes so many obstacles; but he's not superman, and so he also makes plenty of mistakes. His character's demeanor as a cautious but essentially trusting man serves him well. He survives because he knows that there's no obvious truth, but only situations; and each calls for its own plan. The flashes of humor highlight the discrepancies between what one expects, and what actually happens. No one would expect a prison movie to show inmates chasing butterflies--but there it is, and it certainly fits. McQueen's nonchalance is put to the ultimate test when he accepts the leper's cigar. That he unwittingly fools the leper shows a superb interplay of danger and luck.There's considerable deception going on throughout. A game-like quality coexists with the deadly serious aspects of repeated escape and confinement. That brings up my only issue with Papillon: Dustin Hoffman's performance shows too much posing, and not enough grit.He's got this bemused look that doesn't fit his character. It's as though he's above it all, in on all the machinations of prison life, and even comfortable with it. He does makes a good foil for McQueen's restlessness, but his Zen-like gaze is a bit much.We really don't get into ethics here; clearly neither McQueen's nor Hoffman's characters are violent criminal types. Some of the characters have probably been rail-roaded, but some of them are murderers. In a way, it doesn't matter what the characters have done to land them in Guyana. We're judging them on how they act in these moments. A great movie; intricate, and yet, all of a piece.

"Papillon" is the kind of movie that shows to what lengths persevering men will go to, to achieve freedom. I've not read the Henri Charriere novel that was the basis for the film, though I'm guided in that direction by the film and other reviewers here. Just contemplating the horrors of being an inmate at St. Laurent Prison is enough to make one ill; seeing some of them depicted is downright nauseating. Eating bugs and going dark in solitary is not a pleasant prospect.Steve McQueen is excellent in one of his career defining roles, and it was interesting to see hints of Ratso Rizzo ("Midnight Cowboy") and the future Raymond Babbitt ("Rain Man") in Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of Louie Dega. The one disconnect I had with the picture though was with Dega's reputation as the best counterfeiter in France. Bereft of any possessions in prison, especially when banished to a French Guiana penal colony, what resources did he have to produce all the currency Papillon used for his various bribes? An additional scene or two, even brief ones, might have shed some light on that.But overall, this is an engaging film with an established star of the era (McQueen), and a notable celebrity in the making (Hoffman). It's taken me a long while to get around to this picture and now I'm glad I did. If this is anyone's first look at McQueen, be sure to take note of those incredibly blue eyes of his. They're almost unnatural.

No one can control man no security no prison. This movie is of prisoners of war. A man who wants to escape from prison to live free. Movie is excellent and deserve to be watched.Maybe people find boring for first 15 minutes but as the story goes on further you try to relate yourself with the person or your interested to know if he could escape. Movie goes slow but you can ignore if you are interested watching. Everything in movie is straight and simple. Many ups and downs happens with the lead character. But feeling of being a free man was keeping him motivated.I'll keep it short and I believe anyone can find movie worth watching. you will not be disappointed with the story. I give this movie 8 rating because I found movie should end before if hasn't been betrayed.

'Papillon' is an entertaining prison escape drama with a great script and some terrific acting performances. For its time, 'Papillon' is a very well made and brilliantly shot film. It does a great job at blending various themes and elements, from pulsating tension and drama to some amusing moments.Of course, any prison film is certain to draw comparisons with the Shawshank, a film that is and always will be one of the greatest films ever made, and hands down the best in the prison genre. However, 'Papillon' is certainly a film I will remember due to its highly enjoyable plot and equally great cast. Recommended.