Themes: Prison Life, Miscarriage of Justice, Escape From Prison
Main Cast: Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory, Don Gordon, Anthony Zerbe
Release Year: 1973
Country: US
Run Time: 150 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
The autobiography of Henri Charriere, one of the few people to successfully escape from the notorious French penal colony of Devil's Island, served as the basis for Papillon. Steve McQueen plays the pugnacious Charriere (known as "Papillon," or "butterfly," because of a prominent tatoo), incarcerated--wrongly, he claims--for murdering a pimp. He saves the life of fellow convict Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman), a counterfeiter who will later show his gratitude by helping Charriere in his many escape attempts, and by smuggling food to Charriere when the latter is put in solitary confinement. One breakout, which takes Charriere and Dega to a leper colony and then to a native encampment, is almost successful, but Charriere is betrayed (allegedly because he stopped for an act of kindness) and back the prisoners go to French Guiana. Years later, Dega is made a trustee and is content with his lot, but the ageing, white-haired Charriere cannot be held back. A tribute to the unquenchability of the human spirit, Papillon brought in an impressive $22 million at the box office. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Although it's overly exhaustive as it catalogues its protagonist's many attempts to regain his freedom, Papillon remains the mother, or at least the master, of all prison-escape flicks. Less of a straight-up procedural than such heirs to the throne as Escape From Alcatraz, the film tempers its unashamedly psychological approach (dream sequences, tests of will, and triumph-of-the-downtrodden hokum) with enough gritty realism (knife fights, guillotines, malaria, and leprous smugglers) to appease those who want their depravity served up extra stark. Escape-film vet Steve McQueen showcases his range both physically and mentally as his character seems to age forward and backward and go in and out of sanity depending on the barbarity of his method of incarceration at any given time. Dustin Hoffman, meanwhile, gets to have it both ways, outrageous vocal and physical tics and subtle psychological shadings, as the rich counterfeiter whose colonic stash of cash finances several of Papillon's attempts to bust out. Viewers may watch the closing credits incredulously, unable to believe that after 150 minutes, director Franklin J. Schaffner still has to resort to a spoken-word epilogue to wrap up loose ends, but for devotees of the genre and fans of McQueen's tough-guy oeuvre, Papillon is worth the investment of time. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Robert Deman - Maturette; E.J. Andre - Old Con; Richard Angarola - Commandant; Ratna Assan - Zoraima; Val Avery - Pascal; George Coulouris - Dr. Chatal; Jack Denbo - Classification Officer; Liam Dunn - Old Trustee; Billy Greene; Don Hanmer - Butterfly Trader; Allen Jaffe - Turnkey; Len Lesser - Guard; Jim Malinda - Guard; Barbara Morrison - Mother Superior; Ellen Moss - Nun; Bill Mumy - Lariot; Woodrow Parfrey - Clusiot; John Quade - Masked Breton; Fred Sadoff - Deputy Warden; Gregory Sierra - Antonio; William Smithers - Warden Barrot; Ron Soble - Santini; Vic Tayback - Sergeant; Mills Watson - Guard; Dar Robinson - McQueen's Cliff Stunt; Dalton Trumbo - Commandant; Harry Monty
Credit
Jack Maxsted - Art Director, Jack Baur - Casting, Anthony Powell - Costume Designer, José Lopez Rodero - First Assistant Director, Juan Carlos Lopez Rodero - First Assistant Director, Franklin J. Schaffner - Director, Robert Swink - Editor, Ted Richmond - Executive Producer, Jerry Goldsmith - Composer (Music Score), Charles Schram - Makeup, John Courtland - Camera Operator, Tony Masters - Production Designer, Fred Koenekamp - Cinematographer, Emmett Emerson - Production Manager, Franklin J. Schaffner - Producer, Robert Dorfmann - Producer, Hugh Scaife - Set Designer, Alex C. Weldon - Special Effects, Derek Ball - Sound/Sound Designer, Richard Portman - Sound/Sound Designer, Lorenzo Semple, Jr. - Screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo - Screenwriter, Henri Charriere - Book Author
The lists in this article may contain items that are not notable, encyclopedic, or helpful. Please help out by removing such elements and incorporating appropriate items into the main body of the article. (September 2008)
Papillon is a 1973film based on a novel by French ex-convict Henri Charrière. The film was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starred Steve McQueen as Henri Charrière ("Papillon") and Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega. Papillon was filmed at various locations in Spain and Jamaica, with the cave scenes filmed beneath what is now the Xtabi hotel on the cliffs of Negril. While the penal colony scenes for Papillon were filmed in Falmouth, and the swamp scenes were shot near Ferris Cross, Steve McQueen’s famous cliff jumping scene, near the end of the movie, took place on the Xtabi cliffs [1]. McQueen insisted on performing the cliff jumping stunt himself, and later referred to it as “one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life” [2]. Due to the exotic locations, the film was considered as very expensive at the time of shooting ($12M), but earned more than double that in its first year of release,[3]
The script made several deviations from the book, some of them are:
Papillon's imprisonment before sailing to French Guiana is not depicted in the film, nor is his trial.
Papillon knew Dega before boarding the transport to South America. They had agreed to protect each other while waiting in prison.
Dega was not included in the first escape attempt.
Dega is portrayed as also being imprisoned on Devil's Island. In the book, he is imprisoned on another of the Îles du Salut, but never Devil's Island.
Papillon's ultimate escape is somewhat changed; the film ends with his escape from Devil's Island to the mainland, without covering his subsequent escape from the penal colony (bagne) itself to eventual freedom in Venezuela.
Admonitions against masturbation occur only once in the film, while in the novel, they are quite frequent, and serve as a moralizing lesson throughout.
Henri Charrière's real name is not revealed in the movie, as he is only known as "Papillon." The real name of the character is however depicted on the door of his cell during solitary confinement.
In 1974, the film was nominated for Oscar and Golden Globe awards in the Best Music, Original Dramatic Score (Jerry Goldsmith) and Best Motion Picture Actor, Drama (Steve McQueen) categories, respectively.
References
^ “Franklin J. Schaffner (Scarecrow Filmmakers Series) (1985) Scarecrow Publishing P. 381 ISBN 9780810817999
^ Sandford, Christopher. Steve McQueen: The Biography. (2002). Taylor Trade Publishing. P. 247 ISBN 9780878333073
