Papillon (1973)

A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

Dalton Trumbo (screenplay), Lorenzo Semple Jr. (screenplay),

Stars:

Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory

Top 250 #241 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve McQueen	...	Henri 'Papillon' Charriere
Dustin Hoffman	...	Louis Dega
Victor Jory	...	Indian Chief
Don Gordon	...	Julot
Anthony Zerbe	...	Toussaint
Robert Deman	...	Maturette
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Clusiot
Bill Mumy	...	Lariot
George Coulouris	...	Dr. Chatal
Ratna Assan	...	Zoraima
William Smithers	...	Warden Barrot
Val Avery	...	Pascal
Gregory Sierra	...	Antonio
Vic Tayback	...	Sergeant (as Victor Tayback)
Mills Watson	...	Guard

Storyline

Henri "Papillon" Charierre is sentenced to life in prison and transported to the penal in French Guyana. Aboard ship on the voyage over, he meets Louis Degas, a forger. They form a bond that will last them a great many years. The conditions at the penal colony are horrific and Papillon desperately wants to escape. He first attempt ends quickly in failure and as a result he spends 2 years in solitary confinement. His next attempts is somewhat more successful and he actually spends a idyllic time with a tribe of Central America Indians. Once caught however, he does 5 years in solitary confinement. Once released, he decides to make one final attempt at freedom.

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Plot Keywords:

escape | solitary confinement | butterfly | prison | island | 

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Taglines:

The greatest adventure of escape ever filmed!

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA France

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

16 December 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ba Bi Long

Filming Locations:

Higuerote, Estado Miranda, Venezuela

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$53,267,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allied Artists Pictures, Corona-General, Solar Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

151 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (magnetic prints) Mono (optical prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dustin Hoffman based his character on the movie's screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, particularly his withdrawn and shy mannerisms which had inspired Hoffman when meeting Trumbo for the first time. Hoffman once said of Trumbo: "He's a real feisty man and he's got a combination of toughness and sophistication and integrity that I felt were right for Dega....So I said, why didn't he write the character of himself, so to speak?".

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Goofs

When Papillon first visits the lepers, the leper he speaks to does not move his lips (probably because of makeup).

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Quotes

Warden Barrot: [to Papillon upon his release from solitary confinement after two years following his first escape attempt] Your term is completed.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Zombieland/A Serious Man/Whip It (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Ballet Music from Faust"
(uncredited)
Music by Charles Gounod

User Reviews

A must see...

This is the second greatest "run after freedom" movie i've ever seen. Two great actors Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen are able to present you disappointment, happiness, loyalty, patience, hope, insanity, friendship and depression perfectly. Every single scene in the picture has a lot of things to say to you. You might get emotionally confused when watching this movie, you might even sense a little bit of friendship or love between the prison guardians and the prisoners and at the same time you might be able to sense the unreasonable hate. When you are not free, then you have nothing else to lose thus you have to run after your freedom, however do not believe in freedom until you get what you used to have before losing it.