Genre: Adventure / Drama
Duration: 151 minuten
Country:
France / United States
Directed by: Franklin J. Schaffner
Stars: Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman and Victor Jory
IMDb score:
8,0 (146.365)
Releasedate: 13 December 1973
Papillon plot
"The greatest adventure of escape!"
The film tells the story of Henri Charriere, a petty criminal who is wrongfully convicted of murder and is sentenced to life imprisonment in French Guiana. He is determined to escape, but his first attempt fails. As punishment, he is moved to a prison from which no one has ever escaped.
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Actors and actresses
Henri "Papillon" Charriere
Louis Dega
Indian Chief
Julot
Toussaint
Maturette
Clusiot
Lariot
Dr. Chatal
Zoraima
Reviews & comments
tbouwh
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- 5847 messages
- 5464 votes
Mixed feelings. Papillon was one of those great classics that I had to see again. Ideally, I would have put myself in front of the screen straight away a few years ago: Back then I was generally a lot more into the prison movies (the Darabonts, Escape from Alcatraz) than I am or would be now. Well, it finally happened yesterday. Thanks for the push baspls.
Refined film, which scores especially on camerawork and lighting details, especially when the isolation of McQueen's character reaches its peak (or trough, depending on how you look at it). McQueen is also just very strong in those few scenes. Facial expression here is a means of conveying the constant clash between despair and hope. If we step outside the walls with the characters, it quickly becomes less. I couldn't cope with the somewhat shrill and bombastic score and the one-sided exoticism in the 'open' scenes. You can also tell from the screenplay that Trumbo wrote, not only in the moral at the end, but also in the general development of characters and the way the plot has always seemed to serve a greater purpose. . In that context, the programmatic character of the film often threatens the credibility of the drama. Papillon certainly has some similarities with Spartacus (1960).
The ending is nicely iconic, and overall this is also a movie that has too much class to really fall through the bottom line anywhere. If the soulless/oriental romance with that local had been deleted, I would still have dreaded the 3.5*.
Translated from Dutch · View original
martijn011
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- 2034 messages
- 1309 votes
Papillon is of course a classic so it was about time I saw this film. The remake is still on my wish list but I thought it would be wise to see the version with Steve McQueen first.
To start with him right away, what a great actor he is. Together with Dustin Hoffman, he delivers an impressive performance. Especially the time in the solitary cell was very convincing and very bad to watch. The acting impressed me more than the story.
I also thought the movie was good, but not great. The story ripples along, there is rarely any tension and the last part of the film comes across as much too rushed. There is almost more going on there than in the two hours before. That makes it feel a bit unbalanced.
Still, this is a film that you should definitely see and, in my opinion, it has partly rightfully acquired a cult status. Great shot, beautiful locations, great acting and a reasonably developed story.
3.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Sergio Leone
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- 4479 messages
- 3157 votes
Okay.
A classic that I had wanted to see for a long time, but never got around to it. The expectations were quite high, maybe a bit too much, because although a more than decent film within its genre, I don't see a masterpiece in Papillon.
The film often falls into a kind of deadlock for that, in which the tempo is lost and one has to crank it up again. This happens about 2 or 3 times and that's why the film sometimes feels a bit long. Moreover, the events in the film are not of such a nature that they offer a great deal of variation.
Nevertheless, there are indeed just good scenes in it, that ending for example I find quite memorable. Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman are a good duo, although I don't think McQueen is the world's best actor. Hoffman with his typical nervous tendencies comes into his own better, perhaps also helped by the fact that he doesn't have to carry the film.
3
Translated from Dutch · View original
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