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56 out of 73 people found the following review useful: Unforgettable, fantastic film, one of my top personal favorites, 25 July 2004 Author: JonDavidCampbell
Papillon is one of my all-time favorites films. Steve McQueen is fantastic in the lead role. Dustin Hoffman is at his finest as Louie Dega. Very memorable, unforgettable performances, shocking action scenes and psychological thrills and twists. I cannot write enough good things about this film. After years of looking, I recently found this film on DVD and added it to my collection. This is the kind of movie that you can watch again and again and continue to see things you've never noticed before. This film never gets old and you never grow tired of watching Papillon. Some of the cast includes Vic Tayback also known as Mel from the hit TV series "Alice." He is convincing as a mean, surly prison guard. Also, Billy Tumy known for his role in "Lost in Space" as Will Robinson, plays a young, doomed inmate. There are other character actors included in the cast that you will more than likely recognize throughout the film. I give this film the strongest and highest of recommendations.
65 out of 98 people found the following review useful: Terrific! Most underrated film ever., 15 December 2004 Author: ajpisharodi-1 from Davis, California
I felt so moved after watching this film. Steve McQueen did a terrific job acting as Henry. Although at times, he just acted as McQueen, he did a wonderful job expressing suffering in the solitary confinement scene, and great towards the end of the movie. Hoffman is always an exceptional actor and in this movie he is no different. Unfortunately it neither won for, nor got nominated for an Oscar, and it deserved to win 3 (supporting actor, actor, picture). As much as I loved the Sting, this movie was better for that year.Some critics gave it a bad review, even a 1973 Roger Ebert article criticized this film. I guess you cant blame them too much, movies were better those days. Note that 1973 was sandwiched between 2 Godfather years.Maybe some people figured that McQueen was just redoing his Great Escape role. Either way, nowadays films are so bad I am just thirsting for a movie this deep. But if the best Hollywood can do nowadays is a glittzy trashpiece like Chicago, we cant expect too much from our times.
54 out of 81 people found the following review useful: The best escape movie ever, 20 February 2004 Author: ian-256
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Forget the Shawshank Redemption this great adventure story based on real events is the best prison movie ever made. As a child this was the first movie that really had a profound impact on me & moved me to tears. Even now the final scenes of Papillon on Devils Island trying to convince his friend Dega to make one last final break for freedom with him swell the emotions within me! Great performances from McQueen & Hoffman and great location work coupled with an arousing musical score. Once you have seen this film it is hard to ever forget it. A true classic of cinema. It may be a little long and slow paced at times ... but then that is the solitude & boredom of a dismal penal colony existence.
44 out of 63 people found the following review useful: May I never have to go to the pen, 27 May 2000 Author: helpless_dancer from Broken Bow, Oklahoma
Terrifying film dealing with life in prison. Not just any prison, but one way off to itself with few fellow human beings around. I think this was McQueen's finest film ever, and perhaps Hoffman's also. I know it has had a lasting effect on me through the years; I have never forgotten the awesome loneliness the prisoners went through. Great picture, thumbs up.
26 out of 35 people found the following review useful: The amazing true life story of a man of character..., 6 September 2005 Author: ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico
'Papillon' is the forceful portrait of a defiant man, who survives harrowing years of his life in small solitary cells, suffering the worst type of brutality and despair... It is the amazing true life story of a man of character called Henri Charriere, a Frenchman sentenced to life at Devil's island for a murder he did not commit... Henri gains his nick name 'Papillon' for the large butterfly (symbolic of freedom) tattooed on his chest...The film recounts Papillon's tenacity and indomitable spirit, planning and executing a series of failed attempts of escape over many years... We watch his multiple adventures through hundreds of miles of swamp, reaching an encounter with a kind leper colony, a friendly tribe of Indians, and a traitorous nun... Papillon is seen pursued by Indian trustees, and harassed by brutal guards... The power of the movie lies on Papillon's triumph over oppression, his continual perseverance, humanity, honesty, his quiet dignity, and sheer spirit...Guided this time by one of the most creative directors who offered handsomely 'Planet of the Apes' and 'Patton,' Steve McQueen—as Papillon— exhibits a raw vitality, a complete spectrum of emotions, and a sure command of his technical acting-resources that are breathtaking in their impact..Dustin Hoffman—in perfect rapport with his role, perceptively invading its every nuance and implication— portrays a quality of character exhibited in the face of impossible adversity... His last scene with McQueen attempting to convince his friend not to leave the island, represents one of the film's most moving, and effective sequence...Schaffner gives a stirring picture of forsaken men, and takes up the challenge and proceeding to 'beat the system' against incalculable odds... He certainly gives rise to some of the great epics of human courage and fortitude...
39 out of 63 people found the following review useful: Unflinching look at brutal penal colony...gripping but exhausting..., 25 May 2005 Author: Neil Doyle from U.S.A.
Brutal treatment in a penal colony has been explored on the screen before in such earlier films as I WAS A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG, but never has there been a more graphic expose of the sort of conditions prisoners faced under the worst sort of environment.At times the film is extremely harrowing to watch, and at other times the story tends to drag a little. But there can be no doubt that STEVE McQUEEN and DUSTIN Hoffman create believable and sympathetic (yet quirky) characterizations and do some of the finest acting of their careers. Their roles are physically demanding and always played with total conviction.Not for the squeamish, but extremely well acted by the entire cast, great location photography and a nice background score by Jerry Goldsmith. The first half of the story is much more compelling than what happens in the final years and the last half-hour of the film is a bit sluggish in pacing. But overall, a memorable escape film that ranks with the best of other escape stories.My first viewing of the film years ago made an indelible impression on me, but I must confess that later viewings convinced me that it is not exactly flawless in that the pacing is sometimes much too slow and the ending is somewhat unsatisfying.
24 out of 35 people found the following review useful: Excellent film entertainment, 8 June 2002 Author: eaglejet98
Excellent movie. Entertaining and realistic. Although media promotion hinted that this was another version of "The Great Escape", the movie, and Steve McQueen, avoided what would have been a fatal pratfall - remaking the 1962 POW war film with different costumes.In fact, this was an excellent film that stood on its own merit(despite the fact that historians claim the story is not true) It was an excellent depiction of the French penal colony in Guana. It would have been great even without McQueen in the title role.Dustin Hoffman was his usual superb actor, making the most out of his role. McQueen wisely avoided playing himself, and as a result, his role was stronger and believable.Location scenes and overall plot were superb. Outstanding film.
25 out of 37 people found the following review useful: This actually happened, 3 August 2004 Author: Petri Pelkonen (petri_pelkonen@hotmail.com) from Finland
Steve McQueen plays Henri "Papillon" Charriere who is sentenced to life in a French penal colony for a murder he didn't do.There he befriends with an other convict Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman).Henri's only goal is to escape.Franklin J. Schaffner's Papillon (1973) is based on a true story.Charriere actually went through all this and then wrote a book. The acting work is unique.Steve McQueen (1930-1980) is superb in the lead.Also Dustin Hoffman (1937-) is excellent as always.This movie is filled with incredible scenes.Everything works perfectly in this amazing movie.If you want to see a dramatic adventure masterpiece this is a movie for you to see.
14 out of 17 people found the following review useful: A must see..., 25 February 2006 Author: Osman Samutoglu from Turkey
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.
19 out of 29 people found the following review useful: An amazing true story gets a pretty good film treatment., 26 December 2003 Author: Jonathon Dabell (barnaby.rudge@hotmail.co.uk) from Wakefield, England
The true story of Henri Charriere (nicknamed "Papillon" because of his butterfly tattooed chest), a Frenchman falsely accused of murder and sent to French Guiana's inescapable penal colony. Charriere spent years trying to escape from this mosquito-ridden, malaria-prone hellhole, but every attempt somehow went awry. On many occasions, the recaptured Charriere was sent into solitary confinement and only survived thanks to his incredible mental strength. Ultimately, the authorities lost hope of taming his urge to break out, so they abandoned him on Devil's Island, a tiny land mass where guards were not needed since the constantly ferocious surrounding sea was ample deterent for any would-be escapees. Franklin J. Schaffner directs this film quite well, capturing the appalling prison conditions vividly and getting a wonderful, multi-layered performance from Dustin Hoffman as Charriere's friend, convict Louis Dega. However, McQueen struggles with the demands of the lead role. Yes, he's physically accurate in the part and during the escape sequences he looks convincing. However, during the quieter moments, McQueen looks distinctly uncomfortable, and his natural "cool" persona doesn't equate with the humiliated, tormented character he is supposed to be playing. The subsidiary characters are great, especially the guy with the tattooed face who attributes his ugly tattoos to an evening of drunkeness, and Anthony Zerbe as a grossly disfigured leper who asks Papillon to share a cigar with him. Best sequence? Probably the one where McQueen and another escapee flee through the rainforest from some soldiers, using natural jungle-based narcotics to preserve their energy levels.
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