Papillon
Tags: violence, cult, boring, romantic

Plot synopsis:
The movie opens with an offical explaining the facts of life to a group of prisoners. The scene switches to a city in France where a large group of men are being paraded at gunpoint through a street crowded with onlookers, police and media. A rich looking woman waves forlornly to a man wearing glasses. They board a freighter and are put in cells in the ship's hold.The men begin to talk about the short bespectacled man, Dega, who is said to be a reknowned counterfeiter, who may have a lot of concealed money. The prisoners begin their voyage and are shown in various daily routines. The blue-eyed man with a large butterfly tattoo, Papillon, has a knife, decides to befriend Dega and promises to protect him. Some men are seen to be getting ill and weak in the heat as the ship travels south. Papillon is tanned, fit and confident looking. Two men attempt to assault Dega during the night, Papillon manages to fight them off but is placed in irons. Finally the ship arrives at it's destination in French Guiana, the men see three small islands in the distance and mention they are high security prisons.While lining up to disembark one prisoner, Julot, a "two time loser", asks for Papillon's shiv and cuts his own knee, he pretends to fall down the gangplank and he is carried off on a stretcher. A young man walks into the ocean and is summarily shot and killed. The prisoners are marched through a town of onlookers, assembled at the main camp, Penetencier de st. Laurent, and told that if they try to escape they will get two years in solitary, a second attempt means five years solitary and a third attempt means the guillotine. They are issued red and white striped uniforms. In the barracks an older prisoner/trustee recognizes Dega and explains that an easy job is available for a price. A struggling prisoner is brought in front of the assembled camp and is guillotined. Papillon and Dega stick together, they have a medical exam and just before they are assigned to the easy work a senior guard says Dega's counterfeiting cost his family a lot of money and assigns them to a hard labour logging detail in the swamp.One day a crocodile attacks the group, Papillon and Dega are told to get it with their bare hands. They meet another prisoner, Clusiot, at lunch break who shares some quinine anti-malaria medicine. Next, the prisoners chase butterflies with nets. Dega catches a big blue one. Papillon approaches the butterfly buyer and asks for help to escape. Arrangements are made for two weeks later. Papillon tries to convince Dega to come also. Julot's corpse is brought in with his throat slit, Degas is sickened and causes a commotion, Papillon escapes. Dega gets new bifocal glasses. Papillon comes to the butterfly buyer's camp and is immediately taken at gunpoint, betrayed.He is taken to "Reclusion" and told the rules. He is placed in a small cell 5 paces wide and starts walking back and forth and do push ups. His food and water are passed in through a small hatch, despite the poor food he vows to eat all. One day he finds a piece of cocoanut in his water bucket and a note from Dega. Eventually the guards discover the extra food and try to find out from Papillon who arranged it for him. He refuses to talk and is placed on half-rations. Then his ceiling is covered and he is placed in almost complete darkness. Over time Papillon gets very weak and hallucinates, thinking back on a wasted life, later fantasizing about a triumphant return to France with Dega. He is near death and reduced to eating insects when suddenly he is released as his solitary period is ended. He is taken back to the main camp.Slowly regaining his strength he renews his friendship with Dega, who appreciates that Papillon never gave him up. In the hospital ward he notices a young prisoner, Maturette, who is molested by a trustee. Maturette admits he is homosexual and will help Papillon if he can come too. Papillon starts planning a new escape with the Maturette and Clusiot. A prisoner doctor says he can make suitable arrangements for a price. Dega refuses to go along but gives Papillon money and a map. During a band concert night the three try their escape, a guard is alerted and Clusiot is hurt. Papillon and Maturette get over the wall and encourage Dega to join them. Dega breaks his ankle when falling over the wall. The three escape into the jungle, they had paid 3000 to buy a boat but find the boat is useless. A trapper with strange facial tattoos shows them he killed two men who had been waiting for the three escapees. He helps them escape down the river to a leper colony.At the leper colony the leader tests Papillon by telling him to smoke his cigar. Papillon does so and the man says he has non-contagious leprosy. The lepers give the three escapees a boat and some money and the three sail off toward the Honduras.At sea they scavenge water and eat turtles, endure storms and heat. Dega's broken ankle gets worse, Maturette knows some medicine and tries to do first aid . Eventually they land on a sandy beach and are immediately confronted by a small group of Spanish-speaking soldiers. Degas lies there in the sand and the other two scatter. Papillon meets a Spanish prisoner and together they run off deeper into the jungle. The Spanish prisoner is impaled on a booby trap and Papillon is hit with a blowgun dart and falls into a river.He awakes in a village of primitive natives. They live in thatch huts on a beach, fish for pearls and a nubile young woman helps Papillon regain his strength. The chief has Papillon give him a butterfly tattoo just like Papillon's. One day he wakes up and the natives are all gone, they have left him a small bag with some pearls. Somewhere he gets newer clothes and appears to be a regular European tourist. At a border crossing he tries to join a religious caravan, they let him join them to cross. At the church, Papillon declares to the Mother Superior he is an innocent man who never killed anyone, he gives the nun his pearls in a show of good faith. Asleep on a clean bed, he is rousted awake and taken at gunpoint. The nun has betrayed him.Five years later(or more?), Papillon is released from Reclusion with white hair and looking very old. He meets a dying Maturette in the courtyard. He is taken to Devil's Island and assigned a cabin where he is told to fend for himself. He meets Dega who is also on the island and who has a tidy cabin, a carrot garden and a few pigs, but is a bit off, mentally.Papillon begins observing the waves and currents and begins planning another escape. He figures out that every 7th wave is big enough to carry a floating object out to sea. He fashions two large floats and seems to have Dega convinced to escape with him. When it is time to go Dega changes his mind. The two friends hug and Papillon jumps off a cliff into the ocean timing to meet the 7th wave. He is carried out to sea clinging to his float. A voice over says he makes it to freedom and outlives the prison. The final scenes are of the abandoned prison overgrown by the jungle.

Review: But the fact that he was an inmate is true enough and fits in with the actual site which came to be known as 'Devil's Island.' Court records indicate that Henri Charriere (Steve McQueen) later called " Papillon " which is french for Butterfly, was indeed a minor burglar and safe cracker.
The movie runs about two-and-a-half hours and gives enough of a flavor to have the viewer appreciate - at least to some degree - the brutal trials and tribulations Papillion went through in real life.If you enjoyed this film, the book is a "must-read" for you and very highly-recommend You won't believe all the things Charriere experienced: good and bad.
In real life, the man escaped something like eight times and each time went through hell.Steve McQueen, playing "Papillion," was excellent.
By the way, in real life, Charriere was much younger went sent to jail than McQueen was at the time this movie was shot.
Dustin Hoffman also was great as Papillion's friend, "Louis Dega," who had a bigger role in the movie than he did in the book.
Take it from someone who has read the book: this is a grim story, worse than what you saw on screen here.Nevertheless, thanks to the two leading actors and the wonderful work by Director Franklin Schaffner and Cinematograher Fred Koenekamp, this long film entertained.
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.
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.
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..
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.
It stars Steve McQueen (Papillon) & Dustin Hoffman (Louis Dega), is primarily shot in Jamaica & Spain with Fred 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.
The movie centers an unrelenting prisoner (extraordinary Steve MacQueen , who one time exposed : this shooting was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life) is sent to French Guayana in Devil's Island .
The yarn's title refers to the starring's butterfly tattoo , being based on his actual-life , as Papillon , Henri Charrière , was 25 when he was sent to French Guyana .Interpretation protagonists -McQueen, Hoffman- is top notch , they make a magnificent couple .
However, I didn't find a very important part : in the movie, during the 2nd escape of Papillon with Maturette and Clusiot, the prison's orchestra plays a music...I've always wanted to know what was this music, because I found it very appropriate with the action.
But in the case of Henri Charriere aka Papillon for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, he just wants out of the penal colony at Devil's Island and makes many attempts to get shed of the place.
It's one of McQueen's best roles and he holds your interest throughout this nearly three hour film.Leading an impressive supporting cast is Dustin Hoffman who plays what we would now call a white collar criminal.
It's a very good performance by Hoffman as his character changes during the film.I'd really recommend seeing both Birdman of Alcatraz and Papillon back to back.
He keeps on going like the energizer bunny till the end.Hoffman and McQueen are two of our all-time great actors, near the prime of their acting careers, in a terrific story with great direction and cinematography.
It was once said, the only true test of a great film is the test that time gives, Papillon passes with flying colors.The ULTIMATE prison escape movie.
First, Papillon wants to prostitute him to distract a guard so that he can escape: He lets Papillon know in no uncertain terms that he's "not a whore" and that "Between the two of us, I'm the one who's killed a man." Later, he shows bravery, solidarity, and resourcefulness equal to the two leads'.It's a fairly large role, the actor makes a strong impression, yet (almost as important) the filmmakers don't showcase him in a self-congratulatory way ("Look how progressive we are!").
This is all especially remarkable in that Hollywood movies at the time were still rife with abysmal gay stereotypes (see "Play Misty for Me," "The Eiger Sanction," "The Producers," any number of others in all kinds of genres.) I'd love to know if this was a conscious decision by Schaffner or the screenwriters (Trumbo and Semple both had good progressive credentials, after all).By the way, if you're going to see this film, see it letterboxed - it loses much of its visual impact in a standard TV pan-and-scan format..
Many people love this movie and think it a great adventure, and for a Franklin J Schaffner film it isn't half-bad, (it has great visual sweep and he certainly makes the most of the locations).
It is based on the true story of Henri Charriere who escaped from Devil's Island, but like all 'true stories' you wonder at how much the film-makers, and indeed the man himself, who chronicled the escape in a book, fabricated events.
It's really just one escape after another until he finally gets away, but the escapes are exciting in a literal, very widescreen kind of way and even though you know the ending, Schaffner still manages to crank up the suspense.Steve McQueen is Charriere, ('Papillion'), and he's got a haunted, ferrety look about him; he has the needling determination of a survivor.
Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman both did wonderful jobs playing Papillon and Louis Dega.
this is a Masterpiece ...god it almost made me cry..please vote good for this movie ..this movie deserve to be on the top instead of stupid movies like "This Is Spinal Tap" (1984) and lots of other not so deserving titles on top 250 films list on IMDB...Steve McQueen is at his best as Papillon...great story and overall an excellent picture..if you haven't seen it yet ,do not hesitate you owe that to yourself if you are a movie fan and don't forget to vote after you watched it we have to have this movie on Top 250 films list..Don't you agree with me?10/10Bobby.
Two great actors Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen are able to present you disappointment, happiness, loyalty, patience, hope, insanity, friendship and depression perfectly.
Two great actors Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen are able to present you disappointment, happiness, loyalty, patience, hope, insanity, friendship and depression perfectly.
I've loved "Planet of the Apes" for some years, and some months ago I watched "Patton" for the first time in a long period.Both movies were very good especially "Planet of the Apes", so I thought that I should try watch another Schaffner-movie and the choice was the 3rd placed movie on his IMDb ranking, "Papillon".The movie was well directed and the cast was right.
McQueen was good in the role as the strong Papillon, and Hoffman was really the right man to play the intellectual Louis Dega.
Although Papillon is a great classic film with many admirable qualities (including McQueen, Hoffman, and some high-quality cinematography), I was disappointed in it for the following reasons: [1] In all likelihood, Papillon is a completely fictional story.
'Papillon' is an entertaining prison escape drama with a great script and some terrific acting performances.
"Papillon" stars Steve McQueen in a true story about a man imprisoned and doing time in an island penal colony and his single-minded conviction to eventually gain his freedom.
The character played by Dustin Hoffman was a fictional one created for the film in the attempt to turn it into a buddy movie, and much as I like Hoffman as an actor, it's obvious that he was shoehorned into the screenplay.
Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman both gave extraordinary performances throughout the film, but it died at the half-way point.
Probably the worst movie i've ever seen.If you want to know the true story of Papillon READ THE BOOK!!!
The real, thoughtful, amazing and, why not, entertaining story this film tells, along with the masterful acting of both McQueen and Hoffman, make of Papillon a really hard-to-forget experience, something you could become addicted to.
Alongwith Hoffman, he has beautifully portrayed the grit, stoic fortitude and the fighting spirit that becomes hall mark of their escape from the notorious and infamous island prison of French Guinea."NEVER SAY DIE" is amply substantiated after witnessing the determination and impeccable will of these incarcerated men who were left to rot in most abominable living conditions.Although, the movie is too long and at times slow but still it has an obscure grip over the viewers mind.
Papillon is a story of what men will do in a time of crisis, such as being in a rather hellish penal prison colony run by the French on one of their islands.
Steve McQueen was probably the only actor that I can think of from the period who could portray this character, at least if this had to be done the Hollywood way (of course the man was French, Henri Carriere, so this goes without saying not counting French actors; perhaps Belmondo could've pulled it off, who knows).
But there's so much that happens in his story, spanning many years (seemingly decades, though it's never completely clear), that I kept finding myself thinking 'Ok, oh wow, what happens next?"' It actually isn't entirely a prison movie, it should be noted; the last hour mostly takes place when Papillon, his friend Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman) and another prisoner find a way to get off of the island by boat.
And yet, it being Papillon as played by Steve frigging McQueen, the star of The Great Escape, we might hope that he has one goal: to get the hell out.
When this character gets caught, he has to do more time - in solitary - which is around a 15-20 minute chunk in the middle of this film.I should be clear on this point: if you've seen certain scenes set in solitary confinement in other movies, this is one of the most brutal to watch if not just right up there (oddly enough perhaps the other McQueen's film Hunger tops it).
Which, when playing up against someone like Dustin Hoffman, it's a good idea not to be sleepwalking in a role.Papillon puts so many stakes for its characters, and yet what sets it apart from other prison-break-out movies are two things mainly: how bleak and unrelenting the pressure and suspense is, that at any minute everything can very feasibly fall apart (as the writing and direction make clear, this is a painfully realistic world, or a realistically painful one, same thing), and the location.
I first saw this film in the cinema in the UK in 1974, at the tender age of 12, and although much of its adult themes obviously flew over my head, I do remember that I enjoyed it, even though I remembered very little about the film.Fast forward to October 30th 2007, watching Papillon on DVD for the first time since 1974.What a delight, what an utter revelation, a film of great depth, covering themes far reaching for anyone who has "lived a bit" :) While McQueen is excellent in this, the solitary confinement part of the film is just classic cinema, Hoffman, a young man at the time, plays this middle-aged counterfeiter with such conviction, with so many deft touches, that yes I believed his character was about 40 years old.The locations, the music, the photography all add to making Papillon a great experience.If you can get the film in it's original widescreen format then treat yourself, it really is another excellent example of American 70's cinema at its best.They really don't make them like this anymore..
This movie is based on a true story of the life of henry Henri Charriere which is played by tank Abbott aka mqwueen.The movie is shot in Spain and Jamaica,its Frank J.Schaffner's film of papillon united Mqueen and the 2 time academy award winner Hoffmen in one of the greatest movies f the 70's.This movie has great acting by Dustin Hoffmen who should have taken the leading role Tank is a good actor but these movies are just too big for him.
second is banko.my id is homage to this real superstar.i have a life time wish to visit and see myself the barracks where papillon had been imprisoned in french Guenna.if you are determined you can win in all situation.i recommend this movie to see.and read also if you like.how a small person who is unlucky enough to sent in jail for the crime he had not committed made his mind to get escape and try his best.
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.
Right after making "The Getaway", Steve McQueen was back doing even harder time on Devil's Island as the title character in "Papillon", a French mec convicted of a murder of which he swears he is innocent, who refuses to abandon his hopes for freedom, no matter the cost.It's a great role in an occasionally affecting, often frustrating film that forces us to spend time in solitary confinement and hard labor, taking abuse from guards and making friends among fellow inmates, in particular the fastidious counterfeiter Dega played by Dustin Hoffman who, like McQueen, was enjoying the peak of a richly-earned stardom.
McQueen was better as a prisoner in "The Great Escape." Hoffman was a better gimp in "Midnight Cowboy." And those two movies together are probably shorter than this.
Schaffner): Convoluted escape movie giving the star Steve McQueen one of the most complex roles which he does OK with, but Director Franklin J.
Advertised as an action prison escape movie with star power of McQueen and Dustin Hoffman and based on a well received novel, but this epic attempt of telling the story has no real pull on the viewer to care about the outcome unless you just can't wait to see the inevitable after it's forecasted by a prisoner near the beginning that Papillon will never return home to France, and a scene where it's emphasized that the prison is in-escapable(aka.
Steve McQueen stars as Papillon, who was sent to the French Guyana prison camp on Devil's Island for murder.
On route, he makes friends with Louis Dega,(Dustin Hoffman) a counterfeiter, and their friendship lasts quite a long time, as it proves to be the only thing the two men have to hang on to as the long years of captivity(with repeated escape attempts) plays out.Harrowing film about captivity and the hardships and fight for survival that both men experience.
Great long prison escape story for an "old movie" night.
An almost unremittingly grim prison movie, right up to the end, in a fine film less I think, about exposing the cruelty of the French colonial penal system or an innocently convicted man's desire to be free, as celebrating the star quality of Dustin Hoffman and in particular Steve McQueen, as both are put to work in arduous and physically demanding roles.To be truthful, I knew I was watching Hoffman acting all the time rather than his character and McQueen too, in the bigger, title role, takes time to convince he's not going through his various incarcerations "Cooler King" style, but as he ages and becomes infirm, he fully convinces in a difficult part, completely eschewing his "superstar" persona along the way.The film is involving and relatively unflinching in its depiction of prison life, the harshness of the prison masters, the toadying of some compliant prisoners as well as the bullying by some others, but central to it is Papillon's stubborn determination to escape and live as a free man again.
True story Papillon and 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 this incredible movie,"Papillon".
If you like Steve McQueen or Dustin Hoffman, this is a must see as it may very well be the best movie either of these two actors has ever played in.Movies over 20 years old or so often seem outdated, and sometimes their impact may be lessened when watched by the current public.
Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman's acting is very good.It's an exciting film that is much worthy to see.
Steve McQueen is fantastic in the title role of this biographical movie about one man's struggle to escape French justice.
McQueen has never been better and there is strong support from Dustin Hoffman has a fellow prisoner whom Papillon befriends.
All fine and good, as the glibly entertaining "The Shawshank Redemption" proved, but Franklin Schaffner's film is undone by narrative formlessness (the movie was made up as they went along and it shows), overlength, clumsy direction, and unforgivably hambone acting by Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.
Prison movies are always entertaining just for their location and this one is saved by some great torture scenes and escapes.
The movie begins with Charriere (McQueen), nicknamed Papillon (or "butterfly") on board a prison ship.
Steve McQueen is sentenced there along with Dustin Hoffman,, the movie is based on the life of the director who spent 14 years there, and several years in solitary confinement.