Charriere | definition of Charriere by Medical dictionary Charriere | definition of Charriere by Medical dictionary (shahr-ē-ār'), Joseph F.B., French instrument maker, 1803-1876. See: Charrière scale . Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: tv films Steve McQueen is petty criminal Henri Charriere (aka Papillon), wrongly convicted of murder and shipped o to Devil's Island, a former leper colony that has been transformed into a prison, from which Papillon vows to escape McQueen is excellent in the title role as is Dustin Homan in a supporting role. TOP FILMS OF THE WEEK Steve McQueen is petty criminal Henri Charriere (aka Papillon), wrongly convicted of murder and shipped off to Devil's Island, a former leper colony that has been transformed into a prison, from which Papillon vows to escape McQueen is excellent in the title role as is Dustin Hoffman in a supporting role.

Making things hot for the competition Oppliger A, Moreillon P, Charriere N, Giddey M, Morisset D, Sakwinska 0. French and Italian Language & Literature There are no such references for, say, Hensel, Fanny Mendelssohn Bartholdy, or Charriere, Isabelle de (nee Isabella Agneta Elisabeth Van Tuyll Van Serooskerken), the annotation for which actually refers to the issue of the correct form of her name: "Most frequently referred to as Isabelle de Charriere, Van Zuylen was . Women in Music: A Research and Information Guide Previous ATHENA Award recipients honored by the Dallas Regional Chamber include Suzanne Charriere, Corgan (formerly); Wanda Brice, The Women's Museum; Wendy Lopez, LOPEZGARCIA GROUP; Becky Sykes, Dallas Women's Foundation; Camille Keith, Southwest Airlines (formerly); Retta Miller, Jackson Walker LLP; Valerie Freeman, Imprimis Group; Liz Minyard, Minyard Food Stores (formerly); Grace McDermott, U.

Papillon | TasteKid Meh 0 Papillon Papillon [papijɔ̃] is an autobiography written by Henri Charrière, first published in France on 30 April 1969. Papillon is Charrière's nickname, deriving from a butterfly tattoo inscribed on his chest. The novel details Papillon's incarceration and subsequent escape from the French penal colony of French Guiana, and covers a 14-year period between 1931 and 1945. The book was an immediate sensation, and instant bestseller, achieving widespread fame and critical acclaim, and is considered a modern-day classic. Upon publication it spent 21 weeks as number 1 bestseller in France, with more than 1.5 million copies sold in France alone. 239 editions of the book have since been published worldwide, into 21 different languages. Are you improving? I'm Emmy! I provide recommendations and help you discover new music, movies, TV shows, books, authors and games, based on what you like. Some call me a recommendation engine, but I prefer to simply be called TasteKid. Explore your taste! Better discovery experience Once signed in, you receive better, personalized recommendations.

You can "like" or "dislike" the things you discover, keep a taste profile, find other people with shared interests and keep up with their discoveries. I'm always improving My knowledge is constantly improving. I still make mistakes and sometimes give bad recommendations, but I'm getting better. I'm learning from you, the people who use my service. If you want to help me, fill in your profile! Who are you? I'm Emmy! I provide recommendations and help you discover new music, movies, TV shows, books, authors and games, based on what you like. Some call me a recommendation engine, but I prefer to simply be called TasteKid. Explore your taste! Why sign in? Better discovery experience Once signed in, you receive better, personalized recommendations. You can "like" or "dislike" the things you discover, keep a taste profile, find other people with shared interests and keep up with their discoveries. Are you improving? I'm always improving My knowledge is constantly improving. I still make mistakes and sometimes give bad recommendations, but I'm getting better. I'm learning from people like you. So if you want to help me, fill in your profile!

Henri Charrière - Papillon CooperToons HomePage Caricatures Alphabetical Index Henri Charrière - Papillon Caricature Henri Charrière - Papillon Pick up a copy of Papillon, the famous autobiography of Henri Charrière, and you'll learn Henri was unjustly convicted of murder in Paris in 1931 and sent to the French prison colony in French Guiana - the infamous bagne. Within a few weeks, he escaped to Columbia, lived among the Guajira Indians for seven months, was recaptured, and returned to the prison. While he served two years in solitary, he was never allowed out of his cell or permitted to speak. After a number of other escape attempts and a second stretch in solitary, he was transferred to Devil's Island ten miles from the mainland. There he crafted a raft of coconuts and floated back to the coast. Then he and two companions escaped by boat to Georgetown, British Guiana. Later he left Georgetown without authorization, sailed to Venezuela, was imprisoned again, and eventually was released. Finally he settled down and became a productive and law-abiding citizen of the country. Henri, we learn, was one of the elite among the convicts, a true man-among-bagnards.

You'd think Henri practically ran the place, making deals with the warden when he would or wouldn't escape, mandating where he could be transferred, and even advising the officers how to deal with a prisoner revolt. If there was a #1 inmate on - quote - "Devil's Island" - unquote - it was Henri Charrière, alias, Papillon. Papillon was published in 1969 by Éditions Robert Laffont. It was an immediate bestseller, translated into all major languages, and made into a blockbuster movie with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Henri wrote a sequel, Banco, about the years after his release, and died in 1973, his life a testimony of struggle against man's inhumanity to man. There's just one little thing, mecs. Papillon was a novel. It was fiction. That Henri Charrière was born in Ardèche, France in 1906 is true, and as a young man he gravitated toward the Parisian underworld. He was convicted of killing a friend and sentenced to life imprisonment. Although Henri claimed he was innocent, some writers who have looked into the matter see no reason to think he was innocent.

It is also true that Henri was sent to and escaped from the French penal colony in what was then (and still is) French Guiana. But his escape, though, was not within weeks of his arrival. Probably it was more like a year later. Certainly he did not escape by whacking some guards on the head and fleeing over the hospital wall, a tale whose details should have sent up an immediate red flag with Henri's readers. According to Henri, when he and his friends were brought to trial after their recapture, he personally took charge of their defense. In a few brief sentences, he convinced the judge they had not intended to harm the guards and should be granted leniency. Why, Henri added, they had wrapped the clubs (actually the metal legs of the hospital beds) in cloth to prevent causing injury. The judge accepted the defense, and the final sentence - two years in solitary - was simply for "escape in the second degree". There's one little problem here. There was no judge on a tribunal in the French penal system that would simply pooh-pooh the striking of a guard. The judge certainly would not have handed out a "Well, Papi, that's OK just don't do it again" type sentence.

In French Guiana striking a guard was an extremely serious offense whether the guard was hurt or not. In fact, it carried the death penalty. But Henri was given two years in solitary on St. Joseph, one of the three Îles du Salut - the "Islands of Salvation" - the most famous of which is Devil's Island. We learn he was kept indoors for full two years, never allowed outside of the cell, and denied medical attention. Cut to two meals a day for receiving smuggled food and cigarettes, he had to be admitted to the hospital after his release from solitary. But after his second stretch (for another escape), he was responsible for the governor mandating that the prisoners be given an hour out of their cells a day for exercise and a swim. Well, there are good and sound reasons for doubting the Gospel According to Henri. If you read the actual regulations (and accounts of other convicts) you'll find the more repressive rules Henri described had been abolished well before Henri arrived. When Henri became a reclusionaire there were actually three stages of solitary. At first you did indeed remain in your cell 24 hours a day - but only for a two week stretch. Then you were allowed out for exercise.

This was, we agree, a tough sentence by today's standards, but it was not as bad as what Henri described. Then at the next stage of your sentence, you were allowed out for exercise an hour a day, and this included your swim. Finally the prisoners at the last stage were allowed out of their cells during the day to work around the island, although they were not permitted to speak. Lest readers still wax wroth about the conditions - even after the "reforms" - we should remember that the last two stages of solitary on St. Joseph involved a regimen which even today isn't much different from those in maximum security prisons in America. In fact, the more dangerous criminals in "lockdown" are even more restricted than Henri was. They are fed in their cells and are only permitted one hour of exercise a day by themselves. They may never be permitted to see other convicts. Of course, the modern prisoner's diet is selected by professional nutritionists to be balanced and healthy, and the cells on St. Joseph were not air conditioned and kept free of vermin as the FedMax cells are today. Nor could the reclusionaires read, watch television, or listen to the radio.

But then in the 1930's nothing was air conditioned, and no one had television, either. Finally let's say this out loud, all together. Henri Charrière did not - that's not! not! NOT! - escape from Devil's Island by jumping into the sea and floating away on a pile of coconuts. Henri didn't escape from Devil's Island period. He probably was never even there. Diable only held prisoners convicted of treason (like the innocent Alfred Dreyfus), and typically there may have been five or six prisoners kept on the island at any one time. If Henri did set foot on Diable, it was probably as part of a work party. And as far as Henri jumping off a massive cliff into the ocean (as in the movie) look at the pictures of the island, for crying out loud. Any "cliffs" are ten, maybe twenty, feet above the ocean and most of the beaches slope down to the shore. Instead of jumping into the sea off Devil's Island, Henri was transferred back to the mainland. Lucien Bauve, an ex-convict interviewed in the 1980's, remembered him there during war years.

Henri stayed out of trouble and didn't bother anyone. But he did escape a second time and eventually settled in Venezuela where he did indeed marry and became a successful restaurateur. How, then, did Henri get away? Most likely he simply had one of the local boatman row him across the river. The main camp at St. Laurent was just across the Maroni River from Dutch Surinam. Even in the earlier days, many prisoners were allowed to work without supervision and about 25 % of the prisoners could literally have walked away at any time. Getting away was easy. Staying away - that was the hard part. Remember, French Guiana is tropical jungle. Therefore there were one of three options for an escapee once they got into Surinam. The first was to go to a town and be immediately arrested and returned to French authorities. Or they could try to make it through the jungle, There they found simply moving through the tangled brush was near impossible, and they had little things like jaguars, crocodiles, and poisonous snakes to contend with. Those weren't the worst of the critters, though. One prisoner who tried to flee through the jungle couldn't stand the mosquitoes.

Within a day or two, most escapees in the bush were all too eager to turn themselves in. The third alternative was to steal or buy a boat and float down the river to the ocean and then try to sail along the coast to freedom. But even then if the boat didn't sink or you didn't die trying to land, you were almost sure to be captured and extradited. At best - like if you landed in British Guiana - you were forced to move on. Then your boat would sink, you would die trying to land, or you would be captured and extradited. But by the time Henri made his second escape things had changed. The world was at war, and French Guiana (together with the bagne) were under the jurisdiction of the pro-German French Vichy government. Surinam, though, was controlled by the Allies, and prisoners from Guiana were no longer returned to French jurisdiction. So once across the river, Henri could make his way to Venezuela without fear of extradition. But how do we really know that Papillon - as good an adventure tale as it is - is fiction? After all, Henri stuck by his story until he died in 1973.

Besides, if you look up Papillon on that Great Fount of Truth, the Internet, his version is the one we read. How, then, can we be in doubt? As Tonto might have said, what do you mean we, kemosabe? English speakers will read Papillon's account, that is true. But for those who can plow their way through a bit of Henri's native tongue - or even those willing to delve a little more deeply into the matter en anglais - will find there are research options which gives the reader a bit more in-depth (and accurate) account. The cold hard fact is that Papillon was debunked the year after it appeared when Gérard de Villiers published Papillon Epinglé ("Papillon [Butterfly] Pinned"). Interviewing convicts (including Henri), former guards and officials, and reviewing known history and the penitentiary records, Gérard documented that many of the stories were fictionalized borrowings from the lives of other convicts. Some events even happened long before Henri arrived. Furthermore Henri was not the rebellious leader he describes.

Instead he was a quite normal prisoner who caused little trouble, and like so many others, got along and did as he was told. Finally, we got the scoop from Robert Laffont himself. In the 1990's Robert finally told an interviewer that Henri had indeed submitted his book as a novel and parts of the book were borrowed from other sources. Papillon is still a good book, mind you, but it's still a work of fiction. So what was life really like in the bagne? Was it as bad as Henri said? Certainly Rene Belbenoit, who wrote the famous Dry Guillotine told of horrible conditions and brutal guards and officers. On the other hand another former prisoner, Francis "Flag" Lagrange, paints quite a different picture of life on "Devil's Island". True, it was a prison, he said, not a summer camp - pas une colonie des vacances. But it was, Flag said, no worse than other prisons of the era, and in some ways it was better. If you behaved, you got along and would even be assigned a job in the town.

There you worked unsupervised at a slow "colonial" pace, sweeping the streets, trimming trees and gardens, and generally keeping yourself inconspicuous. That there were instances of violence and cruelty can't be denied, but they were individual acts by individuals. The horror stories of book and film, Flag tells us, were atypical or limited to what happened in the outlying jungle camps. Ironically some retellers of the life of Henri want to have their croissants and eat them too. In other words, they describe the life of Henri as told in the book (ergo, novel), complete with his escape from the hospital, recapture, second escapes, confinement and escape from Devil's island. Then as an afterthought they mention, oh, yeah, "many" scholars think Henry's stories were borrowed from other convicts. The genesis of Papillon was in 1967. Then Henri, living in Caracas, bought a copy of L'Astrangle, a novel by Albertine Sarrazin. Albertine had been a "bad girl" in France, had been sent to prison for petty crimes, escaped, recaptured, and while in prison, wrote her book.

It was Albertine who was Henri's unsuspecting muse and inspiration, but for Albertine's story (which opens up in a new window) you'll have to click here . That does leave the question of what was life in the bagne really like. Of the two most credible informants, who's telling the truth, Rene or Flag? Actually both are. That might be a bit clearer if you read Flag's story by clicking here . References Papillon, Henri Charrière, Laffont (1969, Eng. Ed., Morrow, 1970). Henri's account. Excellent adventure novel - that's an excellent adventure novel. Banco: The Further Adventures of Papillon, Henri Charrière, Laffont (1972, Amer. Ed., Morrow, 1973). Amusing book, again by Henri. We learn of Henri's attempt to make the big bucks - "the banco" - by leading a life of crime but failing miserably. In the end he became a cook for an American oil company which paid $800 a month - very good money in the late 1940's.

Banco has not been debunked as was Papillon, but it relates a far more adventurous life that Henri told to Gérard de Villiers before its publication. Besides, any autobiography should be accepted with a pound or two of salt. Interview with Robert Laffont, ca. 1992. CooperToons did locate (and read with some difficulty) the famous interview with Robert Laffont which was on-line, albeit in French. Robert did indeed state Papillon was originally submitted as a novel. Alas efforts to re-locate the interview for a precise reference here have failed. Papillon Épinglé, Gérard de Villiers, Presse de la Cité (1970). Gérard we must point out was by far from a bleeding heart liberal, and in fact, he has been labeled as right wing. So naturally this takes a bit of a stand against Henri's account of the prison being the quintessential icon of man's inhumanity against man. Nevertheless, his famous debunking of Henri and his arguments against Henri's factuality have generally been accepted. Gérard interviewed many old banganrds, and he also documents verbatim the rules of the penitentiary.

Some of the accounts given by Henry as contemporary occured in the previous decade and the most repressive rules of the bagne had been abolished before Henri arrived. Alas, the book is in French which may deter the English reader. But his chapters are the same as (and cover the same material) as those in Papillon. So with a general knowledge of French grammar, familiarity with the story of Papillon (a French edition helps), and the various translation aids available, the diligent student can follow Gérard's arguments. Beware, though, of the products of computer translations. Many automated translations machines couldn't translate New England into American Midwest. "The Fabulous Escapes of Papillon". Life Magazine, Nov. 13, 1970, pp. 45 - 52. A good story with pictures of Papillon then and at the time of writing. Despite the title it is reasonably balanced article and briefly reviews the controversy and speaks not only of Gérard de Villiers but with George Ménager, another "anti-Papillon" author whose book Henri tried to get banned (unsuccessfully).

The article at least at this writing can be read online at #v=onepage&q=devil's%20island&f=false There's also a photo of Henri in the movie, Popsy Pop that he made with Claudia Cardinale, the female lead with Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West. Dry Guillotine, Rene Belbenoit, Dutton (1938). The classic account of life on - quote - "Devil's Island" - unquote. A big difference between Rene (and other) convicts and that of Henri is who was in charge. According to Henri, the prisoners practically ran the bagne. The other inmates, like Rene, remember things a bit differently. Rene's story has generally accepted as true and accurate, but also read the book by Francis Lagrange (see below). Flag on Devil's Island, Francis Lagrange and William Murray, Doubleday (1961). The account of Francis "Flag" Lagrange who was an artist, stage designer, art forger, counterfeiter, and later inmate of St. Laurent and the Iles du Salut.

Flag maintained that the stories of systematic horrors and brutality were exaggerated and were the results of individuals, not the system per se. Flag does not deny the stories of men like Rene Belbenoit, but he says they paint an incomplete picture of the bagne. If you did what you were told and were able to work in the town, you could get along and even have an easy time of it. How truthful is Flag? Well, that, too, is a topic to be saved for a later discussion. But we must remember that Flag's artistic ability was recognized by the guards and he was given extremely cushy jobs like painting portraits of the guards wives and children. He was even given leave to help a naval expedition map the coastlines. Flag, like everyone else, tells the story from his perspective. Devil's Island: Colony of the Damned, Alexander Miles, Ten Speed Press (1988). Despite what you might read in on-line reviews, this book is quite well documented (just no specific footnotes), objective, and well-written. It is probably the best general account of the whole Guiana penitentiary for English readers. As a young man, Alex learned French in Canada and bought a ticket to French Guiana.

He interviewed former inmates who still lived in Cayenne and St. Laurent and clearly reviewed the historical record. Life in Guiana as Alex tells was not as leisurely as Flag's. Like all good and informative texts, this book whets your appetite for more. Could Alex work on another and more comprehensive history? It would be very welcome. "Devil's Island", Life Magazine, July 12, 1939, pp. 65 - 71. A contemporary look at the then functioning - quote - "Devil's Island" - unquote - during Henri's time. The numbers quoted confirm what fiddling with numbers suggest - that perhaps 25 % of the men were dying each year. Somewhat hypocritically (given some of the prisons in the United States at the time), the article adopts a rather fatuous and holier-than-thou tone. But the gist confirms pretty much what Flag said. Do what you were told and you could get along. Cause trouble and you probably wouldn't last too long. There was also a confirmation of the point made in Papillon Épinglé about Papillon's "escape" from the hospital by knocking out the guards.

The article confirms that striking the guards was an extremely serious offense and did indeed carry the death penalty. So you have to conclude Henri's story of his smacking the guards and receiving a well-just-don't-do-it-again-Papi judgement of his trial has to be bogus. There is, by they way, a photograph of Flag painting a picture and it mentions his stealing a painting and subsituting a copy he made himself. But if you look at the painting was Flag so good to pull that off? It doesn't look like it and we have to remember that what really landed Flag in the slammer was counterfeiting money. Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman's Papillon to be remade with director Michael Noer | Daily Mail Online comments Papillon is the next classic film set for a remake. The 1973 epic starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman is set to be re-imagined with production company Red Granite pushing the project according to a Wednesday report from The Hollywood Reporter . The groundwork for the big venture has already been set as Danish director Michael Noer is set to helm the film.

Scroll down for video The return: 1973 flick Papillon starring Steve McQueen (left) and Dustin Hoffman (right) is going to have a remake, according to a Wednesday report from The Hollywood Reporter The 36-year-old director may be relatively young in comparison to his filmmaker colleagues but he already has tons of experience in making movies as is best known for his work on Danish film R (2010) and action drama Northwest (2013). The original flick is based on the memoir by convicted felon and fugitive Henri 'Papillon' Charrière, which was first published in France back in 1969. McQueen played the man who was unfairly convicted as a murderer in the 1930s and was ultimately sentenced to life in prison in an infamous South American penal colony.

At the helm: Danish filmmaker Michael Noer, 36, will direct the film, as he is pictured at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York back in April 2013 Man with the plan: McQueen portrayed convicted felon and fugitive Henri 'Papillon' Charrière Eccentric: Hoffman portrayed conterfeiter Louis Dega While heading to the penitentiary, Papillon meets an odd fellow prisoner named Louis Dega, who was portrayed by Hoffman. As Dega is a counterfeiter,he makes an agreement to fund Papillon's prison which results in a bond. The movie was critically-acclaimed as it racked up an Oscar nomination for best music and a best actor Golden Globe nomination for McQueen. It is also ranked number 240 on the Top 250 Movies list on IMDB .

Gone too soon: Mcqueen - pictured in 1975 - died of cancer in November of 1980 Legend: The 78-year-old actor Hoffman - pictured in London in November of last year - has enjoyed a successful film career over 40 years later The script was written by American screenwriter, Aaron Guzikowski, who is best known for writing 2013 flick Prisoners starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman. Riza Aziz and Joey MacFarland from Red Granite will be producing along with Roger Corbi and Ram Bergman. Executive producers include: Martin Hellstern, Joshua D. Maurer, Terrence Chang, Yan-Fischer-Romanovsky and David Koplan. Based on a (mostly) true story: Papillon was adapted from a memoir written by Charrière first released in France back in 1969 Read more: Papillon – The Butterfly Pinned..? | Robert Walsh Recent Articles Papillon – The Butterfly Pinned..? Meet Henri Charriere.

Frenchman, Venezuelan, career criminal, transportee to Devil’s Island, denier of the murder that sent him there, happy to claim to have committed a murder while he was there and general storyteller and writer. Also known as ‘Papillon (due to a butterfly tattoo on his chest) and writer of the eponymous book turned into the 1973 movie starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman (on which he was also technical adviser). We know that Charriere was convicted of the manslaughter of Roland LeGrand, a pimp of no particular note or repute. We know that Charriere received a sentence of life in the penal colonies of French Guiana with an extra ten-year sentence tacked on to it. We know that he actually went to Guiana aboard ‘La Martiniere’ and that he did indeed know Louis Dega, and that Dega was indeed a forger (and a very good one apart from getting himself caught and sent to Guiana for the rest of his life). We know that he was married before his exile to Guiana and married again in Venezuela after his successful escape from the penal colonies.

We know his mother died when he was only ten years old and that he served two years in the French Navy before joining the Parisian underworld as a safe-cracker. Everything else that appears in ‘Papillon’ is open to question. Did it happen to Charriere personally? Did he steal other inmates’ stories, passing them off as his own personal experiences? How many of them were his experiences or even happened? Was Henri Charriere really ‘Papillon’ at all? Charriere definitely arrived on the 1933 shipment from France to St.Laurent, capital of the colony and of the numerous prison camps that formed the ‘Penal Administration, French Guiana.’ He claimed that his first escape was made within weeks of arrival. Penal colony records state he was there for nearly a year before his first unauthorised absence. That he made eight further escapes, this too can’t be confirmed. That he killed an informer after being transferred to Royale Island, odd to admit that murder while denying the one that sent him to Guiana in the first place. He claimed to have spent several months with Guajira Indians while on the run through Colombia during one unsuccessful escape, which is also unconfirmed except by Charriere’s own account.

Charriere also claimed to have saved a young girl’s life by fending off sharks during a swimming break when he was in solitary on St. Joseph Island for an escape attempt. A different account states that the incident did indeed happen, but that the inmate who made the save lost both his legs to a shark and died soon afterward. While transferred to Royale Island (home to so-called ‘Incos’ or ‘Incorrigibles’, Charriere claimed to have been both a ringleader in a convict mutiny and also to have calmed the same mutiny down, his status as an ‘Inco’ being enough to persuade other ‘Incos’ to abandon their insurrection. Again, other inmates and penal colony records suggest strongly that Charriere was actually a peaceful inmate who caused very little trouble except for escaping. They also suggest he was largely content in his job on Royale Island cleaning out the latrines. According to Charriere he was a hardened felon and desperate escaper. According to seemingly everybody else, official or otherwise, he was happy to work most of the time as a shit-shoveller for other convicts.

There’s also the small matter of his supposed escape from Devil’s Island itself by floating to the mainland aboard a sack of coconuts with another inmate named Sylvain. Sylvain drowned in mud while trying to reach land, according to Papillon, which leaves nobody to corroborate his story or to explain why a conventional criminal like Charriere would be confined to Devil’s Island when that island was only used to hold political prisoners. In fact, of the 70,000 or so inmates sent to Guiana, only around 50 were ever confined to Devil’s Island itself. Neither Charriere nor his supporters can explain that or why, according to Penal Administration records, Charriere’s legendary successful escape through the Guiana jungle was made from St. Laurent where he was assigned at the time. Nor is there any explanation as to why Charriere freely references events in his book such as a convict-turned-executioner’s sadistic murder or the so-called ‘Cannibals Break.’ During that particular escape a group of escapers became so desperate they cooked and ate one of their group to survive.

One member of that group (who declined the free buffet) was fellow-inmate Rene Belbenoit, himself a successful escaper and author of the far more reliable ‘Dry Guillotine,’ The biggest problem of all for Charriere’s devotees, aside from the many inconsistencies and contradictions is Charriere’s book, a book he passed off as a memoir and not as a work of fiction, is the existence until 2007 of one Charles Brunier. Charles Brunier was a First World War veteran, armed robber and murderer sent to Guiana before Charriere. According to Brunier, he was ‘Papillon’, not Charriere. Brunier openly acused Charriere of lying and stealing the experiences of other inmates while claiming them to be his own. Brunier was also an unwilling resident of the colonies until 1940 when he escaped and joined the Free French forces under Charles de Gaulle.

He also wore a number of tattoos, one of which just happened to be of a large butterfly adorning his chest and the withered little finger, both identifying marks of the real ‘Papillon.’ In 1970, former Paris-Match reporter Gerard de Villiers wrote ‘Papillon Egpingle’ (‘Butterfly Pinned’), openly accusing Charriere of being a fraud and producing much evidence to prove his case. Charriere, infuriated, didn’t try to debate de Villiers’s book, he simply tried to have it banned instead rather than disprove the allegations made. A distinct body of opinion began to coalesce around Charriere being a plagiarist and a fraud, not least the damning opinion of Truman Capote who openly derided him as a liar and a fake. There’s no denying that Henri Charriere knew how to write, he knew how to tell a story and how to spin a few myths.

But as other inmates accused him of stealing their experiences, the official records show him to have lied on numerous occasions, French officialdom openly states that the truth of his book can be divided by ten to get to what he actually experienced, a reliable journalist has solidly disproved many of his claims and Truman Capote openly called him a fraud, it’s pretty hard to deny that he was also a professional liar as well. That said, he was a pretty successful one. Certainly a better author and liar than he was a safe-cracker. And is anybody of reasonable intelligence really so surprised to read a criminal memoir and then find it’s been spun like a DJ’s record collection? Somehow, I doubt it. Anybody looking for a longer account of the Guiana penal system can find one here, published by my colleagues at History Is Now Magazine: Papillon (Literature) - TV Tropes WMG Papillon is a 1969 French autobiographic novel by Henri Charrière. The author reportedly spent the years 1931 to 1945 in various prisons on a murder conviction.

Charrière, better known as "Papillon" for a butterfly tattoo on his chest, is a young man falsely sentenced to a life of hard labor at the Penal Colony of French Guiana. From the moment he is shoved into a post-trial cell the only thing he can think of is escape. For fourteen years he suffers in a cruel prison in between escape attempts. Eventually, he is taken to the inescapable Devil's Island, which he then escapes and finally reaches freedom and sanctuary in Venezuela. Made into a 1973 Allied Artists movie, starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman . Followed by a sequel, Banco , his attempted revenge against his enemies in France. This novel provides examples of: The Alcatraz : The "Islands of Salvation" as a whole, Devil's Island in particular. The cliffs and currents make escape all but impossible. Amoral Attorney : The prosecutor. He isn't interested in whether Papillon is innocent or not, his career and reputation rely on sending every last man possible to the guillotine or a penal colony.

Ass Shove : A critical survival tactic is shoving a small metal cylinder full of money, called a plan, up the rectum and using the cash to buy supplies or make bribes. Chekhov's Gun : Two from the film. First on the boat to French Guiana, where Papillon displays his pocket knife, which later is used by Papillon to defend Louis from two robbers. Later, when Papillon, Louis and Clusiot have escaped their captivity, Papillon is shown putting an axe in the back of his pants. The same axe is later used to kill an officer. Counterfeit Cash : Dega was busted as part of a defense bond counterfeiting ring. They would bleach off the 500 denomination and replace it with 10,000 francs. Death World : The jungles of French Guiana are a nightmarish hellhole where France dumps its unwanted criminals to die. Between dangerous animals, unforgiving climate, brutal work, half a dozen tropical diseases, cruel guards, and other murderous inmates, the penal colony has an annual 80% mortality rate. Disproportionate Retribution : France's entire penal system seems to hinge on this trope.

The penal colony is terrible enough, but there are a number of other insanely cruel systems in place as well. Embarrassing Tattoo : The Masked Breton's cockroach tattoo, which is on his face. As he tells Papillon and the other escapees, he foolishly got it in prison to look tough, but after escaping realized that it made him very easy to identify and would make a normal life almost impossible for him. Faking Amnesia : Papillon pretends to have amnesia after he's caught receiving coconuts and cigarettes in solitary, thoroughly frustrating the warden who wants to know who was providing the contraband and for how long. After four months of reduced rations, which almost kill him, he remembers to continue the game and "mistakes" his release from solitary as being pardoned from the penal colony. Going Native : Papillon spent some time with a native tribe in South America after one of his escapes from the penal colony. He made friends with the chief, adopted a local lifestyle and subsistence, and married two women whom he fathered children with.

However, there are doubts about how much of the story is true as Papillon is suspected of combining tales from other prisoners with his own and outright making some parts up for drama. Great Escape : Papillon attempts three such plans. Homage : To The Count of Monte Cristo , Papillon lifts his plans on getting revenge on the prosecutor from the novel. "How Did You Know?" "I Didn't." : In the film, Papillon takes shelter in a leper colony after his escape, and is invited to share a cigar by their leader. Despite his fear of catching the disease, Papillon does so. There's a moment of silence from the leader (who clearly expected him to refuse) before he asks how Papillon knew he had dry leprosy, which isn't contagious. When Papillon replies that he didn't know, it breaks the ice between the two men. Instant Sedation : Averted . The drug-laced coffee Papillon gives a guard makes him drowsy and sluggish but he doesn't pass out until the very last minute, their escape thwarted by his relief's scheduled arrival. Kangaroo Court : Papillon's trial. He is charged with murder and will be found guilty of it no matter what.

Language of Love : Papillon took on not one but two wives in the South American tribe he was sheltered in. By the time he married the second, he could manage rudimentary communication with the first wife. But when he married Lali they were still communicating in gestures and nods. Made in Country X : The sleeping drug that fails Papillon is made in the United States and his accomplice curses the American-made garbage. Miscarriage of Justice : Papillon is framed for murdering a pimp. The chief witness is a stool pigeon saving his own ass. Each time the evidence would clear Papillon a new piece of evidence is fabricated until one sticks. The prosecutor lives to get convictions, regardless of evidence, to further his career. National Geographic Nudity : Papillon is adopted by some South American Indians. Obfuscating Insanity : At one point, Papillon feigns insanity to be transfered to another sector of the penal colony with less strict watch, in order to plan an evasion. Then, his attempt fails and one of the wardens tells him that he immediately spotted him as simulator at his arrival. Playing Sick : An artform among convicts.

Hospitals have less security and because of strict scheduling protocol a well-timed hospital stay can provide time to buy better assignments or make escape preparations. And there are many, many ways to feign illness such as buying lice, eating spoiled food, bribing doctors, or stabbing yourself and claiming the injury came from a visible fall. Reasonable Authority Figure : Don Gregorio, the director of the Barranquilla prison. After talking to Papillon and his companions he is sympathetic to their plight, being foreign escaped convicts and innocent of any crimes against Columbia aside from illegal entrance, but he is bound by law to detain them until extradition to French Guiana. In the mean time he is amazingly lenient towards Papillon's four escape attempts, the first of which involved Papillion taking him hostage with a knife and trusting that he sincerely doesn't want to kill anybody. Their failures are punished to a small degree but Papillon is allowed to remain with his friends and given the same privileges as the other better-behaved inmates. He drugs a guard, scales the wall, and finally blasts a hole with explosives, without serious reprimands or special detainment.

On his final, explosive, attempt Don Gregorio merely says "Well, Frenchie, I think this was your last try" because even Papillon couldn't make another attempt with only three days to spare. Reformed, but Rejected : Papillon realizes that he was a criminal and society should protect itself and punish him for his crimes-once he escapes he plans on living as a law-abiding good citizen. The bagne system however doesn't give a damn about what crimes he committed or what he intends to do with his life, he has been thrown away by France and is forever beyond redemption. The officials in French Guiana's neighboring countries often turn a deaf ear to his pleas and evidence of his behavior, since as he was shipped to the colony in the first place he must be a dangerous and untrustworthy monster. Roaring Rampage of Revenge : Arnaud, Hautin, and Marceau have a gruesome and stupid plot to get revenge on the authorities by staging a revolt. Their plans involve looting the armory after which they plan to kill everyone who isn't a convict, the guard's wives and children included.

They approach Papillon to lead this revolt but he refuses to kill innocents and points out that they have no hope of escape: being a hundred men participating, with boats for forty, and the fact that they'll never find refuge in another country after the bloodshed. They don't care about escape, provided they can reach the mainland and continue the revolt. The three of them are shipped off the island and attempt an uprising by themselves-none of the convicts join them and they're quickly killed. Safecracking : Papillon is an accomplished safecracker with ties to the Paris underworld. Sharp-Dressed Man : This works to Papillon's disadvantage during his trial. He is groomed and wearing a fine tailored suit for his day in court. The prosecutor uses it to portray him as a degenerate playboy and play the envy of the poor peasant jury against him. Slipping a Mickey : Papillon arranges to be the inmate with the duty of supplying the night guards with coffee. The drug he acquired tastes similar to anisette so in advance of his attempt he starts offering the guards coffee "à la française" with the liquor in it. The drug worked but not in time for his escape, and the guard sleeps for three days.

Thou Shalt Not Kill : Papillon refuses to kill anybody if there is any way to avoid it. Part of it is pragmatic: the authorities are much harsher to violent escapees, foreign governments will ship a killer straight back, and as a dangerous criminal he'll be under tighter security. Outside of his desire for revenge against his enemies in France he is simply not a murderer. He briefly entertains the idea of delaying extradition by killing a local cop, but dismisses it as his would-be victim doesn't deserve to die for doing his job. Too Long; Didn't Dub : A number of French terms are left untranslated. A glossary at the start of the novel defines them. In particular: bagne - penal colony, cavale - escape attempt, mec - man or pal. Unreliable Narrator : It's been all but proven that Charrière did not do half of the things he claims. There are no records of him staying in certain parts of the prison he talks about, and some of his escape attempts certainly did not happen to him. It is most likely that he combined his own story with those of other prisoners to make the narrative more exciting. What Happened to the Mouse?

: When he leaves them, Papillon swears to Lali and Zorayma that he will return to them and his unborn children by them. He mentions them again in his rambling thoughts in solitary after he's caught. He never returns to them or ever mentions them again after that, even after he earns his freedom and moves to Cuba to live a decently comfortable life. :: Indexes :: Papillon Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 29 out of 47 people found the following review useful: An amazing true story gets a pretty good film treatment. from Todmorden, England 26 December 2003 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. Was the above review useful to you?

16 out of 22 people found the following review useful: Grim and authentic telling of Henri "Papillon" Charrière's time at Devil's Island. from United Kingdom 7 April 2010 Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner (Planet Of The Apes/Patton), Papillon is adapted for the screen by Dalton Trumbo & Lorenzo Semple Jr. from notorious French felon Henri "Papillon" Charrière's own novel. It stars Steve McQueen (Papillon) & Dustin Hoffman (Louis Dega), is primarily shot in Jamaica & Spain with Fred J. Koenekamp (The Towering Inferno) on photography duties and Jerry Goldsmith provides the score. Henri "Papillon" Charrière was a crook, a bad egg, he however was sent to the notorious, inescapable, prison fortress of Devil's Island for a murder he didn't commit. The film, as is the book, is a fictionalised account of Charrière's time at the penal colony. The film is probably best described as being a stirring drama of friendship under duress, endurance and opportunism, all neatly blended with an adventure based heart.

Schaffner directs it with great technical skill, for in a film with minimal dialogue, he manages to perfectly stifle the viewer with a hot sweaty atmosphere. Something that is crucial for us to feel the confines of this penal colony life. These men are doing hard time, lets not soft soap it Hollywood style, lets get the feel right, something, that much like Don Siegel also did in 79 with his excellent Escape From Alcatraz, Schaffner does exceptionally well. He is helped enormously by two fabulous performances from McQueen & Hoffman. McQueen is in his element as Papillon. Always an actor whose ability for dominating scenes without using histrionic acting was undervalued, Papillon goes some way to readdressing the myth that he was more about iconography than actual talent. His solitary confinement scenes are sublime, without saying barely a word. As Papillon stave's off starvation, madness and disease, McQueen has such a powerful and believable presence, he pulls us into that five by five paces cell with him. Incredible! Once again tho the Academy ignored McQueen's excellent work and the film only received the one Oscar nomination for Goldsmith's pinging tropical score.

Hoffman's great work was something of a given, meticulous as usual in his preparation {he had studied for weeks about penal colony life}, he is the perfect foil for McQueen and the relationship is tender yet never twee. Fine support also comes from Anthony Zerbe as a compassionate leader of a leper colony & Victor Jory as an Indian Chief. The production was an expensive one, with the original budget of $4 million ballooning to $14 million, making it the most expensive film of 1973. A couple of scripts were jettisoned {money down the drain} before Schaffner enlisted Trumbo to write the screenplay. A good move because Trumbo was able to flesh out character relationships that didn't exist in the source novel. Hoffman himself was adamant that he would only play Dega if the film steered away from a buddy buddy formula and gave Dega intelligent integrity. He got it, which is credit to Trumbo since the Dega character is barely formed in the novel, in fact the film version is an amalgamation of several penal colony characters. Trumbo was rewarded with not only a considerable paycheck, but also a bit part in the movie as the colony commandant early in the piece.

Initial critical reaction to the film was harsh, but the public didn't agree since the theatres were packed and the film made almost $50 million Worldwide. Making it Allied Artists most successful film ever. It has since garnered a massive fan base and has been favourably reassessed by a new wave of critics. Those old complaints about it being too sombre and too enduring to get thru just don't add up. One only has to note the thematics and essence of the story to know this fact. 9/10 Was the above review useful to you? 14 out of 19 people found the following review useful: I'm still here - after all these years... 19 June 2004 *** This review may contain spoilers *** I have enjoyed watching this film several times over the three decades since it was released. Yes, it certainly is a tragic and gruesome story of how brutal mankind can be, but more importantly, it is an inspiring story of resilience and the triumph of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity. I often think of the closing scene where Papillon floats away from the prison island on his raft of coconuts. This was truly my favorite of all of Steve McQueen's films.

Dustin Hoffman's performance foretold the depth and richness of his acting abilities. I highly recommend this film. It is a timeless classic. Was the above review useful to you? 9 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Live Free Or Die 1 August 2015 Spoilers Ahead: When this was released it was attacked for its gritty realism. The bug eating scenes in solitary, the impalement of Gregory Sierra during an escape with the cannibals in hot pursuit. I defer to others as to its historical authenticity. In this case, even if the story were totally apocryphal I still treasure the film. The movie is easily explicated: Papillon, played well by McQueen simply will continue to escape or die trying. Louis cannot figure Papillon out, at first, when he is being worked to death by a guard, whose family lost their fortune buying Louis' counterfeit bonds, Hoffman, reluctantly, agrees to come with Papillon on the first try. The movie consists of failed attempt after failed attempt with some frightening consequences like years in solitary, in the dark eating bugs for protein; also, running into lepers who you better not offend.

Papillon has a quiet, unassuming nobility about him: never ratting on Louis, even though he almost dies for it in solitary. The lepers think he has great knowledge of leprosy and that is why he smoked their cigar. No, he is just very brave. The movie shows the cruelty of the French Penal system before it was pulled apart. The three islands that made up their deportation of dangerous criminals. The movie, as the above critics point out, is quite long. Yes, the same template: escape after escape all failing can bore you. You get to see two great actors working together McQueen and Hoffman. Admiration for Papillon grows as the movie progresses. His last words, we hear as he is floating away, aged now,"I'm still here you B." Even if the movie bores you, the spirit it depicts is so meritorious that I always forgive the film its failings. The love of freedom, the willingness to die rather than be a slave, this was the spirit of the American Revolution. The movie has faded as our country grows more and more progressively decadent.

The movie's power is that no matter all the setbacks: crooked escape thieves, broken boats, lepers, cannibal hunters, cruel Nuns who sell him out; the man keeps going and going. His love of freedom is inspiring as is his boundless bravery: they simply can not break him. This is not Cool Hand Luke's existential nihilistic dropping out of society and then life. Papillon loves life greatly; he simply will not be anyone's slave. Yes, it is long and has some boredom in it. It is a rewarding movie for its acting, writing and great emotional depth. The love of freedom and the courage of a man who refuses to be broken and caged. A Great Movie "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death." Patrick Henry Was the above review useful to you? 52 out of 99 people found the following review useful: Unflinching look at brutal penal colony...gripping but exhausting... from U.S.A.

25 May 2005 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. Was the above review useful to you? 5 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Uncredited music for PAPILLON from France 31 January 2008 The music score of Jerry Golsmith for PAPILLON is great. 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. I supposed it was "classical music" since it was not on the official score of Jerry Goldsmith. But I didn't find it in the credits either, so I made my own search and I found it ! It was "FAUST" composed by Charles GOUNOD in 1859. ...

from Denver, CO 2 May 2004 Dalton Trumbo's brutal tour of the life of Papillon a man sentenced to life in a French prison colony. This film is easily considered one of the "godfathers" of prison life movies. Every prison film after in recent memory borrows from this film and definitely not as successfully as this sprawling epic plays out. Papillon is hell-bent on the concept of live free or die trying. In the same vein as Cool Hand Luke but definitely much, much darker. The film contains an interesting play on friendship, isolation, madness and how the three can mix when put to the ultimate survival test. A tough watch but well worth it if you can find something in the characters to connect with. Just appreciation of the odds they overcame simply living out the sentence was awe inspiring enough to me. Strange, hardcore, pitch dark and graphic tour of the mind (a Trumbo signature) this film constantly pushes you to the edge of your seat. You wonder where the dreams end and the hard reality begins. I definitely want to read the Henri Charrière novel now. This is all the film that the grossly overrated Shawshank Redemption endeavors to be.

Shawshank reminds me of Papillon with more talk and less action. In fact, thinking about it further showed me just how devoid of originality (a Steven King signature) Shawshank was. If Papillon and Shawshank were cellmates, Shawshank would be the toothless prison punk getting sold for one cigarette. Never predictable and always original this film has more than enough action to make up for scenes that perhaps run a bit longer than needed. Painful in the bright sunshine this is a gritty voyage. Hoffman's character is sublime and understated allowing McQueen to shine and show you in this film why he was the top draw of the era. 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. 9.5/10 Was the above review useful to you? 7 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Enjoyable film upon escapes from an impregnable prison with strong performances Author: ma-cortes 9 April 2005 The movie centers an unrelenting prisoner( extraordinary Steve MacQueen) who's sent to French Guayana in Devil's Island.

He's determined to break out from the gaol placed on a deserted and an impenetrable island. He befriends with an inmate(Dustin Hoffman, a real chameleon actor) who's imprisoned for swindle . They will confront lot of dangers and sufferings until reach freedom . McQueen tries a series of escapes but he's always recaptured . The punishments will be terrible and developed in graphic realism. The history is based on real deeds, it's adapted from an autobiographical best-selling book about a French burglar named Henri Charriere and Dalton Trumbo(previously prohibited for the Black List and he's cast as the Commandant) and Lorenzo Semple Jr are the screenwriters . The pic is overlong about two hours and half , though is neither boring, nor tiring, but entertaining, because develops many adventures and happenings. The motion picture obtained pretty success ,it was a box office winner . Attained hits at every theaters around the world. The film is a magnificent portrayal of tortures and sufferings of the prisoners in far countries .The yarn's title refers to the starring's butterfly tattoo. Interpretation protagonists -McQueen, Hoffman- is top notch, they make a magnificent couple.

The support cast though very secondary is very fine : George Coulouris,Don Gordon,Gregory Sierra,Victor Jory, among others. The veteran Jerry Goldsmith creates an exciting and atmospheric musical score and Fred Koenekamp cinematography is excellent with astounding outdoors of the jungle. The picture is rightly directed by Franklin J. Schaffner - Planet of apes, Patton- . The flick will appeal to prison genre buffs and adventures films fans. Rating : good and nice. Well worth seeing. Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Pretty good all round, but way too long.... 21 June 2015 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Henri 'Papillion' Charriere (Steve McQueen) is given a life sentence for killing a pimp and is to serve his sentence at a penal colony in French Guyana. Whilst he's serving his time, he befriends master forger Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman).

At first, the two men merely share a friendship of 'convenience' - Papillon offers to protect Dega from other prisoners who are trying to get his money and in return Dega promises to finance Papillon's escape once he gets to the penal colony. However, as time passes a much stronger bond begins to develop between the two men and they both decide to try to escape together. The first thing I'd like to address with this film is its running time and at close to 150 minutes it's a very long film and the problem is that it actually feels like a long film. The first half of the film is particularly long and drawn out and I couldn't help but feel that the film was badly in need of being edited a bit. Despite the above gripe the film is still engaging and at times it's very moving. As mentioned, Dega and Papillon's friendship was one of convenience at the start, but as the years pass by a strong bond began to exits between the men and each respective stage of this friendship is brought to life beautifully between Hoffman and McQueen. For me, the best part of the film was McQueen's first stint in solitary confinement.

Here screenwriters Trumbo & Semple Jr really highlight how 2 years in solitary confinement can cause a gradual deterioration of the mind - the dream sequences and hallucinations really help to get into Papillon's mind-set and see what he's thinking. McQueen's performance really helps as well and when watching him here I really cared for his character and felt his pain... In truth at times I forgot that I was actually watching Steve McQueen as I've always felt that he's a bit of a mediocre actor (he was particularly wooden in Bullitt), but I was genuinely surprised how good he was here. The only slight downside with this aspect of the film is that I got no feeling that Papillon had been on half rations for 6 months; it probably would have been more convincing if McQueen had gone 'method' and lost some weight during production, but I realise that this is an actor's choice and it's possible that they may have had a tight scheduling limit. It's only a minor criticism and as I said McQueen was excellent here and throughout the film. Hoffman was good as well, but I already knew that he was a good actor, but McQueen was the real revelation here.

Although this is a serious portrayal of man's desire to escape from prison the film does have some light hearted moments such as the scene where Papillon and Dega are trying to capture the crocodile - that bit was very funny. The film is also emotionally involving particularly towards the end - I got the impression that Dega didn't go with Papillon because he'd become somewhat institutionalised and perhaps saw Devil's island as his home. The fact that his wife left him as well may have also made him feel that he had no real reason to leave. That's just my assumption. Papillon is a good film, but it does drag at times and is far too long. As far as Prison escape films go then this is inferior to the likes of Shawshank Redemption, Escape from Alcatraz & The Great Escape. However, if you're a fan of those films then you should find plenty to enjoy here too. Was the above review useful to you?

4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: "Make the best of what we offer you, and you will suffer less than you deserve." 25 October 2007 *** This review may contain spoilers *** 'Papillon' tells one of those stories that we remember for a long time. It is the tale of one man's life, an unbreakable friendship, and an inability to accept defeat against impossible odds. The film was based on the memoirs of convicted French felon Henri Charrière (though several critics have expressed doubt over the factual accuracy of the described events), who spent many years incarcerated in the brutal penal settlement of mainland French Guiana. The film was adapted by Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple Jr., and directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, who is most well-known for 'The Planet of the Apes (1968)' and 'Patton (1970).' Steve McQueen delivers a formidable performance as the convict Charriere, nicknamed "Papillon" because of the butterfly tattoo on his chest.

Claiming to have been framed in the murder of a pimp, Papillon seeks immediately to escape from his imprisonment, employing the services  and later the friendship  of the withdrawn and vulnerable, but nonetheless resourceful, Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman). One element that 'Papillon' accomplishes so powerfully is the torture and suffering that takes place in the prison. The bodies of exhausted and wasted men litter the paths, and most inmates have grown so accustomed to the prospect of death that they greet each carcass with a painful indifference. After a failed escape attempt, Papillon is sentenced to two years in solitary confinement, a truly horrific punishment with the sole aim of crushing the prisoner's spirit and sanity. Despite a few inexperienced dream sequences, this segment of the film is handled masterfully, and McQueen excels, deteriorating into the jittery, wide-eyed, physically-drained shell of a human being who has only a paper-thin grasp on both life and reality. A remarkable thing about Dustin Hoffman is that I've never seen him play the same character, and Louis Dega is no exception.

Beneath his thick-lensed spectacles and shy countenance lies a true friend; one who, despite their differences, will risk everything to repay a good deed once done. During the last third of 'Papillon', not including the final act, Schaffner veers slightly away from the touching human friendship story and descends into above-average adventure mode, which was interesting but not on par with the rest of the film. Though it appeared in Charrière's original novel, the ill-developed (and dialogue-sparse) sub-plot of the brave white man earning the admiration of the natives was a Hollywood cliché that I could have done without. Additionally, a wonderful ending was tarnished somewhat by an unnecessary few lines of closing narration. It would have been much more effective had Papillon's fate been left open to the audiences. Of course, the fact that the writers were working off a true story perhaps makes that idea completely redundant. Nevertheless, 'Papillon' is a magnificently memorable prison drama, with two outstanding central performances (neither of which, I was shocked to discover, were nominated for an Oscar).

The film's themes  of an innocent man finding the courage, hope and friendship to survive the horrific treatment of a cruel prison system  almost certainly served as inspiration for Frank Darabont's 'The Shawshank Redemption (1994).' Was the above review useful to you? Page 2 of 17: MR. ROBOT's Rami Malek Cast in PAPILLON Remake Opposite Charlie Hunnam — GeekTyrant by Ben Pearson I've never seen Papillon, the 1973 prison break movie starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, but it's getting a Hollywood remake with Charlie Hunnam in the lead role originally played by McQueen. Now Deadline says that Mr. Robot star Rami Malek has signed on to the movie as well, and he'll be playing the role originally played by Hoffman. Michael Noer (Northwest) is directing, and Prisoners screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski wrote the script. The film is a contemporary retelling of the original, which was based on the memoirs of convicted felon and fugitive Henri Charriere. He was a petty criminal from the Parisian underworld who was unjustly convicted of murder in 1930s France.

He staged an epic escape from Devil’s Island, a notorious penal colony in French Guiana in South America, aided by quirky counterfeiter Louis Dega. This seems like a part that will be a breeze for Malek to play. To get a better sense of what the movie is about, watch the trailer below — but beware, it's almost four minutes long, so I'm pretty sure it basically gives away the entire movie.

Question: Convicted felon Henri Charriere was better known by what name?
Answer: Papillon