Regular Price $19.98

Starring: Steve McQueen,  Dustin Hoffman,  Victor Jory,  Don Gordon,  Anthony Zerbe, 
Directed By: Franklin J. Schaffner, 
Rated: R (Restricted)
Release Date: 1973-12-16
Studio: Warner Home Video
Format: Anamorphic,  Closed-captioned,  Color,  DVD-Video,  Widescreen,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about Papillon

Amazon.com essential video
Franklin J. Schaffner (Patton) directs this true story of Henri Charriere (better known as "Papillon" or "the butterfly"), a prisoner so determined to escape the notorious Devil's Island, he attempted it multiple times until he reached old age. Steve McQueen plays Charriere, and Dustin Hoffman is very good as the hero's anxious, defenseless friend. Based on Charriere's own memoir and uncompromisingly adapted by screenwriters Dalton Trumbo (Johnny Got His Gun) and Lorenzo Semple Jr. (Three Days of the Condor), the film is tough going (it is set, after all, on Devil's Island) but not gratuitously violent. There are sequences that stay with one for a long time, such as Papillon's brief stay at a leper colony and the long periods of starvation and solitary confinement he endures after each attempted flight. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews for Papillon

Indomitable spirit
"Papillon" is the apparently true story of Henri Charriere, the only person to successfully escape from Devil's Island off French Guiana. There is little argument that the real Henri was not a felon; he seems to have spent the majority of his formative years (and later) in and out of various prisons. The premise in "Papillon", however, is that he was sent away at that time for a crime that he did not commit. Regardless of the truth, the story is gripping and plausible, and well worth the time, though the movie is about a half-hour too long.

Papillon is portrayed by Steve McQueen, in arguably the best performance of his career, certainly the role with the most emotional depth. I have always been a fan of McQueen's; I truly believe he was cheated out of an Oscar here, as he becomes Henri Charriere completely, weathering abysmal prison conditions and surviving by sheer will. He befriends fellow convict Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman, another great performance), a first-rate forger transported for defrauding the French Government with fake bonds. He is known to be wealthy, and therefore a target for assassins within the prison system (the method of retaining funds is gruesome; a tube inserted into the rectum of the prisoner for safekeeping) so Louis approaches Papillon for protection. This arrangement develops over time into a friendship, sometimes tenuous, but it works throughout the movie, as the two convicts go through atrocious events together.

The film seems to span long years; at least two long solitary confinements for Papillon for escape attempts; and goes very in depth about the nature of the prison system, its priveledges and punishments, and the manner of survival in almost any situation you could dream up. The French Colonial prison system was a model of barbarism, and its remains can still be seen on various islands; it is something of an irony, however, that the islands purported to be inescapeable and therefore not guarded that closely (the sea was full of sharks which were considered to be enough of a deterrent to escape attempts)are now resorts. If you have enough cash now, you can sit on Dreyfus's Bench yourself.

This was a great movie; not perhaps to everyone's taste, but a harrowing film nonetheless, with wonderful performances by McQueen and Hoffman. There is also a great score by Jerry Goldsmith, which perfectly complements the action in the film.Papillon

McQueen excellent
McQueen carries film beautifully. One of his finest performances.

The real story behind the story is that Henri Charriere, who wrote the novel the movie is based on, "borrowed" heavily from what other convicts' lived through, and one in particular--the real Papillon, who died in France a couple of years back.

Don't get me wrong, Charriere did his share of time on Devil's Island, it's just that not everything that takes place in the film actually happened to him.

Author Gerard de Villiers delves into it in a book entitled A BUTTERFLY PINNED.Papillon

no problems
I'm always worried about the condition I receive my product, but I was pleased with my purchase and I will most definitely do it again.Papillon

Excellent!
I was fortunate enough to be in Jamaica when they were filming. By chance I met Steve McQueen in Montego Bay the day we arrived on vacation. We were staying in Ochos Rios where they were filming scenes above Dunn's River Falls. Steve just happened to be in MoBay that day. The film is a classic as far as I'm concerned.Papillon

Six Stars!!!
Definitely one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time, if not thee favorite.
A must see!Papillon

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