Watch: Papillon 1973 123movies, Full Movie Online – A semi-fictional account of Henri Charrière’s time in the penal system in French Guyana – some of it spent on infamous Devil’s Island – is presented. It’s the early 1930s. Charrière – nicknamed Papillon because of his butterfly tattoo – and Louis Dega are two among many who have been convicted in the French judicial system, they now being transferred to French Guyana where they will serve their time, never to return to France even if they are ever released. A safe-cracker by criminal profession, Papillon is serving a life sentence for murdering a pimp, a crime for which he adamantly states he was framed. Dega is a wealthy counterfeiter, who expects his well-to-do wife eventually to get him released. At Papillon’s initiative, the duo enters into a business arrangement: Papillon will provide protection for Dega, who, in turn, will finance Papillon’s escape attempt. As the two men spend more time together than either had expected, their burgeoning friendship ends up being an important factor altering their original plans, needed as they work with and against others who are trying to achieve their own goals, sometime conflicting with those of Papillon and Dega..
Plot: A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
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8.0/10 Votes: 131,136 | |
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Grim and authentic telling of Henri “Papillon” Charrière’s time at Devil’s Island.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 and 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. This 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, and this without saying barely a word. As Papillon staves off starvation, madness and disease, McQueen has such a powerful and believable presence that he pulls us into that five by five paces cell alongside him. Incredible! Once again though the Academy ignored McQueen’s excellent work and the film only received just 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 between them 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. This made 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 through just don’t add up. One only has to note the thematics and essence of the story to know that this is indeed fact. 8/10
_**The living hell of a penal colony in equatorial South America during the 30s**_Henri Charrière’s account of his experiences from 1933-1945 involving the penal colony of Cayenne in French Guiana, South America, are chronicled, including solitary confinement, escape attempts, dwelling with Goajira Indians (in northeastern Columbia) and living on Devil’s Island. Steve McQueen plays Henri, nicknamed Papillon (aka ‘Butterfly’ due to his chest tattoo), while Dustin Hoffman plays his friend Louis Dega.
“Papillon” (1973) is a realistic ‘prison film’ and probably more accurate than Charrière’s account based on his memory, which was told to a professional writer some three decades after the events. Keep in mind that Charrière had a reputation for being a great storyteller and the authenticity of a lot of the 560-page book has been seriously challenged. The movie only offers the gist of the real-life account and no doubt got it more accurate.
Whilst cinephiles generally praise the movie other respectable people criticize it, suggesting that the viewer hopes Papillon will escape so that the film will end (lol). I suspect this is mainly due to the long solitary confinement sequences in the first half, which definitely help the viewer grasp what a living hell it would be. Speaking of which, Charrière never said in his account that he ate bugs in solitary confinement or was in total darkness.
The second half is thankfully more adventuresome so, if the miserable solitary confinement sequences tempt you to quit watching, hang in there. There are similarities to McQueen’s earlier “Nevada Smith” (1966), which has a more compelling story.
The film runs 2 hours, 31 minutes, and was shot at various locations in Spain and Jamaica. For instance, the penal colony scenes were filmed in Falmouth, Jamaica. Meanwhile Steve McQueen’s famous cliff-jumping stunt near the end actually took place at cliffs in Maui, Hawaii.
GRADE: B
Enjoyable film upon escapes from an impregnable prison with strong performances
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 . He is determined to break out from the gaol placed on a deserted and impenetrable island . He befriends an inmate (Dustin Hoffman , a real chameleon actor who here had to wear contact lenses) 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 story is based on real deeds , it is 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 splendid screenwriters . The pic is overlong , about two hours and half , though is neither boring , nor tiring , but entertaining , because of it develops several adventures and happenings . The motion picture obtained a big success , it was a box office winner . It attained hits at every cinemas 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 , 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 . In fact , McQueen did his own stunts , as he even insisted on performing a dangerous leap , as he jumped off a cliff himself . Dustin Hoffman said his interpretation was based on the movie’s screenwriter Dalton Trumbo , especially his withdrawn and shy mannerisms which had inspired him when meeting Trumbo for the first time . 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 , he also composed soundtracks for other Schaffner films as ¨Planet of Apes¨ and ¨Boys from Brazil¨ . Fred Koenekamp cinematography is excellent with astounding outdoors of the jungle . The picture was compellingly 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 . Better than average . Well worth seeing.
One of the most underrated films of all time
In my top 20 films of all time. Probably the best performance both Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman have ever given in a film enthused with absorbing detail in every scene, not only of the harshness of Devil’s Island but of the psychological impact on the main players and the injustice and cruelty of the life sentences. It works on two levels – psychological and emotional whilst at the same time tells an exciting and dramatic story of escape. It’s riveting cinema that went unrewarded by critics – shame on them. Thankfully its proved amongst the public to be an enduring classic.
Original Language en
Runtime 2 hr 31 min (151 min)
Budget 12000000
Revenue 53267000
Status Released
Rated R
Genre Biography, Crime, Drama
Director Franklin J. Schaffner
Writer Dalton Trumbo, Lorenzo Semple Jr., Henri Charrière
Actors Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory
Country France, United States
Awards Nominated for 1 Oscar. 2 wins & 2 nominations total
Production Company N/A
Website N/A
Sound Mix 4-Track Stereo (magnetic prints), Mono (optical prints)
Aspect Ratio 2.35 : 1
Camera Panavision PSR, Panavision C-Series and Cooke Lenses (uncredited)
Laboratory Technicolor, Hollywood (CA), USA (print)
Film Length 4,130 m (Sweden)
Negative Format 35 mm (Eastman 100T 5254)
Cinematographic Process Panavision (anamorphic)
Printed Film Format 35 mm