Papillon with Steve McQueen: DVD Cover
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Papillon Director: Franklin J. Schaffner Cast: Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory, Don Gordon

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  • DVD Release Date: 05/31/2005
  • Original Release: 1973
  • Rating: Rated PG
  • Sales Rank: 6,452

Viewer Rating: (5 ratings)

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  • Overview
  • Editorial Reviews
  • Scenes
  • Customer Reviews
  • Cast & Crew
  • Full Product Details

Scenes

Features

Closed Caption; Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1; Vintage featurette The Magnificent Rebel; Theatrical trailer; English and French subtitles

Full Product Details

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. France Disposes [3:53]
2. Ship Confidences [4:22]
3. Protection Offer [2:10]
4. Closer to the Heat [4:52]
5. Attempt on Dega [1:34]
6. Arrival at Cayenne [5:15]
7. March to Prison [3:25]
8. Dealmaking/Death [4:36]
9. Croc in Kilo '40 [4:44]
10. Butterfly Hunters [5:33]
11. First Escape [3:16]
12. A New Experience [1:57]
13. Solitary [5:31]
14. Give and Take [5:16]
15. Guilty [1:47]
16. Half-rations [8:54]
17. "You're Dead" [2:04]
18. Term Completed [3:00]
19. What He Wants [5:18]
20. Very Great Favor [3:16]
21. Pact With Killer [3:05]
22. "You They Own" [2:02]
23. The Escape [6:48]
24. Broken Boat/Leg [2:57]
25. Masked Rescuer [1:58]
26. Bargain for Boat [4:40]
27. Money for Journey [1:42]
28. Rough Seas [3:18]
29. Hostile Reception [3:24]
30. Prey for Islanders [3:32]
31. Butterfly's Mark [8:20]
32. Watches/Betrays [4:10]
33. Debts Paid [3:25]
34. Devil's Island [3:36]
35. The Only Ones Left [2:28]
36. An Escape Idea [3:29]
37. The Experiment [4:00]
38. Taking the Plunge [3:05]
39. Coda/End Credits [3:37]

Scene Index

Editorial Reviews

The 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 Papillon. Steve McQueen plays the pugnacious Charriere (known as "Papillon," or "butterfly," because of a prominent tatoo), incarcerated--wrongly, he claims--for murdering a pimp. He save the life of fellow convict Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman), a counterfeiter who will later show his gratitude by helping Charriere in his many escape attempts, and by smuggling food to Charriere when the latter is put in solitary confinement. One breakout, which takes Charriere and Dega to a leper colony and then to a native encampment, is almost successful, but Charriere is betrayed (allegedly because he stopped for an act of kindness) and back the prisoners go to French Guinea. Years later, Dega is made a trustee and is content with his lot, but the ageing, white-haired Charriere cannot be held back. A tribute to the unquenchability of the human spirit, Papillon brought in an impressive $22 million at the box office. Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Customer Reviews

Papillonby Anonymous

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January 15, 2007: what Papillon went through with mental and physical torture- he was strong-minded he escaped, and was caught 3 times he escaped on the 4th time and ended up being saved and remained the rest of his life living in america

This review was written about the DVD Letterbox / Dolby 5.1 edition.

Papillonby Anonymous

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February 01, 2005: I just watched this film again, after more than 30 years, and it was exactly what I remembered it to be: a disappointment. The initial Papillon book, published in 1970, was an instant bestseller, surprising everyone, including the author. The book (translated from the French by Aubrey-Maturin novelist Patrick O'Brian) was exciting, exotic, and for most readers, the first close-up look ever at the notorious French penal system in the Guianas. Unfortunately, none of these qualities made it to the film. I love Steve McQueen, but he was horribly, disastrously miscast as Papillon. Presumably his role as Hilts, the Cooler King in 'The Great Escape', might have influenced the choice, but he never seems to get in action as Papi. There's a lot of squinting and grimacing and suffering, but that's about it for emotive force. The Papillon in the book was clearly a rogue who loved a good time, laughed a lot, and could get tough, but McQueen, although charsimatic in his own way, just isn't that guy and I never believe him for a minute. I always see Steve McQueen, not Papi. The movie needed a far more versatile lead, like Peter O'Toole. Dustin Hoffman's character Louis Degas, the forger (yikes, 'The Great Escape' again) looks and walks too much like Ratso Rizzo of 'Midnight Cowboy'. Hoffman tries, but just can't start a fire with McQueen, and I never believe their friendship either. Director Frank Schaffner, who did 'Patton', uses his typically crisp, scenic, wide-angle style, but it doesn't fit the claustrophic atmosphere of the story and the ultra-realistic treatment gets turned by some bothersome details, like Papi's inexplicable failure to lose weight after 7 years of reduced rations in solitary confinement. His hair turns gray and his teeth turn black, but Papi still looks far too robust. By the end of this film, I was as happy as Papi when he escapes Isle du Diable, because it meant my 150-minute incarceration watching this film was over. This movie is like a can't-miss recipe, all the right ingredients, a good cook, a hungry and expectant table, but the dish turns out tasteless, and even worse, boring. Shortly after the first book was published, Henri Charriere, the real Papillon, was accused of misrepresentation and fraud by French researchers, but few cared because the book was so enjoyable, fact or fiction. Papi, after all, is a self-admitted rogue, and easy to like. I would never grant the film the same indulgence. It's just a plain old fraud.

This review was written about the DVD Letterbox / Dolby 5.1 edition.


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