Synopsis
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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Cast
- Steve McQueenHenri "Papillon" Charriere
- Dustin HoffmanLouis Dega
- Victor JoryIndian Chief
- Don GordonJulot
- Anthony ZerbeToussaint
- Robert DemanMaturette
- Woodrow ParfreyClusiot
- Bill MumyLariot
- George CoulourisDr. Chatal
- Ratna AssanZoraima
- 80
The New York Times
A big, brave, stouthearted, sometimes romantic, sometimes silly melodrama with the kind of visual sweep you don't often find in movies anymore. - 80
TV Guide Magazine
Papillon was produced with consummate technical skill and offers brilliant acting by McQueen and Hoffman. - 70
Village Voice
Shaffner has really made an exhilarating movie out of the most dangerously depressing material. [10 Jan 1974, p.56] - 60
Empire
One of the greatest behind-bars movies ever, the result finds director Franklin J. Schaffner making the most of both his sun-drenched locations and his leading man, who squintily acts even co-star Dustin Hoffman well off the screen. - 60
Time
Audiences whose expectations do not exceed their grasp will find it a much more comfortable vehicle for escape than any that McQueen & Co. discover on location. - 50
Chicago Reader
No sense of complicity between filmmaker and spectator, no depth, no ambiguity, no production value spared, plenty of running time and pomposity, and a desperate sense of trying to do everything and please everybody. - 50
Chicago Sun-Times
An expensive, exhaustive, 150-mintue odyssey that doesn’t so much conclude as cross the finish line and collapse. It has been outfitted with expensive stars and a glossy production, but it doesn’t really make us care. - 50
Variety
For 150 uninterrupted minutes, the mood is one of despair, brutality, and little hope. The script is very good within its limitations, but there is insufficient identification with the main characters.