The film was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starred Steve McQueen as Henri Charrière ("Papillon") and Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega. Due to the exotic locations, the film was considered as very expensive at the time of shooting (US$12M), but earned more than double that in its first year of release.
Plot
Henri Charriere makes friends with fellow inmate Louis Dega while they are serving a sentence on Devil's Island, a hellish, notorious island prison and he plots his escape.
The petty criminal known as Papillon is unjustly convicted of murder (specifically, murdering a pimp) in the 1930s and sentenced to life imprisonment in a French penitentiary on Devil's Island in French Guiana. He attempts several escapes, which result in many punishments, but after more than a decade (at least seven years of which were spent in solitary confinement as punishment for his escape attempts), he eventually succeeds in escaping to freedom.
Cast
Steve McQueen Henri 'Papillon' Charriere
Dustin Hoffman Louis Dega
Victor Jory Indian chief
Don Gordon Julot
Anthony Zerbe Toussaint Leper colony chief
Robert Deman Maturette
Woodrow Parfrey Clusiot
Bill Mumy Lariot
George Coulouris Dr. Chatal
Ratna Assan Zoraima
William Smithers Warden Barrot
Val Avery Pascal
Vic Tayback Sergeant
Production
Papillon was filmed at various locations in Spain and Jamaica, with the cave scenes filmed beneath what is now the Xtabi hotel on the cliffs of Negril. While the penal colony scenes for Papillon were filmed in Falmouth, and the swamp scenes were shot near Ferris Cross, Steve McQueen’s famous cliff jumping scene, near the end of the movie, took place on the Xtabi cliffs. McQueen insisted on performing the cliff jumping stunt himself, and later referred to it as "one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life".
Soundtrack
The score to Papillon was composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith. Papillon marked Goldsmith's third collaboration with director Franklin J. Schaffner following his Oscar nominated scores to Planet of the Apes (1968) and Patton (1970). The music to Papillon went on to garner Goldsmith his sixth Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score and was one of the American Film Institute's 250 nominated soundtracks for the top 25 American film scores.
Deviations from the book
The script made several deviations from the book; a few of them are listed.
Papillon's imprisonment before sailing to French Guiana is not depicted in the film, nor is his trial.
Papillon knew Dega before boarding the transport to South America. They had agreed to protect each other while waiting in prison.
Dega was not included in the first escape attempt.
Dega is portrayed as also being imprisoned on Devil's Island. In the book, he is imprisoned on another of the Îles du Salut, but never Devil's Island.
The scene in which Papillon and the convicts are forced to catch crocodiles was not mentioned in the book.
Papillon's ultimate escape is somewhat changed: the film ends with his escape from Devil's Island to the mainland, without covering his subsequent escape from the penal colony (bagne) itself, leading to eventual freedom in Venezuela.
Henri Charrière's real name is not revealed in the movie, as he is only known as "Papillon." The real name of the character is, however, depicted on the door of his cell during solitary confinement.
Awards
In 1974, the film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score (Jerry Goldsmith) and a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actor, Drama (Steve McQueen).
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