Papillon

Name: Papillon
Genre: Biography, Drama, Crime
Released: December 16, 1973
Duration: 151 min
Rating: 58
Cast: Anthony Zerbe, Bill Mumy, Don Gordon, Dustin Hoffman, George Coulouris

1973

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews

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Universal acclaim based on 20 Ratings

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8.3

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8.3	User Score Universal acclaim based on 20 Ratings

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Papillon

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Movie Details & Credits

Allied Artists Pictures | Release Date: December 16, 1973 | PG

Starring: Anthony Zerbe, Bill Mumy, Don Gordon, Dustin Hoffman, George Coulouris, Ratna Assan, Robert Deman, Steve McQueen, Victor Jory, Woodrow Parfrey

Summary: 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.

Director: Franklin J. Schaffner

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, Crime

Rating: PG

Runtime: 151 min

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Critic Reviews

Staff (Not Credited)

Papillon was produced with consummate technical skill and offers brilliant acting by McQueen and Hoffman. Read full review

Vincent Canby

A big, brave, stouthearted, sometimes romantic, sometimes silly melodrama with the kind of visual sweep you don't often find in movies anymore. Read full review

Andrew Sarris

Shaffner has really made an exhilarating movie out of the most dangerously depressing material. [10 Jan 1974, p.56]

Pauline Kael

A methodical, pointlessly grueling movie.

Staff (Not Credited)

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. Read full review

Don Druker

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. Read full review

Roger Ebert

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. Read full review

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User Reviews

Amir_tlou

Jul 18, 2019

It is absolutely one of the most beautiful movies that i have seen. And the most beautiful and impressive soundtrack that i have ever heard. It is ridiculous that it didn't receive the oscar for the best music in a movie

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Compi24

Apr 15, 2020

Much better sounding on paper than it is to sit down and actually watch, "Papillon" honestly wears that fact proudly, as its insistence to test the viewer's patience is kind of the point of the whole film. This is a glum, grueling and at times infuriating look into a harrowing way of life.Much better sounding on paper than it is to sit down and actually watch, "Papillon" honestly wears that fact proudly, as its insistence to test the viewer's patience is kind of the point of the whole film. This is a glum, grueling and at times infuriating look into a harrowing way of life. Putting yourself in the place of anyone in this film is a kind of moral conundrum you never want to spend more than a few minutes feeling your way through. Steve McQueen -- as per usual -- is as watchable as they come, but what really surprised me was just how much he has to exhibit in this. McQueen, is and always will be, the epitome of cool, but "Papillon" shows you facets of his acting tool belt that you don't see as much of in other films. Seeing him as desperate and even as deranged as his character becomes at points in this film is really both humbling and impressive at once. He was most assuredly robbed of an Academy Award nomination here. As for the rest of the film, it gets the job done, sometimes fluctuating between being an arduous and meaningful watch. The ending, though, helps render the journey worthy of a viewing. It is a tad too long for my tastes, however.… Expand

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