Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
 

Papillon (1973)

Director: Franklin J Schaffner

Average user rating
2 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Based on Henri Charrière's bestselling epic about life imprisonment in a French penal colony, Papillon begins atmospherically with the heat and deprivation well conveyed. But with Schaffner unable to find the necessary perspective to prevent the film from becoming unevenly episodic, it ends up looking as if it were tacked together by at least three different directors. Jerry Goldsmith's insistent music doesn't help much either. Consequently McQueen's escape bids and subsequent doses of solitary take on the proportions of a masochist's marathon. He battles manfully against miscasting and a script that remains content merely to celebrate his prowess. He almost carries it off, apart from one romantic dalliance, true Hollywood South Seas style, and the totally perfunctory final half-hour.

Author: CPe 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

User reviews of this film

  • Michelle said...
    Posted on Oct 17 2008 13:40 I loved this film - i know it is a favourite of my dads and one I had heard mentioned many times. I was gripped through the whole film. I thought Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman were cast perfectly as the 2 lead characters. The 2nd escape had me gripped almost watching from behind a cushion because I knew nothing of the story and how it panned out I was totally enthralled. I am now urging my husband to watch it.
    Report as inappropriate
  • Karen said...
    Posted on Feb 10 2008 15:55 My husband told me what a fantastic film this was and that I HAD to watch it. Well, it was a total waste of my time. It lost my interest after about the first hour or so. The story plot didn't make much sense, the so called action scenes were lacking, and the plot got very diluted to the point that I didn't care about the characters, I just wanted it to end! After a torturous 2.5 hours it finally did end, but was lacking any firm conclusion. In my opinion, find something useful to do with your 2.5 hours and skip this movie!
    Report as inappropriate

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


Cast & crew

Director: Franklin J Schaffner

Producer: Robert Dorfmann

Cast: Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory, Don Gordon, Anthony Zerbe, Robert Deman, Woodrow Parfrey, Bill Mumy, George Coulouris full cast

Genre(s): Action/Adventure

Duration: 150 mins


Features

Making a name for himself

Making a name for himself

Sin Nombre's Cary Joji Fukunaga learned his lessons well.

To the letter

Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.

Mind over matter

David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.

Fool's gold

Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.

We are the championed

Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."

A history of violence

Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.

True romantic

James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.

Playing in the dark

MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.

Junk bonds

Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.