Papillon is based on the true story of Frenchman Henri Charrière's escape from Devil's Island and the novel he wrote about the experience. Steve McQueen (The Great Escape, Bullitt) stars as Henri "Papillon" Charrière. After being incarcerated at Devil's Island, Papillon (French for "butterfly," which is also the tattoo he wears on his chest), makes many escape attempts in vain. His first attempt has him asking a local butterfly catcher for a way to get his butterfly off the island, only to give up the money that he smuggled into prison for nothing.
After recapture, Papillon goes through a series of hardships, including solitary, that has him grasping more and more for a chance to free himself from the prison. With the help of his friend, Dega (Dustin Hoffman: The Graduate, Little Big Man), Papillon survives confinement and other degrading and inhuman treatment. As Dega slips him coconuts when he's only to get bread and water, Papillon protects his friend by not revealing the source, costing him what little freedom he had left. Will he ever find freedom?
Papillon is a great story about the trials and tribulations of the prisoners on Devil's Island. To recreate the accounts, filmmakers duplicated the look and feel of the original prison camp in a new construction (as seen in the featurette) and the scenes from the movie were filmed in both Spain and Jamaica. This attention to detail even took the real escapee, Henri Charrière, aback as he saw the film set. Steve McQueen, who passed away far too young for movie lovers, once again takes on his tough guy persona in Papillon, and does a fine job of it.
While the movie feels a bit slower and the length a bit longer than some of McQueen's other movies, Papillon is certainly worth a look for fans, and would make a great gift for fathers and grandfathers who grew up watching him. The Blu-ray version also sports a full-color, glossy "book" built into the disc case packed with info about the film and the actors and director, which is a nice bonus that is interesting enough to mention. Papillon is a good story that is captured in a great way during this time period of filmmaking.
