Papillon (film)

Infobox_Film
name = Papillon


caption = film poster by Richard Amsel
director = Franklin J. Schaffner
writer = Henri Charrière
Dalton Trumbo
starring = Steve McQueen
Dustin Hoffman
producer = Ted Richmond
music = Jerry Goldsmith
distributor = Allied Artists Pictures Corporation (USA)
Columbia Pictures (UK)
released = December 16, 1973
runtime = 150 minutes
country = USA
language = English
budget = $12,000,000 USD
imdb_id = 0070511

"Papillon" is a 1973 film based on the autobiography of Henri Charrière. The film was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starred Steve McQueen as Henri Charrière (Papillon) and Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega.

Deviations from book

The script made several deviations from the book:

*The ages of Papillon and Dega are radically changed from book to film: in the book, Papillon is "25 years-old, looking 20" and Dega is 42. Dega is a bit younger in the film, and Papillon appears much older.
*It dramatizes the role of men hired to hunt down escaped prisoners.
*Papillon's imprisonment before sailing to French Guiana is not depicted in the film, nor is his trial.
*Papillon knew Dega well 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.
*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 to eventual freedom in Venezuela.
*Admonitions against Masturbation occur only once in the film, while in the novel, they are quite frequent, and serve as a moralizing lesson throughout
* Henri Charrière, Papillon, 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.

Cast

Awards

In 1974, the film was nominated for Oscar and Golden Globe awards in the "Best Music, Original Dramatic Score" (Jerry Goldsmith) and "Best Motion Picture Actor, Drama" (Steve McQueen) categories, respectively.

External links

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