Papillon (film)
Encyclopedia
Papillon is a 1973
film based on the best-selling novel by the French convict Henri Charrière
.
This motion picture was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, starring Steve McQueen
as Henri Charrière
("Papillon"), and Dustin Hoffman
as Louis Dega
. Due to remote locations, this film was quite expensive for the time ($12,000,000), but readily earned more than twice that in the first year of public distribution.
(a hellish, notorious island prison). 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.
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".
. 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
.
for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
(Jerry Goldsmith
) and a Golden Globe Award
for Best Motion Picture Actor, Drama (Steve McQueen).
1973 in film
The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
film based on the best-selling novel by the French convict Henri Charrière
Henri Charrière
Henri Charrière was a convicted murderer chiefly known as the author of Papillon, a hugely successful memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a penal colony in French Guiana....
.
This motion picture was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, starring Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
as Henri Charrière
Henri Charrière
Henri Charrière was a convicted murderer chiefly known as the author of Papillon, a hugely successful memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a penal colony in French Guiana....
("Papillon"), and Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
as Louis Dega
Louis Dega
Louis Dega was a prisoner in the French Guiana penitentiary of Devil's Island. He was convicted of fraud and counterfeiting and sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment by France, where he became a companion of Henri Charrière for thirteen years...
. Due to remote locations, this film was quite expensive for the time ($12,000,000), but readily earned more than twice that in the first year of public distribution.
Plot summary
Henri Charriere befriends fellow convict, Louis Dega, while serving a sentence on Devil's IslandDevil's Island
Devil's Island is the smallest and northernmost island of the three Îles du Salut located about 6 nautical miles off the coast of French Guiana . It has an area of 14 ha . It was a small part of the notorious French penal colony in French Guiana until 1952...
(a hellish, notorious island prison). 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
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
. 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
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Steve McQueen Steve McQueen Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination... |
Henri 'Papillon' Charriere Henri Charrière Henri Charrière was a convicted murderer chiefly known as the author of Papillon, a hugely successful memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a penal colony in French Guiana.... |
| Dustin Hoffman Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters.... |
Louis Dega Louis Dega Louis Dega was a prisoner in the French Guiana penitentiary of Devil's Island. He was convicted of fraud and counterfeiting and sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment by France, where he became a companion of Henri Charrière for thirteen years... |
| Victor Jory Victor Jory Victor Jory was a Canadian actor.-Biography:Born in Dawson City, Yukon, Jory was the boxing and wrestling champion of the Coast Guard during his military service, and he kept his burly physique. He toured with theater troupes and appeared on Broadway, before making his Hollywood debut in 1930... |
Indian chief |
| Don Gordon | Julot |
| Anthony Zerbe Anthony Zerbe Anthony Jared Zerbe is an American stage, film and Emmy-winning television actor. Notable film roles include the post-apocalyptic cult leader Matthias in The Omega Man, a 1971 film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, I Am Legend; Milton Krest in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill;... |
Toussaint Toussaint (leper chief) Toussaint was the chief of a leper colony in South America , known for his appearance in the book Papillon. The book recounted the escapes of Henri Charriere from the French penal colony of Devil's Island in French Guiana. In 1934, Charriere, with his fellow prisoners Clusiot and Maturette,... Leper colony chief |
| Robert Deman | Maturette Fernandez Maturette André Maturette was an inmate in the French Guiana prison colony of Devil's Island who attempted to escape with Henri Charrière and Joanes Clousiot.-Biography:... |
| Woodrow Parfrey Woodrow Parfrey Woodrow Parfrey was an American film and television actor from the 1950s to the early 1980s. e appeared on Broadway in Advise and Consent .-Biography:... |
Clusiot |
| Bill Mumy Bill Mumy Charles William "Bill" Mumy, Jr. is an American actor, musician, pitchman, instrumentalist, voice-over artist and a figure in the science-fiction community. He is known primarily for his work as a child television actor.... |
Lariot |
| George Coulouris George Coulouris George Coulouris was a prominent English film and stage actor.-Early life:Coulouris was born in Manchester, England, the son of Abigail and Nicholas Coulouris, a merchant of Greek origin. He was brought up both in Manchester and nearby Urmston and was educated at Manchester Grammar School... |
Dr. Chatal |
| Ratna Assan | Zoraima |
| William Smithers William Smithers William Smithers is an American actor, perhaps best known for his recurring role as Jeremy Wendell in the television series Dallas. He appeared in the series in 1981 and from 1984 to 1989... |
Warden Barrot |
| Val Avery Val Avery Val Avery was an American character actor who appeared in hundreds of movies and television shows since the 1950s. In a career that spanned 50 years, Avery appeared in over 100 films and had appearances in over 300 television series.-Early life:Avery was born in Philadelphia... |
Pascal |
| Vic Tayback Vic Tayback Victor "Vic" Tayback was an American actor.-Life and career:Tayback was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, the son of Helen and Najeeb James Tayback. His parents were immigrants from Aleppo, Syria. Tayback moved with his family to Burbank, California, during his teenage years and attended... |
Sergeant |
Production
Papillon was filmed at various locations in SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, with the cave scenes filmed beneath what is now the Xtabi
Xtabi
Xtabi is a cove on the cliffs of Negril, in Westmoreland, Jamaica. It consists of a labyrinth of caves and passageways carved from solid rock over a period of several million years.An eponymous hotel sits atop the cliffs.-History:...
hotel on the cliffs of Negril
Negril
Negril is a small but widely dispersed beach resort town located across parts of two Jamaican parishes of Westmoreland and Hanover. Westmoreland is the westernmost parish in Jamaica, located on the south side of the island...
. While the penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
scenes for Papillon were filmed in Falmouth
Falmouth, Jamaica
Falmouth is the chief town and capital of the parish of Trelawny in Jamaica. It is situated on Jamaica's north coast 18 miles east of Montego Bay. It is noted for being one of the Caribbean’s best-preserved Georgian towns....
, and the swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
scenes were shot near Ferris Cross, Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
’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
Stunt
A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat, or any act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes in TV, theatre, or cinema...
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 GoldsmithJerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
. Papillon marked Goldsmith's third collaboration with director Franklin J. Schaffner following his Oscar nominated scores to Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
(1968) and Patton
Patton (film)
Patton is a 1970 American biographical war film about U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates, and Karl Michael Vogler. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H...
(1970). The music to Papillon went on to garner Goldsmith his sixth Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score
Academy Award for Best Original Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
and was one of the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
's 250 nominated soundtracks for the top 25 American film scores
AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores
Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores is a list of the top 25 film scores in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute in 2005.-The List:-External links:**...
.
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 GuianaFrench GuianaFrench Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
is not depicted in the film, nor is his trial. - Papillon knew Dega before boarding the transport to South AmericaSouth AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. 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 SalutÎles du SalutThe Îles du Salut are a group of small islands of volcanic origin about 11 km off the coast of French Guiana in the Atlantic Ocean...
, but never Devil's IslandDevil's IslandDevil's Island is the smallest and northernmost island of the three Îles du Salut located about 6 nautical miles off the coast of French Guiana . It has an area of 14 ha . It was a small part of the notorious French penal colony in French Guiana until 1952...
. - 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 VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. - 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 Oscar46th Academy Awards
The 46th Academy Awards were presented April 2, 1974 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by John Huston, Diana Ross, Burt Reynolds, David Niven....
for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
Academy Award for Best Original Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
(Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
) and a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Motion Picture Actor, Drama (Steve McQueen).