Review of Papillon (1973) by Ryan V — 12 Mar 2016

Hey you bastards, I'm still here!

Two men are locked up in a unique prison on a deserted island. They try to plan their escape but one of the men is consistently in solitary confinement. The other man has the money to buy their release, but it's hard to work well together. The man in solitary confinement gets desperate and eventually they make an elaborate escape effort.

"Your friend is kind of quiet, isn't he?".

"He's dead.".

Franklin Schaffner, director of Patton, Planet of the Apes, Lionheart, The Stripper, The Good Years, The War Lord, Islands in the Stream, and Welcome Home, delivers Papillion. The storyline for this picture is well paced and contains excellent characters. It does run a bit long but the acting is very good. The cast includes Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory, Don Gordon, and Val Avery.

"How do you fail an examination like this?".

I came across this on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and had to watch it. I am a huge McQueen fan and this was a unique character for him. It was good, and he was great, but the overall film could have been better and shorter. I recommend seeing this once but wouldn't add it to my collection.

"You owe me nothing.".

Grade: B+/A-.