Steve McQueen provides film buffs with the best performance of his career in “Papillon.” He was literally absorbed into this role about a Frenchman wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment at the infamous prison Devil’s Island in French Guiana in South America. McQueen won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.
However, director Franklin J. Schaffner (“Patton” 1970) allowed the the picture to go on too long at 150 minutes. It was quite boring in parts. The screenplay, written by Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple Jr., was in great need of an edit job that never came. It was adapted from Henri Charriere’s 1969 autobiography of the same name.
The talented supporting cast includes Dustin Hoffman, Anthony Zerbe, Victor Jory, Don Gordon, George Coulouris, Val Avery, Gregory Sierra, Richard Farnsworth, William Smithers (Jeremy Wendell of CBS-TV’s “Dallas”), Vic Tayback (Mel Sharples of CBS-TV’s “Alice”), and Bill Mumy (Will Robinson of CBS-TV’s “Lost in Space”) in a cameo.
“Papillon” was successful in theatrical release for producer Franklin J. Schaffner, Les Films Corona, General Production Company, Allied Artists, and Columbia Pictures. It was nominated for one Academy Award: Best Music, Original Dramatic Score (Jerry Goldsmith).
Papillon (1973)
cinema
My Review
Steve McQueen provides film buffs with the best performance of his career in “Papillon.” He was literally absorbed into this role about a Frenchman wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment at the infamous prison Devil’s Island in French Guiana in South America. McQueen won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.
However, director Franklin J. Schaffner (“Patton” 1970) allowed the the picture to go on too long at 150 minutes. It was quite boring in parts. The screenplay, written by Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple Jr., was in great need of an edit job that never came. It was adapted from Henri Charriere’s 1969 autobiography of the same name.
The talented supporting cast includes Dustin Hoffman, Anthony Zerbe, Victor Jory, Don Gordon, George Coulouris, Val Avery, Gregory Sierra, Richard Farnsworth, William Smithers (Jeremy Wendell of CBS-TV’s “Dallas”), Vic Tayback (Mel Sharples of CBS-TV’s “Alice”), and Bill Mumy (Will Robinson of CBS-TV’s “Lost in Space”) in a cameo.
“Papillon” was successful in theatrical release for producer Franklin J. Schaffner, Les Films Corona, General Production Company, Allied Artists, and Columbia Pictures. It was nominated for one Academy Award: Best Music, Original Dramatic Score (Jerry Goldsmith).