Papillon (1973)

I managed to get ahold of the blu-ray of this epic adventure film and I have to say it was worth the quality. A film starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman which has everything going for it... except the runtime. Nominated for an Oscar for Best Score, and not necessarily a stunning performance by the stars. A quality film nevertheless.

The film stars McQueen as the title character Papillon [pappy-yawn] who is a prisoner in France serving a life sentence for a murder he was falsely accused of. Much like The Shawshank Redemption we can never really be sure, and like Andy Dufresne escape is his only goal. He is deported to African, French Guiana to be specific, where he is put in a labor camp where officers have little remorse for killing prisoners by starvation, disease, or murder. On the sea ride he befriends Mr. Dega [Dustin Hoffman] a man hated by many because of his legal troubles with counterfeiting. Papillion makes a deal that if he protects him, that he will help them escape.

With the odds against him Papillion survives stints in solitary and attempt after attempt. The run-time of the film adds to the misery of solitary, a feeling you can't get if you rush a epic film like this. Even at 2 1/2 hours I felt the film was well edited and really enjoyed it.

Take the time to check this one out, it is arguably McQueen's best work.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070511/

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