• Post category:Movies
  • Post last modified:January 2, 2021

Papillon: Stuck on Devil’s Island

THE GREATEST ADVENTURE OF ESCAPE EVER FILMED!

The man whose life was depicted in Papillon, a film that was a big hit in 1973, didn’t live to see the final results but was present during the making of it, reportedly ensuring that the adaptation of his memoirs was as correct as possible. That may seem ironic, because ever since Henri Charrière’s book was published in 1969 he has been accused of not telling the truth. The film wasn’t shot on the infamous Devil’s Island in French Guiana, but it ends with actual footage of what the abandoned former penal colony looked like in 1973. French authorities maintained that Charrière was never on Devil’s Island and his description of that place doesn’t add up.

Wrongfully convicted of murder
In 1933, safecracker Henri Charrière (Steve McQueen) is wrongfully convicted of having murdered a pimp, is sentenced to life in prison and shipped off to French Guiana, a place where France sends its worst citizens, hoping to never see them again. On the voyage across the Atlantic, Charrière meets Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman), a forger who made money off of a scheme back in 1928. Thinking Dega has access to money, he offers to become his bodyguard.

After arriving in French Guiana, Charrière and Dega are put in a labor camp where they develop a friendship; the dream of escaping is always there…

Difference in attitudes
There are stories of how McQueen and Hoffman found it hard to get along during the making of the film in Spain and Jamaica. There wasn’t much of an age difference, only seven years, but there was some difference in attitudes. According to some reports, McQueen treated Hoffman as somewhat of an inexperienced upstart whose technique unnecessarily complicated things (at one point McQueen allegedly told Hoffman, ”Toss that shit out, you don’t need it. Keep it simple”). I can imagine there was tension, but Hoffman has also said that they managed to keep things on a professional level. In any case, they are both excellent in their own ways; after all, Charrière and Dega are very different men and the actors make us believe in these characters to a great extent. Much of the film focuses on ”Papillon” himself and his endless quest to escape, suffering years of demeaning treatment in isolation, taking a very visible toll on him.
The conditions in the penal colony are convincingly harsh, even if cinematographer Fred Koenekamp also contrasts the suffering with the beauty of this place, the beaches and the ocean just outside the walls.

There is also a sense of humor, not least in a few scenes with Dega in the first half of the movie. At the time of its release, several critics complained about the length of the film, perhaps colored by the fact that director Franklin J. Schaffner’s previous film was another epic, Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), which had its problems. But Papillon maintains its grip for the most part, only losing some of its tension in the second half. The single most brilliant ingredient is Jerry Goldsmith’s music score, which is one of his best, stirring, exciting and heartbreakingly beautiful.

Henri Charrière’s story may not be altogether truthful. But so what? Much of what he went through has been corroborated, and in any case it makes for a very compelling adventure, as well as valid criticism of France’s inhumane penal system in those days.

Papillon 1973-U.S. 150 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Robert Dorfmann, Franklin J. Schaffner. Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner. Screenplay: Dalton Trumbo, Lorenzo Semple, Jr. Book: Henri Charrière. Cinematography: Fred Koenekamp. Music: Jerry Goldsmith. Cast: Steve McQueen (Henri ”Papillon” Charrière), Dustin Hoffman (Louis Dega), Victor Jory (Indian Chief), Don Gordon, Anthony Zerbe, George Coulouris.

Trivia: Alternative version runs 132 min. Remade as Papillon (2017). 

Last word: “I wasn’t even supposed to be in it. They hired me because I didn’t cost much back then! [laughs]. You see, they were paying Steve McQueen $2 million, which was the most any actor had ever been paid. By way of comparison, Richard Burton earned $1 million for ‘Cleopatra’. Anyway, the producers needed another star, to show Steve to advantage, I guess. The film had gone way over budget, and the producers had to go knocking on doors to raise enough money to finish it. We were on location in Jamaica and the crew hadn’t been paid. It got to the point where they refused to hand over the cameras. The whole thing was a nightmare!” (Hoffman, FHH Journal)

 

IMDb

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