Papillon (1973) ****
Papillon (1973) or the other Great Escape. Released ten years after that classic John Sturges film—also starring Steve McQueen—Franklin J. Schaffner's epic drama co-stars Dustin Hoffman and sees both stars giving two of their best performances. The mood is bleak yet sprinkled with humor, the cinematography is exceptional throughout—making excellent use of the 2.35:1 aspect ratio and employing various techniques (slow motion, split diopter, and interesting points of view), and Jerry Goldsmith's score, though sparingly used, is great (seriously, when are his scores not?).
The film drops you right into the action—the year 1933, our two main characters marching through the streets on their way to French Guiana to serve life sentences—one wrongfully accused of murder and the other an embezzler who believes his wife will get him released. Papillon chronicles French convict Henri Charrière's real experiences regarding his incarceration and escape, recorded in his 1969 novel. Speculation has been made as to the autobiographical authenticity of his book, but that doesn't change the fact that it's an exciting and rousing adventure film.
Despite the fact that I use those terms to describe it, Papillon is a far cry from a typical melodramatic "human spirit overcomes all odds" story. It's simply a story of man who refused to give up. There's little audience manipulation here and no attempts to reduce viewers to tears. On the other hand, I wouldn't call this a "cold" film—we care about our two protagonists, who clearly don't deserve their sentences in the penal colony known as Devil's Island, where the conditions are atrocious and the punishment severe.
Along with Papillon, director Schaffner was responsible for two other classic "P" films, all released within a five year span—Planet Of The Apes (1968) and Patton (1970). I'm due for a revisit of both of those films, but I'd love to see all three of them get 4K restorations (preferably actual UHD releases).
The film drops you right into the action—the year 1933, our two main characters marching through the streets on their way to French Guiana to serve life sentences—one wrongfully accused of murder and the other an embezzler who believes his wife will get him released. Papillon chronicles French convict Henri Charrière's real experiences regarding his incarceration and escape, recorded in his 1969 novel. Speculation has been made as to the autobiographical authenticity of his book, but that doesn't change the fact that it's an exciting and rousing adventure film.
Despite the fact that I use those terms to describe it, Papillon is a far cry from a typical melodramatic "human spirit overcomes all odds" story. It's simply a story of man who refused to give up. There's little audience manipulation here and no attempts to reduce viewers to tears. On the other hand, I wouldn't call this a "cold" film—we care about our two protagonists, who clearly don't deserve their sentences in the penal colony known as Devil's Island, where the conditions are atrocious and the punishment severe.
Along with Papillon, director Schaffner was responsible for two other classic "P" films, all released within a five year span—Planet Of The Apes (1968) and Patton (1970). I'm due for a revisit of both of those films, but I'd love to see all three of them get 4K restorations (preferably actual UHD releases).
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