A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
Acting
McQueen's silent final shot—no dialogue, pure presence.
Cinematography
Jamaica standing in for Devil's Island looks genuinely cursed.
Practical Effects
That cliff jump? McQueen actually did it. Insurance nightmare.
Director
Franklin J. Schaffner
Steve McQueen
Henri "Papillon" Charriere
Dustin Hoffman
Louis Dega
Victor Jory
Indian Chief
Don Gordon
Julot
Anthony Zerbe
Toussaint
Robert Deman
Maturette
Woodrow Parfrey
Clusiot
Bill Mumy
Lariot
George Coulouris
Dr. Chatal
Ratna Assan
Zoraima
William Smithers
Warden Barrot
Val Avery
Pascal
Gregory Sierra
Antonio
Vic Tayback
Sergeant
Mills Watson
Guard
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real Henri Charrière claimed he escaped Devil's Island by jumping off a cliff onto bags of coconuts, which the film recreates almost shot-for-shot from his disputed memoir.
This film helped cement the 'prison escape epic' genre that Shawshank would later perfect, though Papillon's colonial critique and masculine suffering feel distinctly 1970s.
US
