Papillon is a 1973 prison film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the best-selling autobiography by the French convict Henri Charrière. The film starred Steve McQueen as Henri Charrière , and Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega. Due to remote locations, the film was quite expensive for the time , but readily earned more than twice that in the first year of public distribution. The film's title is French, and means 'Butterfly' in English, referring to the tattoo and nickname Charriere was given. Henri Charrière , a petty criminal also known as Papillon, is unjustly convicted... of murder in 1930s France. He is sentenced to life imprisonment in the notorious French penal colony on Devil's Island, off the coast of French Guiana. En route he meets a fellow convict, Louis Dega , a forger and embezzler who is convinced that his wife will secure his release. Dega hires Papillon as his bodyguard, but the two eventually develop a friendship. After defending Dega against a sadistic guard, Papillon is sentenced to solitary confinement. In gratitude, Dega smuggles extra food to Papillon.
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| Release date: | 1973 |
| Directed by: | Franklin Schaffner |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 150 Minutes |
| Producer: | Franklin Schaffner, Robert Dorfmann |
| Editor: | Robert Swink |
| Music by: | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Cinematography: | Fred J. Koenekamp |
| Screenplay by: | Dalton Trumbo, Lorenzo Semple Jr. |
| Estimated budget: | $12,000,000 |
| Adapted from: | Papillon |
| Genre: | Adventure, Action, Thriller |