Papillon on DVD (1973)

Baz from London , 19/04/2004

Papillon's story is the most incredible i've ever read, and unfortunately i found this film did the book no justice. Large and important parts of this true story are ignored, and i found the lack of dialogue frustrating. You don't get the sense of what a remarkable man Papillon was, either through the actual number of escapes he attempted, or his strength and bravery.

  5 out of 8 people found this review helpful

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Ben from London , 27/07/2007

The film is a good film and if I hadn’t of read the book then I would say its a classic, but if you have read the book then your be grimacing at the TV watching it with the amount of changes they have made, I know they have to cut things out to make the film shorter, but when they change really important sections and make up events that are not in the book it just makes me so angry. The book is a true story but the film is so loosely based on the book I'd been tempted to rename it and make it nothing to do with the book. This is one novel that should never have been made into a film, it does it no justice what so ever.

  4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

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Isaac from London , 22/11/2004

McQueen spent a hell of a long time in prison what with this and the Great Escape. In this one he evens spends 5 years in solitary for the sake of his friend (Hoffman). A story of cameraderie and wasted lives, I don't really know why it's good it just is, perhaps the length of the film makes you feel you've spent the whole time in the different prison camps with the characters and the end you feel you've escaped. It's just well made and well worth seeing.

  2 out of 3 people found this review helpful

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edward cole from London (central) [Highly rated reviewer] , 04/07/2007

The book is wonderful - the film is average. Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman do a pretty good job but in my view there is not enough substance to the plot to capture the audience for the full length of the film.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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edward cole from London (central) [Highly rated reviewer] , 04/07/2007

The book is wonderful - the film is average. Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman do a pretty good job but in my view there is not enough substance to the plot to capture the audience for the full length of the film.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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Ben from London , 27/07/2007

The film is a good film and if I hadn’t of read the book then I would say its a classic, but if you have read the book then your be grimacing at the TV watching it with the amount of changes they have made, I know they have to cut things out to make the film shorter, but when they change really important sections and make up events that are not in the book it just makes me so angry. The book is a true story but the film is so loosely based on the book I'd been tempted to rename it and make it nothing to do with the book. This is one novel that should never have been made into a film, it does it no justice what so ever.

  4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

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