My second time watching Steve McQueen attempt an escape from a prison is a much, much drearier sight than the first, where The Great Escape took a more lighthearted tone and focused on the preservation of our imprisoned character’s humanity Papillon dives head first into showing the dehumanizing effect imprisonment has on a person. And while I’d say my first experience with a McQueen prison escape provided a better movie overall I’m still in absolute awe of what Schaffner managed to do here. First I have to mention how stunning the cinematography is, through three of his films now Schaffner hasn’t let me down in providing a grand-scale epic type of experience and Papillon is just that, even though a good portion of the movie takes place in small and contained sets you still feel Schaffner’s massive vision for the story in every frame, and the shots outside of that containment, specifically at the end on the island, were so gorgeous. As far as the acting goes these are the two best performances I’ve seen from the respective leads, McQueen is absolutely electric and at points fully carries the movie on his back and Hoffman is right there with him giving a performance I’d easily call better than his Oscar-winning Rain Man role. In terms of the story there’s just so much to dive into with how Schaffner and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo get these themes across, I specifically really loved Trumbo’s screenplay here as it allowed for those McQueen and Hoffman performances to shine the brightest they could. I also liked the sparing use of the score and what that did for those themes, the way it was vacant in the scenes where McQueen was locked up was perfect for the atmosphere and bringing out the theme of his dissolving humanity and the times it was used it was pretty great. Usually I end my reviews by saying I look forward to rewatching the movie in the future but this is one I’ll absolutely need another watch of to fully grasp Schaffner’s vision, this first-time through was still an absolute delight though and made for one of the better watches of my year so far.
My second time watching Steve McQueen attempt an escape from a prison is a much, much drearier sight than the first, where The Great Escape took a more lighthearted tone and focused on the preservation of our imprisoned character’s humanity Papillon dives head first into showing the dehumanizing effect imprisonment has on a person. And while I’d say my first experience with a McQueen prison escape provided a better movie overall I’m still in absolute awe of what Schaffner managed to do here. First I have to mention how stunning the cinematography is, through three of his films now Schaffner hasn’t let me down in providing a grand-scale epic type of experience and Papillon is just that, even though a good portion of the movie takes place in small and contained sets you still feel Schaffner’s massive vision for the story in every frame, and the shots outside of that containment, specifically at the end on the island, were so gorgeous. As far as the acting goes these are the two best performances I’ve seen from the respective leads, McQueen is absolutely electric and at points fully carries the movie on his back and Hoffman is right there with him giving a performance I’d easily call better than his Oscar-winning Rain Man role. In terms of the story there’s just so much to dive into with how Schaffner and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo get these themes across, I specifically really loved Trumbo’s screenplay here as it allowed for those McQueen and Hoffman performances to shine the brightest they could. I also liked the sparing use of the score and what that did for those themes, the way it was vacant in the scenes where McQueen was locked up was perfect for the atmosphere and bringing out the theme of his dissolving humanity and the times it was used it was pretty great. Usually I end my reviews by saying I look forward to rewatching the movie in the future but this is one I’ll absolutely need another watch of to fully grasp Schaffner’s vision, this first-time through was still an absolute delight though and made for one of the better watches of my year so far.
