Papillon

In the very last scene as Papillon floats away there is a diver obviously under the bag he's floating on.

When Papillon first visits the lepers, the leper he speaks to does not move his lips (probably because of makeup).

A harness is visible on Papillon's midsection as he helps Dega over the wall.

When Papillon is in the natives' village he goes swimming with one of the girls who has tan lines from a bra/bikini top.

Newer prints, with improved resolution and brighter tone reveal that the leader of the leper colony's mouth isn't moving at the end of the "cigar" conversation, when he talks to McQueen.

The alligator the two are supposed to grab has its mouth tied shut.

When Papillon is in his first solitary confinement a vampire bat bites him and drinks his blood.

The wound is two fang-like holes where the blood comes out.

A vampire bat doesn't have fangs for teeth.

Using their sharp teeth, the bats make tiny cuts in the skin.

The bats' saliva contains a chemical that keeps the blood from clotting.

The bats then lap up the blood that oozes from the wound.

In the last scene as Papillon jumps from the cliff after he throws the bag of coconuts, you can see in the upper left quarter of the frame what seems to be a camera helicopter shooting from another angle.

The guillotine permanently erected in the prison courtyard is a piece of pure Hollywood.

By the 1870s the French had developed demountable guillotines that could be easily transported and set up in the town square wherever an execution was to take place, taking only an hour or so to assemble and dis-assemble.

There is ample evidence that the 'bagne' (Caribbean penal colony) had one of these, which would have only been brought out of storage when needed.

Had it been left permanently exposed to the tropical sun and rain, its timbers would have very rapidly deteriorated and warped to render it unusable.

When the random prisoner has his head cut off, if you watch it slowly, you can see the blade come down and stop, then the next cut (at the same angle) has a dummy's head rolling.

Additionally, in the latter cut the Sun's position has changed, so it is now in the frame.

During the sailboat escape, the boat is seen sailing right to left against the setting sun, that is, due south.

But sailing from the prison in French Guyana would require sailing north and/or west.

At 18:20, shadow of camera or crew as the rail car passes.

At 35:05, the prisoner's uniforms are cleaner than they were at 34:39.

Camera boom shadow visible during the rain storm from 42:02 to 42:15 as each person passes the camera.

At 1:21:04, shaving cream pattern changes.

I saw "Papillon" on its initial release in 1973 and I found on rewatching recently that I had forgotten most of it. I am not sure what that says about the film, but after decades I was only left with the general impression that a prisoner's life on Devil's Island was horrible.

Great acting, good storytelling.But shame, shame on the director.

Papillion is one of those movies that balances a strong protagonist with a story that includes quality performances from other fine supporting actors. Namely, Steve McQueen is at his best with Dustin Hoffman aptly fitting in as best friend and others such as Bill Mummy and Don Gordon.

Steve McQueen stars as Papillon, who was sent to the French Guyana prison camp on Devil's Island for murder. On route, he makes friends with Louis Dega,(Dustin Hoffman) a counterfeiter, and their friendship lasts quite a long time, as it proves to be the only thing the two men have to hang on to as the long years of captivity(with repeated escape attempts) plays out.

Very engaging film of 1973 starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman as two literally condemned prisoners brought to an island by the French government to serve out their lengthy sentences. To say that the French penal system was brutal, that's putting it mildly.

Steve McQueen was very much the poster boy for the definition of 'laconic cool.'He was alongside Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood as the superstars of the late 1960s and 1970s cinema after hits such as The Getaway, Bullitt, The Thomas Crown Affair and earlier successes such as The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape.

A poor production and a good cast, results in a great prison escape flick.It goes in a crescendo and even with technical flaws the tough gets going and keeps the film in a really good quality.

"Papillon" is a 1973 crime drama directed by Franklin J. Schaffner starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.