6 out of 9 people found the following review helpful:

poor compared to book

Baz from London, 19th April, 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.

Read all highest rated reviews

5 out of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Dont watch if you have read the book

Ben from London, 27th July, 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.

Read all highest rated reviews

2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Doesn't work

edward cole from London (central), 4th July, 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.

Read all highest rated reviews

2 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Long but great story of comradeship

Isaac from London, 22nd November, 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.

Read all highest rated reviews

The book is always better but still a truly iconic film...!!

bartop4 from , 31st January, 2010

When you read a book before seeing a film, particularly a book with the kind of stature that Papillion has, then you are almost always disappointed when seeing the film adaptation. There simply isn't enough time to show all the amazing adventures and stories nor enough to show what a truly great man Henri Charriere really was. The dialogue doesn't do justice to Papillion and despite being able to show images you don't quite get the true horror of what Henri lived through and how strong he remained to the last. Having said all of this, its unfair to review a film next to a book. They are very different media for recounting stories, each with their own particular strengths and weaknesses. This film is truly an iconic piece of cinema and when viewed purely on its own merits stands very highly amongst the many amazing films I've been fortunate enough to see. It should definitely be seen but please be aware that if you've read the book then don't expect a visual representation of your experience from the literary version.

Read all recent reviews

Good film but fantastic book

A Customer from London, UK, 28th January, 2010

Taken in it's own right this is a perfectly enjoyable film and if I hadn't just read the book I would definitely have given it a higher score. However, in comparison to the book (which was such a great read) the film is disappointing, that doesn't mean it's a bad film just as is so often the case it didn't manage to do the book justice, perhaps an impossible task!

Read all recent reviews

Not too bad

A Customer from Brigg, 8th December, 2009

Watchable and well made. Cannot put my finger on why i didn't like it more. No doubt it is a great story and I hear the book is incredible.

Read all recent reviews

Fantastic timeless film

RollerRoller from , 9th October, 2009

Wow is all I can say, Hoffman and McQueen were fantastic. I thought it would be slow and old but this is not the case.

Read all recent reviews