Blu-ray Review: Papillon

By John Corrado

Based on a true story, Papillon follows Henri “Papillon” Charrière (Charlie Hunnam), a safecracker in Paris who is falsely accused of murder and sent to prison in the penal colony on Devil’s Island in French Guiana, where he teams up with the eccentric counterfeiter Louis Dega (Rami Malek) to craft an escape plan.

With the story having already been adapted for the screen in 1973, this new version of Papillon doesn’t always do enough to distinguish its own identity, but it’s still a technically well made prison drama, carried by fine work from Hunnam and Malek. Their performances make it mildly worth a look now that it’s available on Blu-ray, and for a bit more on the film itself, you can read my full review right here.

The Blu-ray also includes a full half-hour of deleted scenes, which are presented in chronological order, as well as a digital copy of the film.

Papillon is an Elevation Pictures release. It’s 133 minutes and rated 14A.