Papillon (2018)

[Robert Crawford]

Title: Papillon

Tagline: The greatest escape adventure ever told

Genre: Drama, Adventure

Director: Michael Noer

Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Rami Malek, Tommy Flanagan, Michael Socha, Eve Hewson, Ian Beattie, Roland Møller, Nina Seničar, Yorick van Wageningen, Joel Basman, Nikola Kent, Slavko Sobin, Goran Navojec, Reshad Strik, Cali Nelle, Christopher Fairbank, Brian Vernel

Release: 2018-07-26

Runtime: 133

Plot: Henri Charriere, called "Papillon" for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, is convicted in Paris for a murder he did not commit. Sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, he becomes obsessed with escaping. After planning and executing a series of treacherous yet failed attempts, he's sent to the notorious prison Devil's Island, a place from which no one has ever escaped.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I have mixed feelings about this remake. I'm undecided about seeing it.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I try to keep an open mind about these sort of things, but when the original film is so good (and I really love the McQueen / Hoffman film) I'm not that interested in the remake. Seems unlikely to improve upon (or perhaps match) the original film. Looking at director Michael Noer's resume on IMDB I'm haven't seen any of his prior works, so he is a complete mystery to me.

Maybe it just isn't a film for old bastards like me. Yeah, that's probably it.

- Walter.

 

[TravisR]

If the reviews are good, I may check it out but I think if this was that decent of a movie, they'd be holding on to it for a couple months to have a chance at Oscars. That being said, Rami Malek is one of the best actors working today so, at a minimum, he'll give a good performance.

 

[Malcolm R]

If the reviews are good, I may check it out but I think if this was that decent of a movie, they'd be holding on to it for a couple months to have a chance at Oscars. That being said, Rami Malek is one of the best actors working today so, at a minimum, he'll give a good performance.

Malek's Bohemian Rhapsody comes out in October. That's his Oscar bait film, so they probably wanted to create some space between Malek films.

 

[skylark68]

Maybe it'll bring an entire new audience to the original film which was just impeccably well done. I'm interested although it would be extremely hard to outdo McQueen/Hoffman.

 

[mark brown]

Next up, Casablanca?

 

[dpippel]

SO tired of the Hollywood remake factory!

 

[AshJW]

The only good thing about remakes, if that happens, is the release of the original film.

And that's the case with Papillon, at least here in Europe. You guys in USA and Canada already have the McQueen/Hoffman film on Blu-ray. We don't.
Although I don't care much for the dubbing version (or dubbing in general), many people here even need the dubbing version because of lack of knowledge of foreign languages.

 

[PMF]

Why is it easier to pitch the remake of a film that already stands the test of time, than it is to pitch an original idea?

 

[Edwin-S]

When you compare the trailer from the 1973 version to this remake it becomes obvious that the remake brings nothing new to the table. It actually looks completely inferior to the original. Even in the trailer, the 1973 version manages to convey a vision of filth, hardship, and brutality that the trailer for the remake just does not manage to pull off.

 

[Malcolm R]

EW doesn't care for it (though from the sound of it, they didn't care for the original either). Grade: C

https://ew.com/movies/2018/08/22/papillon-review/

 

[RobertR]

Why is it easier to pitch the remake of a film that already stands the test of time, than it is to pitch an original idea?

Less work, less creative thought needed. In short, creative laziness.

 

[benbess]

I saw this today and liked it a lot. My rating: "A-". What a refreshing relief from superhero stuff and cgi.

I haven't yet seen more than a few minutes of the 1973 version.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This film already has a November 6th Blu-ray release date.

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/amazon-pre-orders/