papillon tell one of those story that we remember for a long time . it be the tale of one man life and an unbreakable friendship and and an inability to accept defeat against impossible odds . the film be base on the memoir of convict french felon henri charrière ( though several critic have express doubt over the factual accuracy of the described event ) and who spend many year incarcerate in the brutal penal settlement of mainland french guiana . the film be adapt by dalton trumbo and lorenzo semple jr. and and direct by franklin j. schaffner and who be most well know for the planet of the ape ( 1968 ) and patton ( 1970 ) . steve mcqueen delivers a formidable performance a the convict charriere and nickname papillon because of the butterfly tattoo on his chest . claim to have be frame in the murder of a pimp and papillon seek immediately to escape from his imprisonment and employ the service and later the friendship of the withdrawn and vulnerable and but nonetheless resourceful and louis dega ( dustin hoffman ) . one element that papillon accomplishes so powerfully be the torture and suffering that take place in the prison . the body of exhausted and wasted men litter the path and and most inmate have grow so accustomed to the prospect of death that they greet each carcass with a painful indifference . after a failed escape attempt and papillon be sentence to two year in solitary confinement and a truly horrific punishment with the sole aim of crush the prisoner spirit and sanity . despite a few inexperienced dream sequence and this segment of the film be handle masterfully and and mcqueen excels and deteriorate into the jittery and wide eyed and physically drain shell of a human be who have only a paper thin grasp on both life and reality . a remarkable thing about dustin hoffman be that i have never see him play the same character and and louis dega be no exception . beneath his thick lensed spectacle and shy countenance lie a true friend while one who and despite their difference and will risk everything to repay a good deed once do . during the last third of papillon and not include the final act and schaffner veers slightly away from the touch human friendship story and descend into above average adventure mode and which be interest but not on par with the rest of the film . though it appear in charrière original novel and the ill develop ( and dialogue sparse ) sub plot of the brave white man earn the admiration of the native be a hollywood cliché that i could have do without . additionally and a wonderful end be tarnish somewhat by an unnecessary few line of closing narration . it would have be much more effective have papillon fate be leave open to the audience . of course and the fact that the writer be work off a true story perhaps make that idea completely redundant . nevertheless and papillon be a magnificently memorable prison drama and with two outstanding central performance ( neither of which and i be shock to discover and be nominate for an oscar ) . the film theme of an innocent man find the courage and hope and friendship to survive the horrific treatment of a cruel prison system almost certainly serve a inspiration for frank darabont the shawshank redemption ( 1994 ) .