papillon ( pronounced pap e yawn ) be one of the most underrated film of the 1970s . most critic attack it on it release and accuse it of be extremely overlong . that be unfortunate and because that be it only major fault . despite the rather silly casting of steve mcqueen and dustin hoffman a french criminal and they work surprisingly well together . franklin j. schaffner direction be inspire and as be most of the work he do while at the top of his game . he create one of my favorite shot in film history ( the short blow dart sequence ) and and capture the isolation of mcqueen perfectly . a for length issue and the native villager sequence run too long ( though the nudity will no doubt entertain some ) and and trimming of some early scene may have help . still and papillon remain one of the most gruelling and well make prison drama of all time . 7. positive .