What is the iRankMovies score for Papillon?

Name: Papillon
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Genre: crime, drama
Released: 1973
Duration: 2 h 31 min
Rating: 8

Papillon has an iRankMovies score of 73.5/100, based on a weighted combination of IMDb (×3.0), Rotten Tomatoes (×2.0), Metacritic (×1.5), and TMDb (×1.0).

Papillon (1973)

The greatest adventure of escape!

Release:1973

Runtime:2h 31m

Country:United States

Director:Franklin J. Schaffner

Language:English

Genre

CrimeDrama

See the best crime movies →

Keywords

Prison EscapePrison EscapeJungleSolitary ConfinementBased On Memoir Or AutobiographyRemote IslandLeper Colony

iRank74

Papillon rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb8/10· 145K votes

Rotten Tomatoes73%

Metacritic58%

TMDb7.828/10· 2K votes

With 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 8/10 on IMDb and 58/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been positive.

About Papillon

A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.

Cast of Papillon

Steve McQueen
as Henri "Papillon" Charriere
Dustin Hoffman
as Louis Dega
Victor Jory
as Indian Chief
Don Gordon
as Julot
Anthony Zerbe
as Toussaint
Robert Deman
as Maturette
Woodrow Parfrey
as Clusiot
Bill Mumy
as Lariot
George Coulouris
as Dr. Chatal
Ratna Assan
as Zoraima
William Smithers
as Warden Barrot
Val Avery
as Pascal

Papillon facts

Budget: $12M
Box office: $53.3M

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026Methodology Data sources

Audience opinions

What the audience liked

•Gripping escape narrative delivers sustained tension across epic biographical scope
•Authentic historical backdrop enriches story with genuine Devil's Island atmosphere vividly
•Strong character arc examines resilience and survival through personal transformation

What the audience disliked

•Uneven critical reception suggests narrative pacing issues despite strong audience appeal
•Period filmmaking style may feel slow by contemporary action film standards