Papillon is a 1973 prison film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the best-selling autobiography by the French convict Henri Charrière.
The film starred Steve McQueen as Henri Charrière ("Papillon"), and Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega. Due to remote locations, the film was quite expensive for the time ($12 million), but readily earned more than twice that in the first year of public distribution.The film's title is French, and means 'Butterfly' in English, referring to the tattoo and nickname Charrière was given.
