
Movies that feel likePapillon (1973)
If you loved Papillon, the closest films we have are Midnight Express (1978), Straight Time (1978) and A Short Film About Killing (1988). All three share Papillon's gritty and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.
Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Blue Collar (1978).
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If Papillon hit the spot, these will too

Two things both keep coming back to: prison and escape

Both keep coming back to the same thing: prison

Both land grit and stillness at once


Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases



Contemporaries, and it shows
The difference: Easier on the stillness than Papillon


Reaching back to the 1960s for it
The difference: Leans harder into western than Papillon does


Both are crime through and through
The difference: Made in the 1950s, in a different era of the craft
In the mood for more gritty?
all gritty movies →The best-reviewed films that share Papillon’s defining feeling.









