Corrected entry: When you first see Degas' hut on devils' island, it is very close to the water and not that high of a drop. Dega later tells Papillon there is no place on the island to launch a boat.
Papillon (1973)
1 corrected entry
Directed by: Franklin J. Schaffner
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Steve McQueen, Don Gordon, Victor Jory
Continuity mistake: In the scene where the inmate is being beheaded in the courtyard, as they change shots for the special effect you can now see that the sun has moved and is glaring into the camera lens and the executioner is now visible standing next to the guillotine.
Papillon: We're something, aren't we? The only animals that shove things up their ass for survival.
Trivia: Dalton Trumbo, the film's scriptwriter, has a cameo as a Devil's Island Prison Commandant.
Question: What's up with the chicken being crushed? I don't see how it could be fake. I assume it was an accident, but why would they continue like nothing happened? And why would they put it in the movie? And why haven't I seen anyone mention it?
Answer: It does appear to be unintentional (or at least, unscripted), but they continue because when you're shooting a movie, you don't stop until you hear "cut", and especially at that time animal welfare wasn't necessarily a priority. I'm guessing no-one was concerned about the chicken, and so didn't feel the need to do anything about it. It's possible the film was made without an animal welfare monitor on set. As to why it's in the movie, the whole "marching to the prison" sequence was probably handled by the assistant director (as shots like this, not involving the principals or any substantive dialogue, often are) and they may have only done the one take. Who knows, they may have thought the injured chicken added realism to the scene.
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Correction: He is referring to the currents around the island, which make it impossible to launch a small boat, not the lack of a suitable anchorage. In fact, the filmmakers got this exactly right - this is true of Devil's Island.