Visible crew/equipment: In the last scene where the main character escapes, he jumps into the bay and is supported by a sack which he is carrying. Actually you can clearly see that he is supported from underneath by a diver.
Papillon (1973)
1 visible crew/equipment mistake
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: Dustin Hoffman wore contact lenses so he could see correctly wearing those thick glasses.
More questions & answers from Papillon
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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.