Vidocq (2001)

Paris. 1830. In the heart of the town, Vidocq, a famous detective, disappeared as he fights the Alchemist, an assassin that he has been pursuing for a few months. His young biographer, ... See full summary »

Director:

Pitof

Writers:

François-Eugène Vidocq (memoirs), Pitof (screenplay),

Stars:

Gérard Depardieu, Guillaume Canet, Inés Sastre

7 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gérard Depardieu	...	Vidocq
Guillaume Canet	...	Etienne Boisset
Inés Sastre	...	Préah
André Dussollier	...	Lautrennes
Edith Scob	...	Sylvia
Moussa Maaskri	...	Nimier
Jean-Pierre Gos	...	Tauzet
Isabelle Renauld	...	Marine Lafitte
Jean-Pol Dubois	...	Belmont
André Penvern	...	Veraldi
Gilles Arbona	...	Lafitte
Jean-Marc Thibault	...	Leviner
François Chattot	...	Froissard
Elsa Kikoïne	...	La muette
Fred Ulysse	...	Le vieux souffleur

Storyline

Paris. 1830. In the heart of the town, Vidocq, a famous detective, disappeared as he fights the Alchemist, an assassin that he has been pursuing for a few months. His young biographer, Etienne Boisset, decides to have revenge on Vidocq's death and takes the investigation on...

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Plot Keywords:

alchemist | 1830s | detective | investigation | murder | 

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Taglines:

The underworld has surfaced...

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexual content, nudity and some drug material

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

19 September 2001 (France)

Also Known As:

Dark Portals: The Chronicles of Vidocq

Filming Locations:

Bordeaux, Gironde, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 152,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$454,326 (Spain) (1 February 2002)

Gross:

$12,261,104 (Europe) (1 February 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RF2K Productions, StudioCanal, TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original on-spec screenplay by David Fakrikian featured Vidocq origin, adapted from the 1967 TV series by Georges Neveux and Marcel Bluwal. In the same manner as Batman Begins, it showed how Vidocq became a cop, but was rejected when the producers failed to obtain the TV series rights.

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Connections

References Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

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Soundtracks

"Concerto for mandolin RV 426: Allegro"
Antonio Vivaldi

User Reviews

Beautiful, dark, atmospheric

Spectacular supernatural thriller set in Paris in the year 1830. The movie looks and feels like "Se7en" meets "The City of Lost Children". The film stars well-known French actor Gerard Depardieu as Eugène Vidocq, a former criminal turned detective. Vidocq really existed, and may well have invented the private eye business as we know it. While the man was real, this story however, is fictional, involving a series of bizarre murders and a mysterious character who wears a mask that reflects like a mirror.

The movie is reportedly the first film recorded with a digital camera (the same equipment used in Star Wars Ep. II, reportedly) resulting in crystal-clear images. Not only that, but many of the scenes were digitally enhanced, giving the movie a surreal feel, not dissimilar to some other oddball French movies like the aforementioned "City of Lost Children" (at least some of the same people were involved in the production design of both, so that may not be surprising).

Some of the action scenes are quite spectacular; in a few scenes, we see Vidocq take on the masked/cloaked villain, and comparisons to both both "The Matrix" and SW Ep. I suddenly seem inevitable. This is not to say this movie is a rip-off - no, far from it. It's a joy to behold.

Also, the movie has a good soundtrack; dark & heavy, fitting the movie's subject matter, and reminding me of the soundtracks of movies like "Batman" & "Bram Stoker's Dracula".

This is one movie well worth checking out. Highly recommended.