Paris, 1830. In the heart of the town, Vidocq, a famous detective, disappears as he fights the Alchemist, an assassin that he has been pursuing for a few months. His young biographer, Etienne Boisset, decides to avenge Vidocq's death and takes the investigation on...
Visual Effects
Pioneering digital cinematography that looks like a painting on acid.
Practical Effects
Mirror-masked villain design still haunts twenty years later.
Costume
1830s Paris reimagined through a steampunk fever lens.
Director
Pitof
Gérard Depardieu
Vidocq
Guillaume Canet
Etienne Boisset
Inés Sastre
Preah
André Dussollier
Lautrennes
Édith 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
Fred Ulysse
Le vieux souffleur
Elsa Kikoïne
La muette
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was the first feature film shot entirely with digital cameras — director Pitof was a visual effects supervisor who basically built the tech himself.
Vidocq was a real 19th-century criminal-turned-detective who basically invented modern policing; this film treats his life like superhero mythology.
FR
