The Emperor of Paris

"Fugitive. Detective. Legend."

2018 2h 1m FR

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 539

DramaCrimeThriller

Synopsis

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Paris, France, early 19th century. The legendary convict François Vidocq lives in disguise trying to escape from a tragic past that torments him. When, after an unfortunate event, he crosses paths with the police chief, he makes a bold decision that will turn the ruthless mastermind of the Parisian underworld against him.

“Fugitive. Detective. Legend.”

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Cast

Vincent Cassel
Vidocq
Patrick Chesnais
Henry
August Diehl
Nathanaël
Olga Kurylenko
The Baroness
Denis Lavant
Maillard
Freya Mavor
Annette
Denis Ménochet
Dubillard
Jérôme Pouly
Courtaud

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jean-François Richet
Writers: Éric Besnard
Languages: French
Countries: Belgium, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 8 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

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International production across 2 countries: Belgium, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jean-François Richet, shot by Manuel Dacosse. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Marco Beltrami. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hervé Schneid shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Vincent Cassel and Patrick Chesnais and August Diehl carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Fugitive. Detective. Legend.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt7025976 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jean-François Richet directs. Manuel Dacosse behind the camera. Marco Beltrami scores. Hervé Schneid cuts. Produced in Belgium, France. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 8 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: Belgium, France.
3Directed by Jean-François Richet, shot by Manuel Dacosse. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Marco Beltrami. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Hervé Schneid shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Vincent Cassel and Patrick Chesnais and August Diehl carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Fugitive. Detective. Legend.".
8IMDB entry: tt7025976 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 18 themes, including "paris, france", "based on true story", "historical figure", "escaped convict".

The technical file

Cinematography: Manuel Dacosse
Original score: Marco Beltrami
Editing: Hervé Schneid
Production design: Emile Ghigo
Makeup / hair: Dominique Colladant
Runtime: 121 min · 2h 1m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: FR
Certification (US): 13
IMDB: The Emperor of Paris (2018)

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Jean-François Richet

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-03-06
★ 6/10
“Vidocq” (Vincent Cassel) is thriving amidst the underworld of Napoleonic France but having been wrongly convicted of murder and escaped from captivity, is keen to go straight and earn an amnesty from the government. That might be possible, but for that to happen he is going to have to co-operate with the embryonic Sûreté and help track down some insurgents. Needless to say, when rumours start to flow that he has turned his coat, the fraternity that was once his safe source of his anonymity now starts to make his life even more dangerous than his new task. Historically, this has it’s roots in an actual man who was instrumental in setting up a French national police force, but as this goes, we are presented with a great looking drama that’s really lacking in depth or characterisation. Save for a few potent appearances from Fabrice Luchini as the cynically duplicitous minister Fouché, the underused but still useful August Diehl’s duplicitous Nathanaël and an enthusiastic effort from James Thiérrée as the dashing, cavalier-like Duc de Neufchâteau it’s all a rather pedestrian affair that seems to imbue Vidocq with a certain degree of implausible immortality. Perhaps it is just simply trying to condense too much history into two hours but we never seem to get to know any of these folk; to get even the most basic understanding of what drove them nor of how precarious the whole French empire was at the time. It also tries too hard to involve us in half-cooked internecine plots that aren’t properly explained or put into context, and so might as well be a few stand alone (and sometimes quite repetitive) episodes of “The Three Musketeers” meets “The Count of Monte Cristo”. Cassel does own the part and the production designers and the armourers have done a great job creating a dark and gritty environment for this history to unfold, but believe it or not it can almost verge on the dull at times. There’s a solid ensemble cast backing things up, but it’s ultimately a bit of a meringue of a story - lots of topping but not much underneath.

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