''The Emperor of Paris'' is a 2018 French

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

film directed by

Jean-François Richet Jean-François Richet (born 1966) is a French screenwriter, director, and producer. He grew up in Meaux, a suburb east of Paris. Select filmography * ''Inner City'' (1995) – named at the César Awards 1996 in the Best Debut category. * ''Ma ...

and written by Éric Besnard and Richet.

Plot

The film is about an ex-con turned police officer. Under the reign of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, Francois Vidocq cuts a notorious figure in the Parisian underworld - he is the only man to have escaped the country's most terrifying penal colonies. However, some years later, he switched sides and gets hired as a detective in the French police. He founded his own private detective agency and became one of the greatest detectives of all times. However, his dark past still follows him...

Cast

Vincent Cassel Vincent Cassel (; ; born 23 November 1966) is a French actor. He first achieved recognition for his performance as a troubled History of the Jews in France, French Jewish youth in Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film ''La Haine (Hate)'', for which he ...

as Eugène-François Vidocq *

Freya Mavor Freya Mavor (born 13 August 1993) is a Scottish actress and model. She is best known for her roles as Mini McGuinness in the E4 teen drama '' Skins'' and Daria Greenock in the HBO finance drama series ''Industry''. Early life Mavor was born i ...

as Annette *

Denis Ménochet Denis Ménochet (born 18 September 1976) is a French actor. Ménochet is known to international audiences for his role as Perrier LaPadite, a French dairy farmer interrogated by the Nazis for harboring Jews in the 2009 Quentin Tarantino film ''I ...

as Dubillard *

August Diehl August Diehl (; born 4 January 1976) is a German actor, primarily known to international audiences for playing Gestapo major Dieter Hellstrom in Quentin Tarantino's ''Inglourious Basterds'' and Michael "Mike" Krause, Evelyn Salt's husband, in the ...

as Nathanael de Wenger * James Thierrée as Duke of Neufchâteau *

Patrick Chesnais Patrick Chesnais (born 18 March 1947) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter. Life and career Patrick Chesnais was born in La Garenne-Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine. He was educated at the '' Lycée Pierre Corneille'' in Rouen. In 1989 ...

as M. Henry *

Olga Kurylenko Olga Kostyantynivna Kurylenko ( uk, Ольга Костянтинівна Куриленко; born 14 November 1979) is a Ukrainian and French actress and model. She started her acting career in 2005, and first found success as an actress for ...

as Baroness Roxane of Giverny *

Fabrice Luchini Fabrice Luchini (; born Robert Luchini; 1 November 1951) is a French stage and film actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Potiche'', ''The Women on the 6th Floor'', and '' In the House''. For his role in the 2015 film '' Courted'' he won th ...

Joseph Fouché Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante, 1st Comte Fouché (, 21 May 1759 – 25 December 1820) was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, who later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon. He ...

Denis Lavant Denis Lavant (born 17 June 1961) is a French actor. He is known for his distinctive face and the physically demanding aspects of the roles he plays, which often involve slapstick, acrobatics or dance, as well as for his long-standing association w ...

as Maillard * Jérôme Pouly as Courtaux *

Antoine Basler Antoine Basler is a Swiss actor. He has appeared in more than sixty films since 1983. Selected filmography References External links * Living people People from Lausanne Swiss male film actors Swiss male television actors 20th ...

as Perrin

Production

Filming

Shooting began on 25 September 2017. Between 19 October and 10 November 2017, scenes were shot on "La Base", the former Air Base 217 located near

Brétigny-sur-Orge Brétigny-sur-Orge (, literally ''Brétigny on Orge'') is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, from the city center. Origin of the city name The name of the settlement is attested as ''Britiniacum'' in 1146, as ''Bretigniacum'' ...

and

Le Plessis-Pâté Le Plessis-Pâté () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Inhabitants of Le Plessis-Pâté are known as ''Plesséiens''. See also *Communes of the Essonne department The following is a list of the 194 ...

in the

Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.Vaux-le-Vicomte The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte (English: Palace of Vaux-le-Vicomte) is a Baroque French château located in Maincy, near Melun, southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne department of Île-de-France. Built between 1658 and 1661 for Nicolas Fo ...

and

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne (river), Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square ...

, as well as in

Pontoise Cathedral Pontoise Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Maclou de Pontoise) is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Pontoise, on the outskirts of Val d'Oise in Paris, France. The cathedral, dedicated to Saint Maclovius otherwise Saint Malo (''Sain ...

Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.

Release

The film premiered at the Arras Film Festival on 3 November 2018. It was later released in France and Belgium on 19 December 2018, followed by other countries on later dates.

References

External links

* * 2018 films 2018 biographical drama films 2018 drama films French biographical drama films 2010s French-language films Films set in Paris Films set in the 1800s Films set in 1807 Films set in the 1810s Films shot in France Films directed by Jean-François Richet Films scored by Marco Beltrami Cultural depictions of Eugène François Vidocq 2010s French films Films shot in Essonne Films shot in Seine-et-Marne Films shot in Val-d'Oise {{2010s-crime-film-stub