Vidocq (2001 film)
Encyclopedia
Vidocq is a 2001
mystery film
, directed by Pitof
, starring Gérard Depardieu
as historical figure Eugène François Vidocq
pursuing a supernatural serial killer. It is notable as being the first major fantasy film to be released that was shot entirely with digital cinematography
, using a Sony HDW-F900 CineAlta
camera.
) disappears while pursuing a murderer called the Alchemist.
Etienne Boisset (Guillaume Canet
), a young biographer of Vidocq's, follows in his footsteps and progressively uncovers Vidocq's investigations. He learns how Vidocq was first called in to investigate a series of assassinations by lightning, which led him to pursue the Alchemist. Etienne discovers that the Alchemist is a wizard of sorts who wears a mirrored mask and kills virgins to maintain eternal youth. Even the sex of the Alchemist is a mystery, because it sometimes utters mocking feminine sighs during combat with Vidocq. Etienne probes deeper into Vidocq's investigations and eventually comes to learn that the Alchemist uses virgin blood to make magical mirrors that consume human souls. At the end the identity of the Alchemist is revealed.
by means of smart field blending (imitating a progressive
-type amount of motion blur
due to a different shutter speed
of progressive modes) during post-production, as the special effects crew obviously was in demand of progressive frames which are easier to process for special effects, before for the final release all normal shots were deinterlaced by means of simple line interpolation instead. The result are video-like appearance of motions in normal shots, and distinctive film-like motions for all effect shots due to the different amount of motion blur resulting from the different deinterlacing methods.
2001 in film
The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
mystery film
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
, directed by Pitof
Pitof
Jean-Christophe "Pitof" Comar is a French visual effects supervisor and director notable for Vidocq and Catwoman.-Career:...
, starring Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu is a French actor and filmmaker. He is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite and has twice won the César Award for Best Actor...
as historical figure Eugène François Vidocq
Eugène François Vidocq
Eugène François Vidocq was a French criminal and criminalist whose life story inspired several writers, including Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac...
pursuing a supernatural serial killer. It is notable as being the first major fantasy film to be released that was shot entirely with digital cinematography
Digital cinematography
Digital cinematography is the process of capturing motion pictures as digital images, rather than on film. Digital capture may occur on video tape, hard disks, flash memory, or other media which can record digital data. As digital technology has improved, this practice has become increasingly common...
, using a Sony HDW-F900 CineAlta
CineAlta
Sony's CineAlta 24P HD Cameras are a series of professional digital video cameras that offer many of the same features of a 35mm motion picture film camera.- Concept :...
camera.
Plot
In 19th century Paris, the famed detective Vidocq (Gérard DepardieuGérard Depardieu
Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu is a French actor and filmmaker. He is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite and has twice won the César Award for Best Actor...
) disappears while pursuing a murderer called the Alchemist.
Etienne Boisset (Guillaume Canet
Guillaume Canet
Guillaume Canet is a French actor and film director.Canet began his career in theatre and television before moving to film. He starred in several films like Joyeux Noël, Love Me If You Dare and The Beach...
), a young biographer of Vidocq's, follows in his footsteps and progressively uncovers Vidocq's investigations. He learns how Vidocq was first called in to investigate a series of assassinations by lightning, which led him to pursue the Alchemist. Etienne discovers that the Alchemist is a wizard of sorts who wears a mirrored mask and kills virgins to maintain eternal youth. Even the sex of the Alchemist is a mystery, because it sometimes utters mocking feminine sighs during combat with Vidocq. Etienne probes deeper into Vidocq's investigations and eventually comes to learn that the Alchemist uses virgin blood to make magical mirrors that consume human souls. At the end the identity of the Alchemist is revealed.
Technology
The film featured 800 shots modified in post-production over a period of eight months, for a cost of over €20 million. As the final PAL DVD release shows, the film was shot 50i (interlaced), and only special effects shots were deinterlacedDeinterlacing
Deinterlacing is the process of converting interlaced video, such as common analog television signals or 1080i format HDTV signals, into a non-interlaced form....
by means of smart field blending (imitating a progressive
Progressive scan
Progressive scanning is a way of displaying, storing, or transmitting moving images in which all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence...
-type amount of motion blur
Motion blur
Motion blur is the apparent streaking of rapidly moving objects in a still image or a sequence of images such as a movie or animation. It results when the image being recorded changes during the recording of a single frame, either due to rapid movement or long exposure.- Photography :When a camera...
due to a different shutter speed
Shutter speed
In photography, shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a camera's shutter is open....
of progressive modes) during post-production, as the special effects crew obviously was in demand of progressive frames which are easier to process for special effects, before for the final release all normal shots were deinterlaced by means of simple line interpolation instead. The result are video-like appearance of motions in normal shots, and distinctive film-like motions for all effect shots due to the different amount of motion blur resulting from the different deinterlacing methods.
Cast
- Gérard DepardieuGérard DepardieuGérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu is a French actor and filmmaker. He is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite and has twice won the César Award for Best Actor...
as Vidocq - Guillaume CanetGuillaume CanetGuillaume Canet is a French actor and film director.Canet began his career in theatre and television before moving to film. He starred in several films like Joyeux Noël, Love Me If You Dare and The Beach...
as Étienne Boisset - Inés SastreInés SastreInés Sastre is a Spanish model and actress.-Early life:Sastre's career started at the age of 12, when she was selected for a fast-food commercial with McDonald's. Her first movie appearance occurred in 1988 in El Dorado by Carlos Saura. In 1989, she was awarded the look of the year by the Elite...
as Préah - André DussollierAndré DussollierAndré Dussollier is a French actor.-Filmography:* 1970 : Ils, directed by Jean-Daniel Simon* 1972 : Les Chemins de pierre, directed by Joseph Drimal...
as Lautrennes - Edith ScobÉdith ScobEdith Scob is a French actress, best known for her role as the daughter with a disfigured face in Eyes Without a Face.Edith Scob has had several roles in European film and television and is married to Georges Aperghis....
as Sylvia - Moussa Maaskri as Nimier
- Jean-Pierre Gos as Tauzet
- Isabelle Renauld as Marine Lafitte
- Jean-Pol Dubois as Belmont
- André Penvern as Veraldi
- Gilles Arbona as Lafitte
- Jean-Marc Thibault as Leviner
- François Chattot as Froissard
External links
- History of Vidocq, private detective, with the reading of Vidocq's letters by an actor: http://ufedp.online.fr (Centre d'information sur les détectives), or http://ufedp.online.fr/index_english.htm