Vidocq Dvd Review
This might just be the coolest movie you've never seen. That is unless you have an all region dvd player that plays pal and ntsc movies and you buy it from a website or local video store. They now have it in region 1 ntsc Canadian version here. Unfortunately it doesnt have a release date for the U.S. as of yet. Its directed by Pitof who is known for his visual effects direction on movies such as Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Alien 4, Delicatessen, and City of Lost Children. So yes, the movie is stunningly beautiful. Shot in 2001 its the first feature film shot with the new Sony digital 1080p 24 fps cameras to reach the screen. Its basically known as the first full length decent budget movie to be released all digital. The cgi effects and digital backgrounds are awesome and fit the mood of the movie perfectly. Its stars Gerard Depardieu a famous French detective named Vidocq who is on the trail of a mysterious serial killer with a mirrored mask.
Vidocq was a real person in Paris year 1830, and he came up with some of the first criminology procedures that are used to this date such as fingerprinting. This is a fictional account of one of his adventures. At the beginning of the movie he fights the killer till his own death and the rest of the movie is told from the perspective of his biographer Etienne Boisset whos trying to unravel the mystery of his killer. So the movie is cut with flashbacks of Vidocq and back to the biographer who is on the trail of the killer. The movie is a great whodunit action, sci fi, period piece. Very different and covers a lot of genres like the other French great, Brotherhood of the Wolf. The action scenes are great with some martial arts and conventional fighting techniques. The final twist bring the movie together perfectly and ties up the loose ends that had you wondering.
To sum up the direction and cinemotography is awesome. Quick cut close ups, fish eye lens, and other cool techniques are used to great effect. Cgi is used plentiful but never to the point where it takes you out of the movie but rather complements the plot perfectly. Theres a scene where a guy gets struck by lightning while Vivaldi is playing in the background thats sticks out as being odd and cool as hell at the same time. Very different, original, and highly recommended.
Heres a video from Apocalyptica with scenes from the movie Vidocq