Movie Trailer: Vidocq (2001)

On our guided walking tour discovering the passageways of Paris, we visit among others the enchanting Galérie Vivienne, once leading to the entrance of the apartment of the legendary Vidocq. This rowdy adventurer and womanizer spent the first half of his life in and out of prison for countless minor thefts, counterfeits, gallant duels, desertion from the army and other exciting acts. When he finally got tired of escaping prisons and being on the run constantly, he offered his services to the Paris police: he set up an undercover agent squad made up of fellow ex-convicts and criminals and contributed with their – sometimes barely legal – investigating methods to the resolution of countless cases. Vidocq (who has reached a high age despite his adventurous life) is also considered being one of the founders of the modern Paris police and is associated with the world’s first official private detective agency.

As a police detective, his amazing adventures have inspired many writers (Balzac, Victor Hugo, Edgar Allan Poe) and provided material for several films and series. The most recent movie, Vidocq (2001), is the work of French director Pitof, in which the legendary detective is played by the no less legendary actor Gerard Depardieu. In a rather darkly painted and mysterious Paris of the 19th century, Vidocq is on the traces of a dangerous killer and when he suddenly becomes the hunted himself, he is forced to arrange his own death to escape his enemy.

I hope I didn’t give away too much of the story! In any case, I would strongly recommend the movie to everyone, as I do, of course, recommend to you my Secrets of Paris walking tour through the passageways of Paris, where you can admire the almost 200-year-old shopping malls with their magnificent glass roofs and listen for the echoes of Vidocq’s long gone footsteps.