Films The Emperor of Paris

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The Emperor of Paris poster

Film · 2019

The Emperor of Paris

Original titleL'Empereur de Paris

Directed by Jean-François Richet · starring Vincent Cassel, Patrick Chesnais and Olga Kurylenko

  • 2 h
  • Adventure · History
  • France
  • 5.2 AverageMovieNCo
  • 6.5 Users5 votes
  • 3.8 Critics1 review
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Synopsis

Under the reign of emperor Napoleon, François Vidocq is considered a legend in the parisians deep suburbs: he is the only man who has achieved to scape alive from the most dangerous colonial jails of the country. Left for dead after his last and spectacular escape, the old convict will try to hide himself a few years by living as a common merchant. But his past ends up chasing him and, after being false-accused of a murder, Vidocq will have to make a deal with the police chief himself. Vidocq will help the police to fight crime in Paris in change por his freedom. Despite obtaining excellent results, he will make enemies in the police and will anger the criminals, that have put a prize for his head.

Where to watch The Emperor of Paris

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Available now in the UK:

Availability checked on 8 November 2026.

The essentials

Runtime
120 min2 hours
Budget
€22.1mMandarin Cinéma
How long is The Emperor of Paris?
2 hours (120 minutes).
Who directed The Emperor of Paris?
Jean-François Richet.
Who is in The Emperor of Paris?
It stars Vincent Cassel, Patrick Chesnais, Olga Kurylenko and August Diehl.
Where can I watch The Emperor of Paris?
In the UK it is available free on Pluto TV and Prime Video and to rent on Apple TV.
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Cast

Full cast (20)
Director
Jean-François Richet
Writers
Éric Besnard, Jean-François Richet
Producers
Éric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer, Geneviève Lemal

Videos and trailers

All 2 videos
'The Emperor of Paris' trailer 1:3721 November 2018

Photos and posters

All 15 photos

Reviews

See the review
6.5 5 votes
  • 100 %
  • 920 %
  • 820 %
  • 70 %
  • 640 %
  • ≤520 %

What the critics say 3.8, from one outlet

  • 3.8 The Hollywood ReporterJordan Mintzer "Richet [...] winds up turning a potentially fascinating tale of crime, science, politics and power into a bloated and bloody mess (pun intended), with plenty of bone-crunching, gut-slicing carnage… Read

Soundtrack

See the song
  1. Te DeumMarc-Antoine Charpentier Spotify

Trivia

All 7 facts

  • Incredible locations

    Scenes have been filmed on the "La Base", the old air force base 217 located near Brétigny-sur-Orge and Plessis-Pâté in Essone. Production is also installed in the castles of Vaux-lee-Vicomte and Fontainebleau in Seine et Marne.

  • True events

    The story of François Vidocq is based on true events. He is a very relevant figure in the french culture, even though he is not well-known outside the country.

  • filming change

    Richet and his team wanted to shoot in Prague, due to lower cost and because its streets look very familiar with Pari's streets. In the end, the producers decided to shoot in France, in Ile-de-France.

  • Dumas

    Behind the creative process of 'The Emperor of Paris', the director Jean-Franchois Richet added that he took in count a lot of the novels written by Alexandre Dumas.

  • The Vidocq myth

    Some of the films that have told the story of Eugène-François Vidocq are: 'Vidocq' (1911, silent), 'Vidocq' from Gérard Bourgeois (1939), 'Scandal in Paris' (1946) directed by Douglas Sirk and a lot more.

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