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Vidocq

 Vidocq
type
TVTItem
 Vidocq
label
Vidocq
 Vidocq
page
Vidocq
 Vidocq
comment
Vidocq is a 2001 French supernatural period thriller directed by Jean-Christophe Comar, better known as Pitof. It is notable for being the very first film shot entirely with a digital camera (and a very crazy one at that).In 1830 Paris, as the July Revolution looms in the horizon, former Sûreté officer now working as private detective Eugène François Vidocq (Gérard Depardieu) disappears after tracking down and fighting a mysterious killer with a mirror mask known as "The Alchemist". Vidocq's biographer Etienne Boisset (Guillaume Canet) then starts tracking his movements, while the Alchemist tracks his and murders witnesses along the way.For a more grounded cinematic take on Vidocq's life, see The Emperor of Paris.
 Vidocq
fetched
2023-09-16T09:16:37Z
 Vidocq
parsed
2023-09-16T09:16:37Z
 Vidocq
processingComment
Dropped link to Fanservice: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 Vidocq
processingComment
Dropped link to HistoricalDomainCharacter: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 Vidocq
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Vidocq / int_1144041a
type
Strictly Professional Relationship
 Vidocq / int_1144041a
comment
Strictly Professional Relationship: Right after a flashback showing clear romantic involvement between Vidocq and Preah, she informs Etienne their relationship was strictly professional. But then again, she is a high-class courtesan.
 Vidocq / int_1144041a
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_1144041a
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_1144041a
 Vidocq / int_174b85df
type
Virgin Sacrifice
 Vidocq / int_174b85df
comment
Virgin Sacrifice: The Alchemist requires the blood of young female virgins to keep the mask that gives him his powers on the mend. The details are unclear, but one escaped subject seemed to have had her tongue cut out, and his laboratory contained mutilated human remains and rags that may have started out as human skins.
 Vidocq / int_174b85df
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1.0
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_174b85df
 Vidocq / int_1b4ead2d
type
Soft Glass
 Vidocq / int_1b4ead2d
comment
Soft Glass: Made into a subtle hint of future plot development, as the Alchemist (a walking defiance of physics) jumps through a large window and several stories to the ground, walking away unharmed. Later on, Etienne does the same thing.
 Vidocq / int_1b4ead2d
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1.0
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_1b4ead2d
 Vidocq / int_1dad7003
type
In the Hood
 Vidocq / int_1dad7003
comment
In the Hood: The Alchemist wears a black hood over his mirrored mask.
 Vidocq / int_1dad7003
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_1dad7003
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_1dad7003
 Vidocq / int_258a45dd
type
Mask of Power
 Vidocq / int_258a45dd
comment
Mask of Power: The Alchemist's Cool Mask is made out of mirror that he uses to eat the souls of his victims. For extra creepiness, it also makes the victim see their own dying face while looking at him.
 Vidocq / int_258a45dd
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 Vidocq / int_258a45dd
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_258a45dd
 Vidocq / int_2fd62e54
type
The Killer in Me
 Vidocq / int_2fd62e54
comment
It turns out that Etienne is the Alchemist himself, who tries to find and eliminate all clues leading to him that Vidocq left.
 Vidocq / int_2fd62e54
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_2fd62e54
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_2fd62e54
 Vidocq / int_348c7ded
type
Sword Cane
 Vidocq / int_348c7ded
comment
Sword Cane: Vidocq has one, which uses in the opening fight scene.
 Vidocq / int_348c7ded
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_348c7ded
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Vidocq / int_348c7ded
 Vidocq / int_3ea7916d
type
Immortality Immorality
 Vidocq / int_3ea7916d
comment
Immortality Immorality: The Alchemist's mask grants him immortality and eternal youth by storing and slowly draining the souls of people who died staring into his mask. Said mask must be tempered in the blood of about 100 virgins as part of its construction and periodic reforging.
 Vidocq / int_3ea7916d
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 Vidocq / int_3ea7916d
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_3ea7916d
 Vidocq / int_40582f4b
type
Guttural Growler
 Vidocq / int_40582f4b
comment
Guttural Growler: Vidocq grunts heavily all the time while fighting.
 Vidocq / int_40582f4b
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_40582f4b
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_40582f4b
 Vidocq / int_40c57041
type
Manipulative Bastard
 Vidocq / int_40c57041
comment
Manipulative Bastard: The Alchemist is VERY good at putting on a facade of being a bumbling but well meaning reporter. Subverted in that Vidocq and Nermier were on to him from the start and weren't fooled for a moment.
 Vidocq / int_40c57041
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-0.3
 Vidocq / int_40c57041
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_40c57041
 Vidocq / int_40cc0c7e
type
Bittersweet Ending
 Vidocq / int_40cc0c7e
comment
Bittersweet Ending: Bordering Downer Ending at that. Nimier is killed, the Alchemist is implied to be alive and free, and even Lautrennes will be probably executed in the July Revolution. The only thing that keeps it from being All for Nothing is that Vidocq and the French police now know the Alchemist's nature and will be presumably more effective the next time they face him.
 Vidocq / int_40cc0c7e
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_40cc0c7e
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_40cc0c7e
 Vidocq / int_43e36f2f
type
Acrofatic
 Vidocq / int_43e36f2f
comment
Acrofatic: The title character is quite agile, in spite of his thick belly, and has a couple nice savate kicks.
 Vidocq / int_43e36f2f
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_43e36f2f
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_43e36f2f
 Vidocq / int_4510b368
type
Ambiguous Gender
 Vidocq / int_4510b368
comment
Ambiguous Gender: The Alchemist's gender is left ambiguous for a good part of the film. His fighting style reminds of She-Fu, and female sighs and giggles are uttered during the fights. At the end, however, he is proved to be a man.
 Vidocq / int_4510b368
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_4510b368
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_4510b368
 Vidocq / int_4a875876
type
Yellowface
 Vidocq / int_4a875876
comment
Yellowface: In-Universe, exotic dancer Préah (Spanish actress Inés Sastre) puts fake epicanthic folds over her eyes to look East Asian.
 Vidocq / int_4a875876
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_4a875876
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_4a875876
 Vidocq / int_4b9a8e96
type
"Scooby-Doo" Hoax
 Vidocq / int_4b9a8e96
comment
"Scooby-Doo" Hoax: Played with. At first it seems that the murders are this, as they are performed through regular (if unrealistic) science, but then it turns out that the Alchemist really is a supernatural killer.
 Vidocq / int_4b9a8e96
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_4b9a8e96
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_4b9a8e96
 Vidocq / int_4f84cdef
type
Smug Snake
 Vidocq / int_4f84cdef
comment
Smug Snake: The Alchemist, while cunning, fails to realize that Vidocq and Nimier were on to him from the start.
 Vidocq / int_4f84cdef
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_4f84cdef
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_4f84cdef
 Vidocq / int_561dab6b
type
Mistaken for Gay
 Vidocq / int_561dab6b
comment
Mistaken for Gay: After listening to Preah story, Etienne outright asks if the killed trio was gay due to their lack of interest in her. She instantly dismiss it, implying different kind of affection.
 Vidocq / int_561dab6b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_561dab6b
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_561dab6b
 Vidocq / int_5b9bc521
type
Kick Chick
 Vidocq / int_5b9bc521
comment
Kick Chick: Evoked by the Alchemist, who seems to be a woman judging for his sighs, and whose fighting style is based in kicks behind cape whirls. Subverted at the end, as he is a man.
 Vidocq / int_5b9bc521
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-0.3
 Vidocq / int_5b9bc521
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_5b9bc521
 Vidocq / int_5c5ac0e2
type
Really 700 Years Old
 Vidocq / int_5c5ac0e2
comment
Really 700 Years Old: The Alchemist seems to have haunted Paris since The Middle Ages. And he still looks like a young man.
 Vidocq / int_5c5ac0e2
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_5c5ac0e2
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_5c5ac0e2
 Vidocq / int_5f52cfcf
type
Intrepid Reporter
 Vidocq / int_5f52cfcf
comment
Intrepid Reporter: Etienne, who is a journalist and Vidocq's biographer. During the story, he slowly recreates all the steps the detective himself made, but the Alchemist always seems to get the witnesses first. That's because he's Etienne, tying up all loose ends.
 Vidocq / int_5f52cfcf
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_5f52cfcf
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_5f52cfcf
 Vidocq / int_60b166be
type
Reformed Criminal
 Vidocq / int_60b166be
comment
Reformed Criminal: Vidocq was this, both in the film and in Real Life. Nimier, his assistant, shares the background.
 Vidocq / int_60b166be
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_60b166be
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_60b166be
 Vidocq / int_6411dac8
type
BadassNormal
 Vidocq / int_6411dac8
comment
Badass Normal: Although he is not at the physical level of the eternally young and physics-defying Alchemist, Vidocq is able to hold his own quite well against him. Of course, once the Alchemist is Brought Down to Normal Vidocq hands him his ass on a platter.
 Vidocq / int_6411dac8
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_6411dac8
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_6411dac8
 Vidocq / int_65244998
type
Lightning Can Do Anything
 Vidocq / int_65244998
comment
Lightning Can Do Anything: Invoked and discussed by Paris police with Vidocq. There is just no way a lighting could randomly kill people that are easily connected together.
 Vidocq / int_65244998
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_65244998
featureConfidence
1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_65244998
 Vidocq / int_6b2b3b59
type
The Reveal
 Vidocq / int_6b2b3b59
comment
The Reveal: Vidocq has been Faking the Dead to trap the Alchemist. It turns out that Etienne is the Alchemist himself, who tries to find and eliminate all clues leading to him that Vidocq left.
 Vidocq / int_6b2b3b59
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_6b2b3b59
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 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_6b2b3b59
 Vidocq / int_7301ae04
type
Serial Killer
 Vidocq / int_7301ae04
comment
Serial Killer: The Alchemist has been killing people long before the film starts.
 Vidocq / int_7301ae04
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_7301ae04
featureConfidence
1.0
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_7301ae04
 Vidocq / int_77c9a628
type
Your Soul Is Mine!
 Vidocq / int_77c9a628
comment
Your Soul Is Mine!: The Alchemist devours the souls of his victims through his mirrored mask to maintain his immortality.
 Vidocq / int_77c9a628
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_77c9a628
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_77c9a628
 Vidocq / int_792e11ec
type
Dance Battler
 Vidocq / int_792e11ec
comment
Dance Battler: The Alchemist's fighting style resembles capoeira at some points, in contrast with the more stern savate practised by Vidocq.
 Vidocq / int_792e11ec
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_792e11ec
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1.0
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_792e11ec
 Vidocq / int_7f3be191
type
Impossibly Cool Clothes
 Vidocq / int_7f3be191
comment
Impossibly Cool Clothes: One of Preah's costumes is a gown that basically consists of golden embroidery covering the important bits and a form-fitting transparent muslin holding the embroidery together. It has no buttons or stitches, other than a single piece of hidden string, which instantly undresses her once removed. She dares Vidocq to show his detective skills and find that string.
 Vidocq / int_7f3be191
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_7f3be191
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 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_7f3be191
 Vidocq / int_88799cf4
type
Badass Cape
 Vidocq / int_88799cf4
comment
Badass Cape: The Alchemist's hooded cape is so badass that physics are barely a suggestion to it.
 Vidocq / int_88799cf4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_88799cf4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_88799cf4
 Vidocq / int_8b568cb7
type
Posthumous Character
 Vidocq / int_8b568cb7
comment
Posthumous Character: Vidocq himself. Which is actually a ruse.
 Vidocq / int_8b568cb7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_8b568cb7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_8b568cb7
 Vidocq / int_9aebded4
type
Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow
 Vidocq / int_9aebded4
comment
Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow: Subverted. Vidocq's lover Preah is an entertainer whose act is about passing herself off as an exotic Southeast Asian dancer, but she's actually a Frenchwoman. It's implied they're together because he saw the real her through the disguise.
 Vidocq / int_9aebded4
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-0.3
 Vidocq / int_9aebded4
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_9aebded4
 Vidocq / int_9dd84122
type
Occult Detective
 Vidocq / int_9dd84122
comment
Occult Detective: Implied with Vidocq, which is implied to have some occult knowledge. His laboratory includes some bizarre lightning science, to the point he can reproduce the Alchemist's method of murder, and he's later shown understanding pretty fast how his magical mask works.
 Vidocq / int_9dd84122
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_9dd84122
featureConfidence
1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_9dd84122
 Vidocq / int_9e86e227
type
The End... Or Is It?
 Vidocq / int_9e86e227
comment
The End... Or Is It?: As the characters are walking away from the graveyard at the end of the film, someone is shown spying on them from inside a crypt with light reflecting from a mirrored surface, implying the Alchemist has survived.
 Vidocq / int_9e86e227
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_9e86e227
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 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_9e86e227
 Vidocq / int_a7aef9ff
type
Obfuscating Stupidity
 Vidocq / int_a7aef9ff
comment
Obfuscating Stupidity: As Vidocq puts it, The Alchemist puts on the persona of Etienne, a stupid but well meaning journalist, to hide his true nature. Turns out that no one was fooled for a moment.
 Vidocq / int_a7aef9ff
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_a7aef9ff
featureConfidence
1.0
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_a7aef9ff
 Vidocq / int_ae3d6438
type
Deadpan Snarker
 Vidocq / int_ae3d6438
comment
Deadpan Snarker: Preah has a rather... interesting way of interacting with Etienne. She's never rude toward him, but in the same time it doesn't stop her from constant small acts of mischievousness and verbal banter.
 Vidocq / int_ae3d6438
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_ae3d6438
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 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_ae3d6438
 Vidocq / int_b59f6070
type
Confusion Fu
 Vidocq / int_b59f6070
comment
Confusion Fu: Due to his flowing robe and strange motions, it's not easy at all to distinguish The Alchemist's movements during the fights, something which he capitalizes to land hits on Vidocq in sucession.
 Vidocq / int_b59f6070
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_b59f6070
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 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_b59f6070
 Vidocq / int_bbf11c0
type
Genius Bruiser
 Vidocq / int_bbf11c0
comment
Genius Bruiser: Vidocq. Large, strong, surprisingly fast, manages to hold his own in fights against supernaturally-empowered foe, has a crime lab Batman would be proud of had he lived in the 1830's, and is the father of modern criminal science.
 Vidocq / int_bbf11c0
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_bbf11c0
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Vidocq / int_bbf11c0
 Vidocq / int_bd79d896
type
Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot
 Vidocq / int_bd79d896
comment
Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: More like Major Crime Reveals Unrelated Major Crime. Someone killed two people crucial for the national weapon manufacturing. Soon after a third one has a heart attack after a failed assassination. Clearly, this is a conspiracy, as the action takes place few days before the July Revolution. Turns out the fact those three man were in weapon business has zero bearing to the main case or reason of their death. The Alchemist killed them simply to cover up his own existence. And the fact they've delivered close to a hundred virgins to him for a sacrifice. Should they be in a different enterprise, the police wouldn't even bother with the case, having to deal with boiling revolutionary spirit.
 Vidocq / int_bd79d896
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_bd79d896
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_bd79d896
 Vidocq / int_c23525d4
type
Character Title
 Vidocq / int_c23525d4
comment
Character Title: The film named after Vidocq, who is gone before the opening credits roll.
 Vidocq / int_c23525d4
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_c23525d4
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_c23525d4
 Vidocq / int_c660bc15
type
Fan Disservice
 Vidocq / int_c660bc15
comment
Fan Disservice: The brothel scenes are one step away from pure Squick due to their vulgar nature and very aggressive form of advertising. And then of course there is the drunk orgy prepared to drug the virgins - all young teens - for the Alchemist.
 Vidocq / int_c660bc15
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_c660bc15
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Vidocq / int_c660bc15
 Vidocq / int_c691d3f4
type
Offscreen Teleportation
 Vidocq / int_c691d3f4
comment
Offscreen Teleportation: The Alchemist not only teleports offscreen but also manages to change his position in absolutely impossible movements. However, this is consistent with the villain's impossible nature, who even manages to have two left arms in one scene.
 Vidocq / int_c691d3f4
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_c691d3f4
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_c691d3f4
 Vidocq / int_c93a6560
type
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice
 Vidocq / int_c93a6560
comment
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Vidocq impales the Alchemist with a huge mirror shard, and sends him crashing through a window.
 Vidocq / int_c93a6560
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_c93a6560
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Vidocq / int_c93a6560
 Vidocq / int_d24c0700
type
The Foreign Subtitle
 Vidocq / int_d24c0700
comment
The Foreign Subtitle: The film is known as Dark Portals: The Chronicles of Vidocq in English-speaking countries and Vidocq: The Myth in Spain.
 Vidocq / int_d24c0700
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_d24c0700
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1.0
 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_d24c0700
 Vidocq / int_d397657d
type
Hoist by His Own Petard
 Vidocq / int_d397657d
comment
Hoist by His Own Petard: Happens quite literally to Vidocq's partner Nimier in the climactic fight. He shoots the Alchemist in the face with his shot pistol - cue the Alchemist's mask absorbing the shot balls like it was made from mercury, then sending them back out in the opposite direction as fast as they were going, resulting in Nimier catching the full brunt of the blast in the chest and dying soon afterwards.
 Vidocq / int_d397657d
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_d397657d
featureConfidence
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 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_d397657d
 Vidocq / int_e0aced16
type
Giggling Villain
 Vidocq / int_e0aced16
comment
Giggling Villain: The Alchemist giggle several times while fighting Vidocq in the flashbacks.
 Vidocq / int_e0aced16
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_e0aced16
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 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_e0aced16
 Vidocq / int_ed503b22
type
Match Cut
 Vidocq / int_ed503b22
comment
Match Cut: Used extensively throughout the film. One of the more memorable is Etienne picking an oriental hairpin from Vidocq's belongings, which cuts to an identical pin in Preah's hair, as she is giving one of her performances.
 Vidocq / int_ed503b22
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1.0
 Vidocq / int_ed503b22
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 Vidocq
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Vidocq / int_ed503b22
 Vidocq / int_f9876f7e
type
Faking the Dead
 Vidocq / int_f9876f7e
comment
Vidocq has been Faking the Dead to trap the Alchemist.
 Vidocq / int_f9876f7e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_f9876f7e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_f9876f7e
 Vidocq / int_name
type
ItemName
 Vidocq / int_name
comment
 Vidocq / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Vidocq / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Vidocq / int_name
 Vidocq / int_name
itemName
Vidocq

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Vidocq
hasFeature
Ambiguous Gender / int_9e237766
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Cool Mask / int_9e237766
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Immortality Immorality / int_9e237766
 Vidocq
hasFeature
In the Hood / int_9e237766
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Magic Mirror / int_9e237766
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Mask of Power / int_9e237766
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Occult Detective / int_9e237766
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Posthumous Character / int_9e237766
 Vidocq
hasFeature
"Scooby-Doo" Hoax / int_9e237766
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Soft Glass / int_9e237766
 Vidocq
hasFeature
The Killer in Me / int_9e237766
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Virgin Sacrifice / int_9e237766
 Vidocq
hasFeature
Yellowface / int_9e237766