First feature film shot with the new Sony digital 1080p 24 fps cameras to reach the screen (a year before Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)).
Eugène-François Vidocq (1775-1857) was a real-life French detective who, after spending his youth as a criminal, became a law enforcer and is now considered a pioneer of modern criminology.
The original on-spec screenplay by David Fakrikian featured Vidocq origin, adapted from the 1967 TV series by Georges Neveux and Marcel Bluwal. In the same manner as Batman Begins (2005), it showed how Vidocq became a cop, but was rejected when the producers failed to obtain the TV series rights.
Originally Daniel Auteuil was set to play Vidocq, but ran into a scheduling conflict when the movie's production was postponed.