Director, Olivier Marchal is a former Parisian policeman, and the story of 36 Quai des Orfevres draws on his own experiences of the police force, as well as those of Dominique Loiseau, who was a senior member of the BRI (Search and action Squad) in the mid-eighties and worked as a consultant on the film. Leo Vrinks (Auteuil) and Denis Klein (Depardieu) are at the head of two different departments of the Paris police force, located at Quai des Orfevres. Once close, they are no longer friends, mainly due to their differing work methods and Vrinks' wife, Camille. An audacious gang of robbers stage seven armed robberies throughout Paris leaving a bloody trail in their wake. After a year of terror, the Chief of Police orders that Vrinks and Klein bring the criminals to justice with a substantial boon to the man who brings them in... His job. As the competition between the two men hots up, the lines between right and wrong become blurred. Both men find themselves sinking into a hellish place not far removed from that of the criminals...
Audio commentary from director Oliver Marchal
Interview with Oliver Marchal
'Making Of' documentary
Actors' costume tests
357 Magnum - the weapon of choice
'The Business Of 36: Quai Des Orfevres' featurette
Film notes