# Arsène Lupin (2004 film)
**Arsène Lupin** is a 2004 French adventure film directed by Jean-Paul Salomé, adapted from [Maurice Leblanc](https://www.edgepedia.org/maurice-leblanc)'s novel *La Comtesse de Cagliostro* and starring [Romain Duris](https://www.edgepedia.org/romain-duris) as the gentleman thief [Arsène Lupin](https://www.edgepedia.org/arsene-lupin), with Kristin Scott Thomas, Pascal Greggory, and Eva Green in the other leading roles.[1](https://cinefiches.edouardneveu.fr/film/41771) • [2](https://cineuropa.org/fr/film/51267/) It was released in France on 13 October 2004 with a running time of 125 minutes.[2](https://cineuropa.org/fr/film/51267/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Jean-Paul Salomé, who co-wrote the screenplay with Laurent Vachaud; Nicolas Saada is also credited as co-screenwriter by French-cinema databases[2](https://cineuropa.org/fr/film/51267/) • [3](https://cinema-francais.fr/les_films/films_s/films_salome_jean_paul/arsene_lupin.htm) |
| Source | Maurice Leblanc's novel *La Comtesse de Cagliostro*, the first episode of the Lupin series[1](https://cinefiches.edouardneveu.fr/film/41771) |
| Lead cast | Romain Duris (Arsène Lupin), Kristin Scott Thomas (Joséphine, the Countess of Cagliostro), Pascal Greggory (Beaumagnan), Eva Green (Clarisse de Dreux-Soubise)[4](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D52700.html) |
| French release | 13 October 2004; 125 minutes; distributed by SND[2](https://cineuropa.org/fr/film/51267/) • [4](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D52700.html) |
| French box office | 1,171,703 admissions in France[4](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D52700.html) |
| Budget | 21,610,000 EUR per AlloCiné; Kinopoisk lists €23,000,000[4](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D52700.html) • [5](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/61306/) |
| Recognition | One nomination at the César 2005 ceremony, in the best costumes category[3](https://cinema-francais.fr/les_films/films_s/films_salome_jean_paul/arsene_lupin.htm) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The film follows the youth and early career of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman burglar created by Maurice Leblanc. A prologue set in the 1880s shows the boy Arsène being taught fencing by his father Théophraste Lupin at the château of his mother's family, the Dreux-Soubises; when the police move to arrest Théophraste for thievery, he persuades the young Arsène to help him steal a necklace that once belonged to [Marie Antoinette](https://www.edgepedia.org/marie-antoinette), and after the theft is discovered the family is cast out.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373690/plotsummary/)
As an adult, Lupin robs the Parisian aristocracy with charm and audacity. His encounter with the enigmatic adventurer Joséphine, the Countess of Cagliostro, transforms the novice pickpocket into a master thief, and he is drawn onto the trail of the lost treasure of the kings of France, which an obscure royalist brotherhood also seeks.[4](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D52700.html) The set pieces include an attack on a train at full speed, a chase through the Paris catacombs, and a spectacular theft at Rouen cathedral, while Lupin's blind passion for the poisonous countess disrupts his quest.[4](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D52700.html) In the plot as summarized by IMDb, Lupin saves the Countess when a gathering of royalist plotters condemns her to death, and the two become bound together, sometimes as lovers and sometimes as enemies, as the search for the treasure proceeds.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373690/plotsummary/)
## Production
The film was written and directed by Jean-Paul Salomé, a French filmmaker whose 2004 credits include both the screenplay and the direction of this picture.[6](https://www.offi.fr/artiste/jean-paul-salome-9514.html) It was produced by Stéphane Marsil through Hugo Films, with co-production from TF1 Films Production, M6 Films, Vertigo Films, and Rai Cinema, and international sales handled by Studio TF1 Distribution.[2](https://cineuropa.org/fr/film/51267/) • [3](https://cinema-francais.fr/les_films/films_s/films_salome_jean_paul/arsene_lupin.htm) Pascal Ridao was the cinematographer, Debbie Wiseman composed the score, Marie-Pierre Renaud edited, Françoise Dupertuis designed the sets, and Pierre-Jean Larroque the costumes.[2](https://cineuropa.org/fr/film/51267/)
**Casting.** Salomé and Vachaud chose Romain Duris early for the title role. The director described organizing genuine screen tests, filmed in 35 mm, in costume, on a set, using a scene Vachaud had written specially for the audition.[4](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D52700.html) For Eva Green, then a newcomer who had just appeared in [Bernardo Bertolucci](https://www.edgepedia.org/bernardo-bertolucci)'s *[The Dreamers](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-dreamers-2003-film)*, the role of Clarisse was her second film part; Salomé called her the ideal counterpoint to the dark character of the Countess.[4](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D52700.html)
## Release and reception
The film opened in France on 13 October 2004 and rolled out across Europe over the following year: Belgium on 20 October 2004, the Czech Republic on 7 April 2005, Hungary on 28 April 2005, Spain on 13 May 2005, Poland on 3 June 2005, Italy on 2 September 2005, and the United Kingdom on 9 September 2005.[2](https://cineuropa.org/fr/film/51267/) Distributors included SND in France, 01 Distribuzione in Italy, SPI International in the Czech Republic, and Vértigo Films in Spain.[2](https://cineuropa.org/fr/film/51267/)
**Commercial performance.** AlloCiné records 1,171,703 admissions in France against a budget it lists as 21,610,000 EUR.[4](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D52700.html) Kinopoisk lists a budget of €23,000,000 and worldwide gross receipts of $9,661,028, with about 1.2 million spectators in France, 78,700 in Spain, and 38,000 in Turkey.[5](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/61306/)
**Critical response.** On AlloCiné the film holds a press score of 3.1 out of 5 from 17 reviews and a viewer score of 1.8 from more than 5,800 ratings.[4](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D52700.html) Kinopoisk users rate it 6.4 out of 10.[5](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/61306/) The film received one César nomination, for best costumes, at the 2005 ceremony.[3](https://cinema-francais.fr/les_films/films_s/films_salome_jean_paul/arsene_lupin.htm)
## Place in the Lupin screen tradition
The 2004 film is one of many screen adaptations of Leblanc's character, who first appeared in the magazine *Je sais tout* in 1905 and went on to fill 17 novels, numerous novellas, and plays.[8](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/many-faces-arsene-lupin-netflix-series-gentleman-thief) Earlier French cinema versions include Jacques Becker's Technicolor *The Adventures of Arsène Lupin* (1957) with Robert Lamoureux, and an erudit.org survey of Lupin adaptations identifies the Salomé film with Romain Duris as the character's most recent screen appearance before the 2021 Netflix series.[8](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/many-faces-arsene-lupin-netflix-series-gentleman-thief) • [9](https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/transcreation/2023-v3-n1-transcreation09151/1109774ar.pdf) TIME's overview of the character's adaptations likewise cites the 2004 French film as the most recent direct adaptation preceding Netflix's *Lupin*, which is guided by plot points from the books rather than being a direct adaptation.[10](https://time.com/6072466/lupin-book-netflix/)
## References
1. [Fiche Film – Arsène Lupin (2004), Cinefiches](https://cinefiches.edouardneveu.fr/film/41771)
2. [Arsène Lupin, Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/fr/film/51267/)
3. [Arsène Lupin (2003), Cinéma Français](https://cinema-francais.fr/les_films/films_s/films_salome_jean_paul/arsene_lupin.htm)
4. [Arsène Lupin – Film 2004, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D52700.html)
5. [Арсен Люпен (2004), Кинопоиск](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/61306/)
6. [Jean-Paul Salomé au cinéma, L'Officiel des spectacles](https://www.offi.fr/artiste/jean-paul-salome-9514.html)
7. [Arsène Lupin (2004) – Plot, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373690/plotsummary/)
8. [The many faces of Arsène Lupin, Sight and Sound (BFI)](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/many-faces-arsene-lupin-netflix-series-gentleman-thief)
9. [Lupin on screen survey, Transcreation (Érudit)](https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/transcreation/2023-v3-n1-transcreation09151/1109774ar.pdf)
10. [What to Know About the Literary Origins of Netflix's Lupin, TIME](https://time.com/6072466/lupin-book-netflix/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2000–2004 films › Released 2003 to 2004*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license