essays & effluvia: C'était un rendez-vous: Paris at 140mph

Monday, November 21, 2005

C'était un rendez-vous: Paris at 140mph

How ridiculously cool is this video? 9 minutes of hair raising driving through the streets of Paris, at speeds approaching 140 mph:

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You can see quicktime versions of the 9 minute flick at several sites :

bsdunix

dvblog

Here's the details from Wikipedia:

C'était un rendez-vous is a short film made in 1976 by Claude Lelouch, the director of Un homme et une femme. Lelouch's own car – a Ferrari 275 GTB – is driven by an anonymous driver at breakneck speed through the streets of Paris just after dawn, for a romantic "rendez-vous" at Basilica of the Sacré Cœur.

This cinéma vérité film was made in a single take with no editing, using a gyro-stabilised camera mount attached to the front of the car. The length of the film was limited by the capacity of the camera reel (under 10 minutes). There is no dialog, and the actors only appear briefly at the end; the driver's face is never shown.
Lelouch apparently sought an official permit but was denied by municipal authorities. Combined with low traffic, this probably influenced the early-morning hour of the shoot. The driver, purportedly an F1 racer, frightened unwitting pedestrians, scattered birds, ran stoplights, went the wrong way down one-way streets, crossed center lines, and ignored other traffic laws, in addition to speed limits. A close analysis showed the car at times approached 140 mph (220 km/h). Obstacles such as buses, garbage trucks, and small knots of traffic forced detours and abrupt downshifting. Though no police were encountered during the shoot itself, when Lelouch showed his film in public, he was arrested. Apparently no charges were ever filed, but as a result the film remained underground for many years.

The film has recently been re-mastered from the 35mm negative and released on DVD.

Here's the website for Rendez-Vous DVD

Or, you can purchase the DVD of this from Bentley Publishing.

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