"The most reckless, irresponsible film you'll ever see."
Or so a quote goes about a 9-minute short film called "C'était un Rendezvous" in which a man drives like a maniac
through the streets of 1970's Paris with only an engine roaring and tires squealing for a soundtrack. The single-shot
film, made in 1976 by French director Claude Lelouch, employs no special effects and was created using only a front
bumper-mounted camera. No one knows what type of car was used or whether Lelouch was the actual driver. The legend goes
that at the film's first screening the director was arrested on the spot and after that the film went underground. It
has since resurfaced and been restored and is now even available on DVD. Or you could just go
here to watch the whole thing. Search for "Rendezvous Racer" on the main page and
enjoy.
[Thanks to Sun Devil for the tip]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lucien 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Wow.. at first I was like, ok, so far this isn't too bad.. then after a few run red lights, a few missed pedestrians.. :-)
LOVE the engine sounds too. Very sweet. I pity this guys bandwidth bill in a few hours.
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dennis af sweden 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
well.. you got to see this, hello from stockholm =)
http://www.getawayinstockholm.com/main.htm
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Joe Mac User 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
The DVD is worth it. It's a blast. Get it at http://spiritlevelfilm.com/ (I don't work for them, but they deserve the support for this and other auto films they're bringing back.)
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TC 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
The French really are a loathsome group of people
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jpb 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Part of the film's mystique is that no-one knows the make of car used. It was long assumed that it was a Ferrari 275GTB, but it's apparently the director's own Mercedes 450 6.9 SEL - the engine noise was dubbed on afterwards. And the speeds weren't all that high, either....
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GW 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
WOW, I've driven thru Paris and it's not easy. Two Observations:
1) Probably AM Sunday judgeing by the lack of activity on the streets.
2) Looks like he was using a police light by the way the cars were pulling over.
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GW 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
WOW, I've driven thru Paris and it's not easy. Two Observations:
1) Probably AM Sunday judgeing by the lack of activity on the streets.
2) Looks like he was using a police light by the way the cars were pulling over.
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john speed 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
There is another "newer" movie, featuring a 350ZX through Prague...looks almost the same.
The drive through Paris streets is not that tough (try the small streets in Italy/Spain) for a change. It is just that the french drivers are not sticking too much with the rules...and are very bad. Last time got so mad that I sweared next time I will buy a junk and drive it through Paris so I can bump into all those idiots that are thinking they are the only ones on that street. And get reimbursed for "pain and suffering":)
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V? 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Actually, jpb is right: the speeds aren't that high. Proof: look at the other cars he's passing.
I have read several stories about this movie, and one thing mentioned I think is very funny; one guy standing near the crossing behind the louvre was supposed to radio the driver in case cars were coming, but the guy's radio wasn't functioning....
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mr black 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
at first i too thought, he's not driving that fast. but i live in paris and to drive from the periphique near the arc de triomphe to montmartre in about 10 minutes... thats fast!
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porcupine 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
how is this news? hey guess what i just found! a film that's been out for 30 years!
the 350z film sucks. it is too obvious that it was a well staged "hollywood" production.
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KingTroll 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
getaway in stockholm ownz this x999999
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Paul Allen 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
There's a notice in the film that says something like "no special effects or speeded up film tricks were used."
I've had a copy of this since the 1980's and have watched it a zillion times. The film may not be edited, but the sound definitely is.
And in fact, if you watch it with the sound off, it doesn't seem like the car is going that fast at all. Try it....
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Tony Million 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2005/Rendezvous.shtml
For all the real info...
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Harry 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
There was an article about this movie in the "Drive" supplement of the Sydney Morning Herald a number of years ago.
Always wanted to see it, thanks for the link.
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chido 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
The first thing I thought of was Getaway in stockholm (part 2 preferably). Though this is more reckless and done well before GIS. GIS is much longer and has tuned imports as their stars, so you can hear tires screeching, engines reving and bov's galore.
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NoLongerThere 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
The website owners broke the link to the video today, with a note citing copyright infringement. Go figure.
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Michael Jay 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Expanding on jpd's comment about dubbing the engine noise in later: I heard a college class somewhere analyzed the speed of the vehicle in relation to the gear shifts. They could accurately measure the vehicle speed by timing the centerline road stripes. Turns out the speed of vehicle passing the stripes never increased as the tranny upshifted two or three times. So the film is somewhat of a sonic illusion with the aggressive soundtrack having more of an impression on your psyche than the scenery passing by.
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WhoCares 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
For want of any better way to contact Jeff:
Due to the high popularity my site enjoyed thanks to your article I have been approached by the copyright holders of the film. They very politely requested me to remove the clip from my site, which I did. So you might want to change your article accordingly.
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