Rendezvous

According to rumor, it's the famous racecar driver Jaques Lafitte who drives this car as it speeds insanely through the near empty streets of Paris at 200km/h one early morning. Veering for cars and buses, almost hitting pedestrians and pigeons on every corner, this is as close to a real snuff movie you'll ever get. Very little is known about the car and it's driver. But I can assure you this: It was in no way sanctioned or produced with the cooperation of the police. It's far too risky for that. But what a ride! An absolute must see for any film or racing fan. Brilliant!

Forget Bullitt The French Connection etc. Believe the hype! Knowing this is for real makes it gripping, no dialogue, 2 actors, on screen for 5 seconds. 10 minutes of pure high Octane exitement in a classic Ferrari on the streets of 1970's Paris. Excellent

I just saw the Ralph Lauren car exhibit at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. In the gift shop they had this movie on a loop. I'm ashamed to say I paid close to thirty dollars for a 9 minute DVD but that's a testament to how amazing this film is. Who cares if the car doesn't get into all 5 gears or that it isn't going as fast as it seems. It's still an amazing piece of film footage. Once you see it you'll know where they got some of the inspiration for the video games GTA and Midnight Club. I swear I've seen imitations of some of the footage in those games. This film should have been one of the ones mentioned at the beginning of 'The Player' where the security guy is talking about long single takes in movies during the long opening shot. I'm going to go watch it again.

I'd like to add, now that I've seen Ronin I know where Frankenheimer got some of his inspiration.

On second and subsequent viewings Lelouch's famous blast through Paris throws up more questions than even the reviewers here have come up with. It's obvious by the time taken to reach landmarks that the camera vehicle never exceeds the magic 100mph. Having experienced a similar drive through the streets of Sydney back in the 1960s (in a then just released Mini Cooper S) I know how fast one seems to be traveling when close to road level.

The speed or lack of it isn't the point of the film, though. It's the combination of Paris circa 1976 and the masterful soundtrack which to my way of thinking wasn't dubbed as some would have you believe. The exhaust note and a few missed gear changes seem to indicate that all is on the up and up; the Ferrari has such a torquey engine that it would have been possible to carry out the drive in top gear. Only in a few spots does the engine really rev high and it's always in the lower gears.

Rather than look for faults, better to just sit back and be treated to the best 9 minutes combination of sight and sound you may ever experience.

What I'd like to know, though, are there other films of this nature around?

Seeing this film is like being catapulted into an IMAX version of a Peter Stuyvesant commercial, back to the days when men smoked and didn't wear underarm deodorant, cars had engine notes, clutches required leg muscles and women enjoyed being flirted with at the office (...and, yes, they actually did!). Rendezvous is a high-adrenaline, condensed style statement with an ending that could have only come from the maker of 'A Man and A Woman'. Underscoring it all is the sexiest soundtrack of all time (John Barry and Shirley Bassey notwithstanding), 12 cylinders and 4 litres of the Ferrari 365 Boxer driven by Lalouch's friend, racing driver Jacky Ickx. I love this film and the era it represents, particularly as I live in one of the most over-regulated, purse-lipped and 'responsible' societies in the world. For anyone that has ever owned, driven or just loved classic Italian sportscars, (and enjoyed raising a little bit of hell), Rendezvous is a must see. I can just imagine our hydrogen-car driving grandchildren shaking their heads in befuddlement as they tuck into their tofu and spring water. I'll be there to explain to them that if you don't smoke, drink, fornicate and drive sexy cars that they actually mightn't live longer...but it sure as hell will feel longer.