C'était un rendez-vous

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?

The most famous motoring footage of all time, or more perhaps infamous. A breathtakingly insane sprint across Paris in a Ferrari. Claude Lelouch has gone for the minimalist approach in the documentation of 'the bet' as legend puts it. No dialogue, no plot, just the sights and sounds of a headlight's eye view of Paris early in the morning as Lelouch tries desperately to traverse the Paris CBD in under 8 minutes. The boy racer in everyone will enjoy the enthralling ride - equal to any racecam footage modern motorsport provides - the roar of a 60's Ferrari - to the enthusiast a sound now made mechanically impossible by noise regulations. While Lelouch desperate flinging of the car through Paris is a joy, half the fun is the reactions of pedestrians, animals and other vehicles as Lelouch thunders through.

In the opening credits, it says the movie without speeding up or "trucage" which is best translated as manipulation.

However, internet research reveals, the movie was shot with a fixed automatic camera on the bumper of a heavy but very fast Mercedes S-class (the hard ride of a genuine sports car would have ruined the equipment).

So as a matter of fact, the legend about Ferrari plus racing driver, the engine noise and the gear change sounds are all fake - and pretty much "trucage", indeed.

Nevertheless, the drive is hilarious to watch. Until recently, there was a synchronized show of the movie and a drawing of the route on a map on the Internet - unfortunately, this didn't work the last times I tried to watch.

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

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.