Sunday, May 17, 2009

Rendezvous in Paris

Filming in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris early in the morning . The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine , through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.

No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit. The driver completed the course in 8 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The footage reveals him running 19 real red lights, nearly hitting a myriad of actual pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up two bonefide one-way streets.

Upon showing the film in public for the first time, Lelouch was arrested. He has never revealed the identity of the driver, and the film went underground.

We$t $lide $tory

We$t $lide $tory

The Black Hole