SPEEDtv.com Reviewed: “Rendezvous” DVD
Written by: Gregg Leary Charlotte, NC – 5/30/2006

“Rendezvous” (DVD)
A Film by Claude Lelouch

It’s amazing how often one good thing leads to another. Recently, I reviewed Jesse Crosse’s book, “The Greatest Movie Car Chases of All Time.” He lists the Twenty Greatest Chases and “C’etait un Rendezvous” was listed at Number Eight. I had seen 10 of Crosse’s Top 20, but NOT “Rendezvous.” If I’d only known what I was missing … what a GREAT film.

How long can you hold your breath? “Rendezvous” may make you set a personal best. It is less than NINE minutes long, yet it will give you more thrills and chills than Hollywood blockbusters many times as long. Jeremy Clarkson says, “It makes ‘Bullitt’ look like a cartoon.” “Car and Driver” says, “Better than any chase scene ever filmed, because it’s real.”

The DVD jacket claims, “Lelouch’s electrifying drive has to be seen to be believed. No car chase on film has, or ever will, come close. The reality of no special effects, edits, or blocking off streets is terrifying. A once in a lifetime experience, it can never be repeated-no one is that insane.”

From the opening flutter of a rapidly beating heart … to the finale … the phantom driver’s rendezvous with his heartthrob, a mysterious blonde bombshell … and the bonging heartbeat of Sacre Coeur’s bells (Doesn’t Sacre Coeur mean “sacred heart” in French?) … the only other sounds the viewer hears are the throbbing engine and squealing tires of the mysterious sports car weaving its way through the web-like maze of pre-dawn Paris. It is more than enough. You do not need a soundtrack … some sappy song or silly score … it would only dilute the visceral impact of this motoring masterpiece.

In “The Greatest Movie Car Chases of All Time,” Jesse Crosse tells the full story of “Rendezvous” after interviewing the producer of the remastered DVD of the film, Richard Symons and the man himself, Claude Lelouch. I will give the “Cliff Notes” version. Leloch had just completed a feature film and had a gyro-mounted camera and one thousand feet of film left … enough for about ten minutes. He tried to get permission from Parisian authorities to make his “Rendezvous” but was denied. He decided to mount the camera low on his still unnamed sports car and drive the film himself. Ten minutes was not enough time to drive at legal speeds so he got the advice of racers and stunt drivers who told him he could run red lights … ”as long as he was traveling fast enough, it was unlikely he would collide with another car arriving at an intersection at the same time.” Unlikely?

Lelouch confessed, “I didn’t feel like I was the director. I was driving the car and everything just happened. It was God’s work.” Mon Dieu! Lelouch was arrested once the film was released and that probably drove it underground. Today Lelouch, according to Crosse’s book, says he’s ashamed and the film was a selfish act and was totally immoral because of the danger he caused. Was it immoral … or immortal? You the viewer must watch it SEVERAL times and then decide.

I honestly tried watching “Rendezvous” so I could document for you readers how many red lights Lelouch ran, how many cars he passed, how many pedestrians he avoided and how many pigeons just missed becoming hood ornaments. I must admit I got a different number each time I watched the film. Something distracted me … I saw another pedestrian emerge from the shadows … or another bird just miss a fender … I THINK he ran 19 red lights, passed 29 moving vehicles, missed 10 pedestrians and avoided 19 flocks of pigeons … all in eight and a half minutes! I guarantee that each time you watch the film you will see something new. How can I justify you spend $29.95 for this 9 minute DVD? It’s rather like the old joke about the patient who complained to his dentist for charging $30 to extract his tooth … and it only took 30 seconds. The dentist replied, “I can take as long as you want to remove the tooth. How long do you want it to take?” Some things are best if they only last a short time. “Rendezvous” is one of them. It gets my highest rating … five out of five lug nuts. Magnifique!

“Rendezvous” is available from the SPEEDtv.com bookstore!

Gregg Leary is a Researcher/Writer for “Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain” and
Book Reviewer for SpeedTV.com.

Leary was track announcer for Hooter’s IHRA Drag Racing at National Events in the USA and Canada and entertained event crowds during “down time” by conducting “crowd participation” and product giveaways with the Hooter’s Girls. He was Marketing and PR Director and track announcer at Lake Erie Speedway.

As Photo Editor, feature writer, columnist and swimsuit calendar chief photographer for “Sports Jam Magazine,” Leary covered Auto Racing, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the National Basketball Association. He has photographed dozens of celebrities from A-Z…including Mario Andretti, Jim Brown, AJ Foyt, Ken Griffey Jr., Michael Jordan, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Mark McGwire, Paul Newman, Walter Payton, Alex Zanardi and Presidents Gerald Ford, George Bush and Bill Clinton. Gregg’s wife, Lynn and daughter, Caitlynn live in Jefferson, Ohio and his son, Sean is a student at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.

Leary has conducted motivational seminars and performed stand up comedy around the country. He is a graduate of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio and Exeter University in England. Gregg has hitchhiked 40,000 miles through 36 states and 10 European countries and is a licensed pilot and skydiver. Leary is available for motorsports consulting on a limited basis. Contact him via email at gleary@speedtv.com .