IT WAS A DATE

I first saw this film in a high school film class. Filmed illegally in 1976, in the hazy minutes before dawn in Paris, Claude Lelouch's C'était un Rendez-Vous is simply nine minutes of reckless, high speed driving. All we can hear is the revving and down-shifting of the engine, the squeal of tires as corners are rounded. The low-mounted camera add to the thrill, allowing us to really feel the swift motion of the car.


The title card at the beginning states that "the film was produced without photographic tricks nor changes in camera speed," and though the consensus is that's true, there has been speculation that Lelouch dubbed in the engine noise from a different vehicle (perhaps a Ferrari of his) to produce a greater range of shifting sounds and engine RPMs. Likewise, various nerds have watched the film with a stopwatch in hand, mapping the route and claiming that Lelouch could have never topped more than 75mph. Whatever the case, Paris has rarely looked as good as it does in the final scene at Sacre Coeur.