Jay Leno in a Mercedes SLS AMG revives memories of Lelouch’s classic C’etait Un Rendezvous
By The Prodigal Fool, published on 30 December 2009
In the very early hours one day in 1976, French film-maker Claude Lelouch strapped a camera to the front of a Mercedes 450 SEL (the sound you hear in the film was dubbed; it’s Lelouch’s own Ferrari 275 GTB) and raced across Paris filming. The resultant 9 minutes of footage are the stuff of legend to any petrol-head and we’ve no doubt that if you’re reading The Prodigal Guide, you’ll be very familiar with them already.
Why are we bothering to mention it? Because renowned car-nut – and occasional TV presenter – Jay Leno has just had a stab at reviving memories of the original with a cruise around the Hollywood hills in a Mercedes SLS AMG. It’s not a patch on the original of course (and, honestly, some of the footage looks as if it may have been sped up) but we salute Leno for his tribute nonetheless. The world needs more of this sort of Prodigal nonesense.
Leno’s new video and the original are both after the break, together with some footage of Lelouch himself talking about how he made his film.
Here it is, Jay Leno driving around the Hollywood hills in a Mercedes SLS AMG:
And just to refresh your memories, here’s Lelouch’s original:
And while we’re covering it, here’s Lelouch himself reminiscing in 2006 (yes, it helps if you speak French):
Jay Leno in a Mercedes SLS AMG revives memories of Lelouch’s classic C’etait Un Rendezvous
In the very early hours one day in 1976, French film-maker Claude Lelouch strapped a camera to the front of a Mercedes 450 SEL (the sound you hear in the film was dubbed; it’s Lelouch’s own Ferrari 275 GTB) and raced across Paris filming. The resultant 9 minutes of footage are the stuff of legend [...]
Into the dark: Exploring the depths of road racing « The Prodigal Guide
8 January 2010
[...] Much as we’ve taken a shine to Jay Leno for his love of cars and his incredible collection, it did perturb us to hear him reference Claude Lelouch’s ground-breaking “C’etait un Rendezvous”. [...]