The French director is passionate about cars, a passion that was faithfully reflected ten years earlier in the famous film ‘A Man and a Woman’, in which a racing driver named Jean Louis (Jean Louis Trintignant), marked by the suicide of his wife after he was nearly killed in an accident at Le Mans, falls in love with Anne (Anouk Aimée) a young script or secretary shooting, widow of a film stuntman. And all against the background of the unforgettable theme song by Francis Lai.
The encounter between his passion for automobiles, on the one hand, and his obsession with punctuality, on the other, led Lelouch to shoot in 1976, under the title ‘It was a meeting’, a controversial short film Lelouch himself, when talking about this short, refers to his well-known 1966 film. «I shot as Trintignant in ‘A Man and a Woman’, foot on the board, speedometer locked at 180 km/h, and taking all the risks ».
And even more, since I am not at the Monte Carlo Rally but in the middle of Paris. Next to me, my lead operator was controlling the speed of the bumper-mounted camera.” Lelouch had been toying with the idea of converting the anguish of time that is slipping away into images for years. And the idea became possible; “Nine minutes and thirty seconds of film, is what I had left unused after filming ‘Si c’etait a refaire'”. He considered it a pity to lose those three hundred meters of virgin tape.
And he took advantage of them to carry out his project for a film in a single shot-sequence, in which the camera would cross Paris at great speed; “the vision of a man who drives like crazy Why are you late for an appointment?». Much has been said about this short film. Dangerous message or feat of a controversial director, the reactions have been varied and found; Some appreciate the originality of the idea and, on the contrary, others only see the crazy and deadly side. «We systematically skip all the traffic lights. The streets and avenues pass at terrifying speed. At that moment I tell myself that the spectators will be clinging to their seats, crushing an imaginary brake pedal.
Because what I shoot is a movie». Five hundred and seventy seconds, not one more, is the time you plan to complete the tour from Porte Dauphiné to Place du Tertre, in Montmartre, a few meters from the Sacre-Coeur basilica. But there are two technical problems that concern you. The first, of a cinematographic nature, consisted of coordinating the route of the car with the action of the last ten seconds when Gunilla, her partner at the time and mother of her daughter Sarah, has to move towards the car that stops in front of her.
The second problem that arises is that of risk. Lelouch tries at first, through his assistant Elie Chouraqui, to find out what permissions would i need to shoot. And he soon realizes that a project like that would require blocking off practically all of Paris. He studies with a ‘cascadeur’, with a specialist, the possibilities of an accident, and plans his work; «The risk was reduced by filming in the month of August, at half past five in the morning. At that time the circulation is practically non-existent. I was not able, however, to obtain the authorization to block the streets that ended on the route.
A vehicle could appear in front of the protagonist’s car at any time. If this occurred, its driver had to react in a quarter of a second. The most dangerous part of the route was the passage through the Louvre shutters, with no visibility at the exit. If another car appeared at that moment in front of my hood, the collision would be irremediable. To avoid it, I placed my assistant, Elie Chouraqui, in that strategic place. Thanks to his ‘walkie-talkie’, he would warn me in case of danger ». He begins the tour through the streets of Paris. The car finds eighteen red lights. It is expected that if a car or a pedestrian appears, the filming will end, but if not, it will not stop… Accelerate along Avenida Foch, between 150 and 180 km/h. Climb up the Champs Elysées at 140, with a peak of 160 km/h at the height of Franklin Roosevelt. The place of La Concorde takes it at 150 km/h and through the large avenues it approaches 200 km/h. He arrives at the Louvre, the most critical point: the driver receives no signal and passes at 80 km/h between the narrow arches.
The rest of the route is done without problem. The engine noise is heard in Place du Tertre, and when the car stops and the man gets out, Gunilla enters the camera field with perfect timing. There is no more film left… A quarter of an hour later, a chill runs through Lelouch’s body when he meets his assistant, and sees him manipulating her transmitter. -What is happening? –Is this crap, that I have not been able to make it work, answers Chouraki, pointing to the device. All these details will be known thirty years later, from the mouth of Lelouch himself. On the contrary, at the time it was rumors that dominated the scene around this controversial short. It was claimed that it was filmed by a French Formula 1 driver, behind the wheel of a street Ferrari. However, Lelouch has clarified that for the filming it was he himself who sat behind the wheel of his 285 CV Mercedes 450 SEL, with a camera fixed to its front, and that the sound had subsequently been incorporated into the tape, hence that was different from the original.
The 450 SEL received the best reviews and many F1 drivers chose it for their personal use.
Suspensions, the key to the choice
Lelouch’s choice was not random. In the spring of 1975, Mercedes-Benz had presented its new top-of-the-range model of the 116 series, the 450 SEL 6.9, with 286 hp. Under its large hood, the V8 from the legendary Mercedes-Benz 600 (W 100 model series) was housed, associated with a three-speed automatic transmission.
However, with the same displacement, the bore of its cylinders had increased from 103 to 107 millimeters. This is how a displacement of 6,834 cc was obtained in the 450 SEL 6.9 which made this 1,935-kilo saloon one of the fastest vehicles of the time, even few sports cars could surpass it. It accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.4 seconds and had a top speed, according to official data, of 225 km/h, a value that was even frequently exceeded during tests carried out by the specialized press: Auto journalists. Motor und Sport timed it at 234 km/h… Its power and torque (more than 500 Nm) made it so that when stepping forcefully on the clarifier, despite wearing self-locking gear and being shod with 215/70 VR 14 tires, considered wide at the time, the rear end would lose grip even in the dry.
But apart from its benefits, Lelouch chose this model for its magnificent suspensions, which provided a key advantage when it came to achieving the necessary stability for recording images. In effect, Mercedes-Benz had taken a completely new approach in terms of suspension with this model. Developed from the air suspension of the 300 SEL 6.3, the 450 SEL 6.9 was equipped with a hydropneumatic variant, which included a level control system that managed to keep the height of the car constant in all circumstances.
While the 600 and 300 SEL 6.3 ran on air, the 6.9 adopts an integral hydropneumatic system, with a small pressure pump directly driven by one of the engine’s camshafts. Compared to Citroën’s hydropneumatic suspension, damping and level correction were faster. The efficiency reached an extraordinary level both on cobblestones at low speed and on speed bumps.
As Bernard Carat described it in the French magazine Auto-Journal in 1976: «Racquet blows (Les coups de raquette, the sudden oscillation typical of the suspension of the Citroën DS when passing a speed bump) are totally unknown and, nevertheless, the passengers do not have the impression of being too smooth”, he concludes. The hydropneumatic suspension of the 6.9 together with a leveling corrector that prevented any roll when accelerating or braking, gave it exceptional behavior and comfort. The proverbial and almost unattainable filtration quality of Mercedes suspensions, powered by hydropneumatics, made it the best sedan in the world.
Inside, there was a highly refined hydropneumatic suspension.
Comfort elements, such as the air conditioning system, thermo-insulating glass, heated rear window, central locking, cruise control, electric windows, headlight washer system, velvet upholstery and retractable seat belts in both the front and rear formed part of standard equipment aboard the 450 SEL 6.9. It goes without saying that optional extras were also available, for example an electric sunroof (DM 987.90) and the unique Becker AT 160 S car phone (DM 13,542). A total of 7,380 units of the 450 SEL 6.9 vehicles were produced in Sindelfingen between 1975 and 1980. In the price list of January 28, 1976, DM 69,930 was set as the basic price of the top model of the 116 series. In comparison , the base variant of this series, the 280 S, was priced at DM 28,848 and the W 115 Mercedes-Benz 200 model series was available for DM 18,381 in 1976.
A highly praised model
In the presentation to the press of this powerful saloon, the journalist from the Swiss magazine “Automobil Revue” he would write: “It is gratifying that, just at this time (in 1973 the oil crisis had broken out), a car appears that offers the greatest driving pleasure for the enthusiast: and at any speed. The 6.9 is not only a testament to the optimism for the future expressed by its creators, but also to their courage in standing up for their convictions.” For its part, the British magazine «Motor» commented the following: «There is only one word to sum it all up: Fabulous!» And the German “Auto Motor und Sport” when it publishes its test in 1975, headlines: “The best car in the world”, and subtitles: “The 450 SEL 6.9 sets new benchmarks in the upper class”. It was also a model chosen by many Formula 1 drivers of the time, for their personal use.
Claude Lelouch, in an image of the time
Reviews of Lelouch
However, the reviews for Lelouch were not as positive. The transgressive character, and uncivil for many, of the film meant that in some of the places where it was shown, it was accompanied by strong protests; ‘C’était un rendezvous’ has always sparked controversy, but it also shows everything that is loved in the cinema, says Lelouch who adds; how I love cinema more than the law… I knew it was a gimmicky work. I told myself, with all modesty, that I had the possibility of making one of the most beautiful shots in the history of cinema.
Ten minute long shots are very rare, due to the limited roll length capacity in the camera. Incluso Hitchcock in ‘La soga’ he anticipated his film changes. Lelouch’s short is considered a masterpiece in its result, but that the end does not justify the means is a principle fully applicable to this work, provocative and scandalous at the time, but absolutely unacceptable today. What would we talk about now if Would a car or a pedestrian have emerged on the other side of the Louvre gates?