This short film was supposed to be a tribute to the original “C’était un rendez-vous.”
Ferrari’s take has none of the action, drama, or suspense from the original.
Ferrari’s video isn’t actually bad; they should have called it something else.
The original short 8:40 second video is a must if you enjoy driving. In fact, so legendary and out there is this video, which was shot by Claude Lelouch back in 1976, that it is right up there with another famous car video: Faczination on Nürburgring (Nordschleife) starring the Ruf CTR “Yellow Bird” Porsche 911. We think Ferrari wanted to recapture the magic from the original film with its “Le Grand Rendez-Vous” film but honestly, it looks rehearsed, choreographed, plus the roads were obviously closed.
If you’re still not back to work and in lockdown, start with the RUF video. It’s 16 minutes long but it will have you on the edge of your seat. Then, get a cold drink, catch your breath, sit back down and watch almost 9 minutes of a Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 barreling through Paris streets on a Sunday morning in August of 1976. The soundtrack is from Lelouch’s own Ferrari 275 GTB so it doesn’t match what you’re seeing. Regardless, it is Lelouch behind the wheel and the video is great.
Now, the remake. Although Claude Lelouch did direct it, the circumstances were very different. We don’t know exactly why it starts the way it does, nor why it ends the way it does but we do get to see a fairly talented and young Charles Leclerc driving at speed – Maybe Charles is dating the girl? Or they’re going on a date? Why does she give them the flowers, and not to the women who bought them earlier on? Are they the same flowers?
Between the two scenes, Charles drives at speed, at one point with Albert II, Prince of Monaco as his passenger, behind the wheel of a new Ferrari SF90 Stradale through the streets of Monaco. Anyhow, if you’re like us, 6 minutes later, you’ll be scratching your head too. Worry not! If you read the comments, you’ll realize that you’re not alone.
Ferrari SF90 Stradale | Photo: Ferrari
