PARIS, 1978 - 140mph

On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speeds throughout the heart of Paris. No streets were closed, as Lelouch could not obtain a permit. Reaching speeds of nearly 140 MPH in some stretches, the driver completed the course in about 9 minutes - a good thing as the camera was only equipped with 10 minutes of film. The footage reveals him running real red lights, nearly hitting real pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up real one-way streets.

Upon showing the film in public for the first time, Lelouch was arrested. To this day he has has never revealed the identity of the driver and an air of mystery continues to surround the film. Was this really possible? Was the car a Ferrari 275 GTB as we are led to believe, or was it Lelouche's Mercedes. Was the sound on the film from the actual car or a different car? Numerous questions have led people to try to debunk the film. An interesting and informative article can be found here. Regardless of what you believe, it is still a pretty incredible little film. Remember... it was filmed in 1978.

Recently the film was restored and remastered resulting in a stunning DVD worth checking out. It is also online here.

*UPDATE - This film is actually owned by Spirit Level Films and they are doing a good job at removing the movie from the internet. With that said, the links above to the movie may not work and if that is the case, I urge you to seek it out or better yet, buy the DVD... it is worth it!