The C'était Un Rendez-Vous Follow-Up Underwhelms

'Le Grand Rendez-Vous' follow-up its controversial predecessor with a Ferrari SF90 and Charles LeClerc, but it's something of a disappointment
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We shouldn’t be surprised, really. The whole point of C’était un Rendez-Vous - the 1976 short film depicting an early-morning blast through Paris - was the illicit thrill of the thing, which can’t be responsibly replicated. Its follow-up, Le Grand Rendez-Vous, was destined to struggle when it came to emulating the original, taking place on officially closed roads in Monaco with a brand new car and an F1 driver supplied by Ferrari.

The purpose of the Ferrari-backed ‘Le Grand Rendez-Vous’ isn’t the same as its predecessor - it has more of a promo film feel. But it could have done with retaining the simplicity of C’était un Rendez-Vous, which used a single 35mm mounted to a Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9 (the dubbed soundtrack apparently coming from director Claude Lelouch’s own Ferrari 275GTB) and had a very straightforward story - a guy charging across town to make it on time for his Rendez-Vous.

The C'était Un Rendez-Vous Follow-Up Underwhelms

The sequel, again directed by Claude Lelouch, was filmed over several hours with multiple camera angles used. There are also some awkward shots of driver Charles LeClerc being applauded by staff from the Hotel de Paris plus Prince Albert II of Monaco. The F1 driver is then - for some reason - given two bunches of flowers.

We also don’t hear a whole lot of the SF90, even when the music is - all to briefly - dropped back entirely. Granted, a twin-turbo V8 isn’t going to offer up the most soul-stirring soundtrack (an 812 Superfast would have been more appropriate, but y’know, marketing), but the engine noise is frustrating low in the mix throughout.

But still, it’s worth a few minutes of your time. When the music does drop away you can appreciate some handy driving from Leclerc, and with this year’s Monaco Grand Prix cancelled due to Covid-19, it’s nice to see a powerful car charging around the streets of Monte Carlo. We were just hoping for a little more.

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Comments

Robert Gracie

I felt it was a bit of a letdown….if they had tried to copy the original more it would have been slightly more interesting….but IDK!

06/15/2020 - 11:04 |
1 | 1

And when you realise that what was essentially a lap of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit, and the ultimate goal being the reaching of the hotel, could have been made shorter by simply driving in the opposite direction.. LOL

06/16/2020 - 05:38 |
0 | 0
The Ferrari Guy

I made a re edit version on my YouTube channel which I felt was a little closer to the original watch it if you want I’ve shared it on this website

06/15/2020 - 14:18 |
2 | 0

I would like to see if its an improvement over what Ferrari did…

06/15/2020 - 14:52 |
1 | 1
Nishant Dash

Le Grand Disappointment
The average automotive youtuber has better cinematography lol

06/17/2020 - 09:12 |
1 | 0
ClassicPorsche

It’s utter rubbish

06/18/2020 - 21:32 |
0 | 0