<VV> car chases

[Alan and Clare Wesson]

I reckon this beats them all. It's not a chase, exactly (it's only one car), 
but it was done for real, on open public roads, through the middle of Paris 
at 5 a.m. Sorry if I have told you about it before (I think I have), but I 
reckon it is worth a re-watch even if I have:

http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/entertainment/watch/v596454yX8nSphf

The catch is that it was apparently done in a Mercedes 450SEL, not a Ferrari 
as implied by the sound track, and the camera is very low-mounted, which 
gives a heightened impression of speed. But it is definitely for real, and 
the streets weren't closed.

Apparently if you plot the trip and work it out against the run time of the 
film, the average speed is 'only' 60 mph. Still pretty good.

He was arrested after it but released without charge. It gets good after the 
Place de la Concorde (2.35)...

Finally, the bit I like best is where he says (I saw a video of an interview 
with him), that the only totally blind spot in the whole movie is at 3.40 
where he goes through the Louvre. He had a friend with a walkie-talkie lined 
up, and the guy was going to call him if there is any cross traffic coming 
out of the arches at the side. The guy didn't call him so he kept his foot 
down, and it was only afterwards that he found the walkie-talkie was faulty.

Here's wiki on it: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%27%C3%A9tait_un_rendez-vous

Cheers

Alan







----- Original Message ----- 
From: <rgubser at zoomtown.com>
To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 1:25 PM
Subject: <VV> car chases


> P.S.  In the case of Vanishing Point and The Italian Job, the originals 
> are by far the best. No computer-generated special effects -- real cars, 
> real drivers. The drivers in all of these movies must have had cojones the 
> size of basketballs!
>
>
> --
> rgubser
> e-mail: rgubser at zoomtown.com
>
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