Acclaimed French short restored by MPC

The short film 'C’était un Rendezvous', shot by celebrated French director Claude Lelouch in 1976, has been restored by MPC and shot out to film for cinema release.
It is currently being shown at The Electric Cinema in Notting Hill as a trailer to George Clooney’s 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'.
C’était un Rendezvous, which is regarded as a cult film in France, was shot by Lelouch using a 16mm camera mounted on the front of his Ferrari as he sped through the streets of Paris to the steps of Montmartre, where he had a rendezvous with his girlfriend.
The film remained unseen for many years, until Richard Symons, a documentary filmmaker, bought the rights from Lelouch.
Symons said: “I’d never seen anything like it, nine minutes of adrenalin that simply leaves you with your jaw on the floor. To cut a long story short, I tracked down the director, we dusted down the original 35mm negative, restored and re-mastered it for release. We’ve brought back all the details and colours and it looks stunning.”
MPC were given a duplicate print of the film and asked to restore it to the way it was when it was originally shot in the 1970's. As it was not the original negative, there was a lot of colour fading and degradation.
MPC director and head of Telecine, Jean-Clement Soret, revived the colours and pulled out colours from the shadows to provide the film with a consistent look throughout, using technology which would not have been available when the film was first made. MPC’s tape to film division then output the regraded print to 35mm film for the cinema.
Ironically, shortly after the film was first released Lelouch was arrested for dangerous driving.
(GB)