This is an older, but nevertheless superb compilation of great Parkour action. The video features many prominent Tracers including David Belle, Sébastien Foucan, Stephane Vigroux, and members of the Yamakasi to name a few, and contains footage from Le Tuyau, Un Lundi Cool, the Bont Commercial and BBC Commercial both featuring David, Accroches Toi, Speed Air Man, and other prominent videos.
Here is some more footage of one of the first Parkour groups La Releve in and around Lisses and Evry (to see the first video we posted of the group please click here). La Releve consisted of many of the original Tracers including David Belle. Those featured in this video include Sébastien Foucan, Stephane Vigroux, Johann Vigroux, Kazuma, Sébastien Goudot, Jerome Ben Aous and others.
Most Parkour enthusiasts have only seen David Belle fall once. That of course was his famous slip at the UCLA Campus. However there is another fall from David that was captured on film many years ago and we at MisterParkour.com are happy to be the first major Parkour website to ever feature the footage.
This video is not solely of David Belle, but is instead an interesting compilation of film. In the seven minute edit the video has six distinct parts. The first part is a mix-tape edit of Kazuma, then second is the Le Chat Effravant (Scary Cat) - Behind the Scenes video from the Nike Presto shoot, the third part transitions into an old Nike commercial featuring Kazuma, the fourth features rare footage of David (including his fall), the fifth includes a complete version of On r’met ça with alternate music, and finally the compilation ends with some more clips of David.
Although the footage throughout is rare and is well worth watching and studying in its entirety, the main draw to this video and the portion we want to emphasis is the footage from and fall of David. Not only is this film of David extremely rare to say the least, the fact that he falls in it makes it even more unbelievable that this video has never been prominently posted on a Parkour site! Ultimately the fall, although violent in many regards, is neither incredibly moving nor ultimately consequential. Nevertheless, it is always good to be reminded that even the best Tracers make mistakes.
“I fall all the time—I fall like the monkeys—but it never shows up on film, because they just want the spectacular stuff.”
This video is titled La Releve and it was one of the first Parkour videos ever made. La Releve is a classic in its own right not only because of its historical significance but also because it monumentally influenced the spread of Parkour around the world. Filmed in Lisses and Evry before Parkour had spread beyond the borders of France, this video is comprised of solid Parkour and provides a rare glimpse back into the sentiment that surrounded the original Parkour community. La Releve features Sébastien Foucan, Stephane Vigroux, Johann Vigroux and is a must see for anyone interested in the history of Parkour and for any Tracer with any admiration for those that helped develop and spread the discipline.
This video is nothing short of an incredible find and a must see for any aspiring Tracer! It is a home video which features Stephane Vigroux speaking candidly about Parkour while eating lunch at a Wendy’s restaurant. This footage provides an extremely rare look into the beginnings of Parkour as Stephane briefly explains how the movements in the discipline progressed and how the training mindset in aspiring Tracers has also changed. Stephane also references David Belle’s progression.
In only a little over a minute this video packs a powerful message about proper training and progression, as well as providing an eye-opening view into the beginnings of Parkour. Some of the background noise is disturbing in multiple ways, but you’ll probably want to watch this video more than once to comprehend the depth of Stephane’s words. Big thanks to Jessica from New York for having the presence of mind to film such an interaction and also for publishing it for all to see and learn from.
With only the top two commercials left in our Top 10 Parkour Commercial Countdown we have decided to take a short break and post some exclusive behind the scenes footage from the Nike Presto ads.
As we mentioned yesterday in the featuring of Le Chat Effravant (Scary Cat), the commercial that came in at #3 or our Top 10 Parkour Commercial Countdown, in spite of the commercial’s unsurpassed creativity and humor, the one drawback to the ad was the brevity of the finished product. With only a 30 second final commercial it was difficult, if not impossible, for any viewer to fully appreciate the true athleticism that was required of David Belle, Sébastien Foucan, Stephane Vigroux and the other Tracers involved in the production.*
Luckily we were able to locate some exclusive behind the scenes footage from the Nike Presto shoot which we have embedded below. This edit, with a wider variety of footage, wide angle shots, and movements such as those at :53, 1:00, and 1:05, reveals an incredible level of athleticism that was not developed in the shortened Le Chat Effravant (Scary Cat) commercial.
*Example: The jump performed by David at :05 in Le Effravant Chat (Scary Cat) is the same jump featured at 1:00 in this video.
The #3 commercial in our countdown of the Top 10 Parkour Commercials ever made is the second of three ingeniously designed Nike Presto commercials created by the advertising giant Wieden+Kennedy.
Featuring both David Belle and Sébastien Foucan as well as a slew of other famous Tracers, this commercial titled Le Chat Effravant (Scary Cat) is the action packed result of nothing short of pure creative genius. Incredible from its high flying beginning to its laughter educing finale, one of the only drawback to the commercial is its brevity.* At 30 seconds in length this advertisement leaves the viewer wanting much more, and the short edit also undermines the incredible athleticism that was required for a majority of these shots. Nevertheless, the presence of David and Sébastien, and the utilization of some of the most famous training locations in Lisses, France overshadows any downside to the commercial and makes this production extremely enjoyable for the everyday consumer and especially entertaining for the knowledgeable Tracer.
As the most talent packed, the funniest, and one of the most historical Parkour-featuring advertisements ever made, the Nike Presto Le Chat Effravant (Scary Cat) commercial is well deserving of a high position in our countdown and comes in at the #3 spot.
*Another ‘drawback’ to this production was the inadvertent injury that Stephane Vigroux sustained during the commercial’s filming. You can hear Stephane speak first hand about this incidence in Urban Freeflow Vol. 3.
This video is an old TV report from March 2001 that has just about everyone! It features David Belle, Sébastien Foucan, Stephane Vigroux, Johann Vigroux, Kazuma, Sébastien Goudot, Rudy D., Jerome Ben Roues, and Michael Ramoani, and they are all doing Parkour in and around Lisses and Evry, France. Because this video is rare you are likely to see exclusive footage of David and the others that you have never seen before. With that said you may also recognize the first person perspective footage of David from the videos we posted in and David Belle x3 and David Belle “Live” – Take II.
With Urban Freeflow Vol. 3 as one of our first posts on MisteParkour.com we have been waiting for the right time to add a series of other impressive documentaries to our library. After a few months we feel that now is that time.
Today we post the first in this series, one of the most impressive Parkour documentaries to date, Jump London. Starring Sébastien Foucan, Johann Vigroux, Jerome Ben Aoues, and including Stephane Vigroux* Jump London was filmed almost exactly 5 years ago in June of 2003. It aired for the first time in Britain latter that same year.
With Sébastien, Johann, and Jerome running and jumping across the rooftops and architecture of 14 different historic and monumental locations across London, the film is enough to make anybody want to try Parkour. As such Jump London, the predecessor of Jump Britain, is widely credited as the match that ignited the Parkour movement in Britain. From minute 25 to 40 this film features nothing but pure Parkour footage, and it includes Sébastien’s famous jump on the battleship HMS Belfast.
Although Sébastien does mention “Parkour,” the term “Freerunning” is the emphasis of the film and the word Parkour is never uttered by the English narrator or during the English translations. Regardless of the verbiage, the stunning cinematography, athleticism, dialogue, and Parkour history discussed in the film makes it well deserving of an addition to this site and a place in history as one of the most influential Parkour films ever created.
*As explained in the film, Jump London was intended to be filmed with Stepahen Vigroux as the fourth Tracer. However, Stephane was not able to participate because he had not yet fully recover from his ACL injury which occurred during the Nike Presto shoot in 2001. Stephane discusses this injury more thoroughly in Urban Freeflow Vol. 3. Even though Stephane was not able to perform for this film specifically, a majority of footage of him and Johann was taken from the Vigroux Brothers (2001 – 2003) video and utilized throughout Jump London.
Here is another great video from Julie Angel and Parkour Generations. Finding a different route through the city Stephane Vigroux, Forrest, Sébastien Goudot, and Chris Keighley utilize Parkour to reach their final destination; the bank. And most impressive of all they do this while wearing suits and Chris is even carrying a briefcase! In spite of this there is nothing too spectacular here, but it’s a superb and entertaining all around film nonetheless.
