The Origin of Baby Driver & Drive (video essay)

Where does the silent getaway driver from BABY DRIVER and DRIVE come from? Let's find out!
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[@tracygalicia7342]

Drive (2011) has a special place in my heart. Drive reignited the synth neon 80s vibe.

[@LOCKEYJ]

*followed the vibe*

[@ramsnation196]

never seen a movie that got a cool chill retro vibe

[@guidorussoheck2100]

mmmmhh idk, Drive has awful music to me. Baby Drive got better music and better edited

[@fpsa_]

@@guidorussoheck2100 youve got balls pal

[@archwebskis]

@@guidorussoheck2100 well to each their own, I respect your opinion dude

[@Buenomars]

I could watch a movie where Tom Hardy just sits in a car and drives for one and a half hours. Oh wait...

[@tony198333]

I'm also a big fan of Locke (2013).

[@omeletteofhousescrambled5602]

Mad max fury road when

[@Beforethecredits]

So what you are saying is... I should watch The Driver.

[@funnyproductions450]

Don't forget about Le Samourai.

[@lucaban]

+armando carrillo but ‘le Samourai’ has less likes than ‘the Driver’ so better start with ‘the Driver’

[@jackyoh971]

Why no both?

[@russell9378]

Before The Credits you should watch drive

[@cobracommander8133]

The Driver (1978) is on KZbin. Just put it in the search and it's like the first video that comes up. Absolutely great film, I highly recommend it.

[@switchingtime]

Cobra Commander Very sincere thanks, I was really bummed when he said it wasn't on streaming services. Gonna check it out now!

[@stevensong8784]

@Cobra Commander Cool!!!

[@lucasgill7819]

Well it's not anymore...:(

[@MarvelousMusicmmusic]

Lucas Gill it is

[@francescol9868]

I’m already in line for that Wes Anderson heist movie

[@PauLtus_B]

Absolutely.

[@maximeteppe7627]

In the Wes Anderson version, the signature symmatry and still shots could be a great way to parallel the mental rigidity of the character. The chase scenes could allow bursts of sudden chaos in this tightly framed and sanitized direction...okay, I really wanna see it too.

[@konstantinosliatis7592]

Do you know what film is shown in the clip during the description in the vid? Seems oddly familiar, but can't for the life of me make a guess.

[@tatehildyard5332]

He already sort of did with Bottle Rocket, Fantastic Mr.Fox and Grand Budapest.

[@MatthiasPendragon]

I like your acknowledgement of the importance of "templates." You can make radically different films following similar formulas, and love seeing new permutations of old ideas.

[@RCSDominoToppling]

That's a really great point! You know, watching this video, I was genuinely surprised to discover that Drive and Baby Driver have such similar plots. Since these are two of my favorite movies, you'd think I would have noticed before now! The thing is, though, even though they have the same template underneath, they are such different films that I never thought to make the comparison. It just goes to show you that the execution of an idea is equally as important to originality as the idea itself.

[@stevensong8784]

@Pendragon Mm-hmm. Just need to inject enough different vibe.

[@WrightNDesk]

When I saw Baby Driver, I commented to a friend that it felt like Wright had wanted to do his own take on Drive. Friend replied that they thought it reminded them of another movie but couldn't remember the name. Pretty sure it was The Driver now!

[@radpunk5144]

Wright N Desk It's not really a new take on Drive since he wrote the script 20 years ago ^^

[@umjackd]

Joss Whedon's Driver movie would be about a bunch of misfits in a car who all see the world differently and go on adventures. And yes I'd watch Firefly on Wheels.

[@lilith42069]

Saw Le Samourai (Loved it, own it a Criterion Collection copy), saw The Driver (Like that one too, thought Drive was a reboot until I saw that it was based off a novel) saw Drive (Loved Drive, love playing Ryan Gosling bingo. Seeing all the good films he ends up in) and finally, I saw Baby Driver three times in theaters. It was my first Edgar Wright film I saw in theaters and it gave me an enthusiasm for the act of filmmaking unlike any movie I've seen in theaters at the time.

[@bennyton2560]

I know right! Baby Driver made me obsessed with Edgar Wright. His attention to details is beyond everybody else in this generation

[@amsheel9921]

Kevin Spacey stars as a man who forces a kid to do things he doesn't want to do. Do you think Edgar Wright was sending us a subliminal message?

[@davidchan5843]

Just another random person on the Internet “The size of his balls...”

[@holysayingsofrobin4055]

Just another random person on the Internet He was a real human bean, and a reeeal hero~

[@Schneekardinal]

Oh dang, someone actually made a video about this! Love this set of films! You forgot to mention that Drive is actually based on a book that is based on The Driver, so it really is a remake by proxy of adaptation. Then there's the driver's toothpick as a reference to a particular rule of the Hagakure, the iconic jacket styled after Japanese souvenir jackets, the auto-mechanic character from Le Samourai being fleshed out into Bryan Cranston's role ... Refn was aware of this history is what I'm saying.

[@hugo59208]

Everytime i hear about The Driver i think about the game Driver You Are The Wheelman

[@thetramp123]

And now you can watch Wheelman, starring Frank Grillo. Watch them back to back for The Driver (you are the) Wheelman.

[@David-kg5nn]

I totally did that too. Playstation flashback.

[@macedossaulo8917]

and the first level on that game references The Driver parking lot scene they showed in this video ;)

[@scottpatonlevin2686]

I love The Driver, one of the best Neo-Noir films I've ever seen.

[@stillholy5490]

I know this isn't the point of the video but I LOVE the background music

[@Jun-qb8yh]

Anyone know what the first background song is from 0:51 or 1:11 to 2:00?

[@dj_jazzywhut]

Try using an app called Shazam :)

[@ItsDylanHarding]

I recently saw Drive for the first time a few weeks after watching Baby Driver in the theaters and I thought they had some really funny similarities. Great video.

[@jamesbaker1392]

Dylan Harding the director of baby driver literally said in an interview that it was a parody of drive. Just to put it in perspective as well, it's the same director who made Shaun of the dead (a parody of dawn of the dead) and hot fuzz (a parody of American cop movies). He literally is a parody director.

[@ricardooliveros6411]

@@jamesbaker1392 and Scott Pilgrim a parody of anime

[@KRAKEN948]

Man i wish this video was around when my friend kept saying baby driver was just a drive rip off despite not having seen baby driver yet (she eventually saw baby driver and really liked it tho, admitted it was a very different kind of movie)

[@jamesbaker1392]

Romeo Guia the director of baby driver literally said in an interview that it was a parody of drive. Just to put it in perspective as well, it's the same director who made Shaun of the dead (a parody of dawn of the dead) and hot fuzz (a parody of American cop movies). He literally is a parody director.

[@khif13]

I would watch the hell out of that Wes Anderson driver movie

[@Sinsosm]

Now you mention it, I understand why when reading the screenplay for "Drive" most of the dialogue had been cut in the final film. Or maybe that's a coincidence, I don't know. Great video essay, as always!

[@24FramesOfNick]

Amazing vid!!! I love how they all have drive in the title too

[@tappajavittu]

I'm so glad my friend introduced me to Le Samourai few years ago, it's easily one of my favorite films I've seen in last decade or so.

[@diplomaticosmusic]

Great essay! The first Bushido quote and the mention to Le Samourai made me realize the influence that this film had over Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog, one of my favorite movies of all time.

[@Pendragondnd]

The musical escapist makes me think of Shinji Ikari.

[@Rocknrolllife]

I’ve been a huge fan of Le Samourai for a long time. Glad to see it get recognition.

[@heinblod3485]

If you like Michael Mann, Refn etc but you're not sure if Melville is for you: He definitely is for you! I watched Le Samourai and Le Cercle Rouge and these two are insanely good and both didn't age one day. Thank you for the video, these films deserve more attention.

[@patrickhwillems]

LE CERCLE ROUGE IS SO GOOD

[@OfficialAvijitDas]

Possibly one of the best video essays ive heard, great audio, music and script with a great video too. Thanks Patrick!

[@dylanwatson9430]

You make a really good point by calling it a template. When watching drive after baby driver I could point out distinct similarities between the two. Yet, at no point did any of these similarities come off as plaigarism, but instead, different interpretations of a story.

[@URBONED]

I always saw the music in Drive as being non-diagetic. More of an emotional sound to set a tone to the scene and less that he was actually listening to it.

[@DangerousMuteLunatic]

This has been gnawing at me ever since I first watched it, and now I want to fuck around with my own version. A small-town one, with characters stuck in their ways and with strained connections, trying to control whatever they can.

[@danielpark3073]

Such a great critique. Rather than saying one is copying over the other, your observation is how they build on one another.

[@Redli697]

I had a weird bunch you would do a video essay like this. Keep up the great work!

[@sawlfo]

Best video you have done!! Great work!

[@ipwinston]

So glad you're bringing this underappreciated film into the spotlight! Also, thinking about it, this sounds like the first Transporter film too.

[@thetramp123]

I saw this pop up on my notifications and thought "this better have footage from The Driver."

[@patrickhwillems]

I got you

[@jackdonohue7893]

Same

[@chaosmark101]

Great video and Analysis!

[@jaredkunish]

Great video man!!

[@eduardogonzalez4832]

"Cronenberg's could be about the driver's body fused into the car" Patrick predicted the plot of Titane, 4 years before it came out. That's a chad move right there

[@flixdigital]

This is great. Thank you for creating this.

[@NicholasHalls]

Patrick -- this was a great video. Going to go back and look at the films you mentioned that influenced the newer two. Would love to see more 'film origin stories' videos from you too!

[@williamoldham7601]

Awesome video Keep it up

[@SmallBlogV8]

That scene in The Driver where he takes a Mercedes and dismantles the exterior without totalling the car itself is _legendary._

[@justincruz5720]

The ideas you suggested at the end sound so cool.

[@user-dh7qu1yj4h]

I saw your "The Private Eye" book, Such a good one!

[@cjroman3515]

thanks for this! For a long time I though I was the only one linking both movies

[@gabergabe223]

Tight piece. Thank you.

[@ergopooka]

Love The Driver. Thanks for the video

[@adambanas6365]

I believe the film Vanishing Point deserves to be in this conversation as well. It features a central lone character who drives a car across the US. And just like the examples stated, he doesn't say much, as he's more of a symbol than a real character. On the surface, he's attempting to outrun the law; metaphorically he's trying to outrun his past demons. There's themes of morality and freedom vs authority in society. This movie tends to end up on car guys' lists of "best car chase movies" but that's kinda underselling it. It's like saying only people who are into motorcycles should watch "Easy Rider." I'm not sure if this film was considered a B-movie when it came out in 1971, but despite that it made a decent go at elevating the genre. And if you just want the Cliff notes version of the film, you can watch Audioslave's excellent music video for the song "Show Me How To Live."

[@Lanooski]

This is how you package little-known tidbits for the movie-loving public. Well done sir. Le Samurai is a classic that more people need to see..as for me, I still gotta get to The Driver. I've known about it since Drive but still have yet to see it.

[@Alex_Huntly]

Well, that's two movies to add to my 'Must Watch' list - thanks, Patrick!

[@leobalma]

Awesome my guy

[@jaketaz2848]

Damn it Willems, I'm already way too busy and now I have to watch every movie that you mentioned because they look awesome.

[@vivixvignesh6483]

Love this!

[@theoptimisticmetalhead7787]

Loved your Blade II analysis. I don't know why I'm commenting that here instead of that video. But...here we are. I also like this video and I'm definitely gonna check out these other two movies. Thanks.

[@AndySomething]

It's 2am and I was half asleep listening to this and opened my eyes when you said 'del toro' and just about had a heart attack at the monster jump scare haha.

[@VAME88]

Just wanted to say, really enjoyed this essay! Had not heard of The Driver before and will definitely give it a watch, as well as more of your videos. We just posted a video called Drive Cars that you might get a kick out of. Keep em' coming!

[@acrossbarrier]

Always thought the look and feel of Drive(2011) had many similarities with Thief by Michael Mann also.

[@MarkyMatey]

The Driver is a classic, thank you for mentioning it.

[@theultimatebrason1645]

I literally just watched Drive. Great.

[@ThroughtheLensProductions]

I had a chance to see Le Samouri on 35mm at the Film forum a few months back! I love it along with the movies that you mentioned in this video.

[@p.pinchelette2909]

Great video. I need to watch le samouraï, and the driver now.

[@naoooo00]

Great video thank u

[@vincentknight27]

this is such a good essay. Specifically the part about Le Samourai. Thanks

[@tadecaylor]

so glad you mentioned le samourai, one of my favorites ever

[@Mr_-Heisenberg]

You have earned my respect. And a subscriber.

[@VidJuracic]

this was amazing!

[@Major_Winkee]

I dream of creating my own film in this vein. Amazing breakdown of the origin, now off to watch The Driver!

[@robertjacques6812]

Duuuude! Sweet video

[@bryanhofs1994]

Won't watch the whole video to avoid spoilers for The Driver, but thanks for the recomendation, love your video essays, keep up the good work!

[@drewpeacock9087]

There weren't any really but I can respect the spoiler caution

[@joeymartinez1866]

Thanks Patrick for the video! I've been hoping for an analysis on Baby Driver and Drive after watching the first in theaters and the latter a few weeks later at home. They're both great and it's hard to say one does something better than the other because they both exceed at everything, just a bit different. You can say Drive has better visuals with neo-noir, before realizing Baby Driver does great with a colorful interpretation of crime. Or Baby Driver has better jazzy music, before remembering Drive's pop soundtrack. It all comes down to tone: Baby Driver is fun and full of fast-paced action, while Drive is dark and gritty.

[@spinakker14]

I've been planning to watch le samourai for ages, I guess I finally have to now!

[@lilychu8912]

Ok, so I'm late to this video but it covers 3 films I really like and didn't even see the connection among. So thanks for that! Drive has a great soundtrack and Le Samourai made me go through Alain Delon's repertoire (including Purple Noon, Le Cercle Rouge, etc.).

[@JoshuaGoudreau]

I watched Baby Driver yesterday and Drive today because I'm writing a book that includes this kind of character archetype. I wrote on Letterboxd that the director of Drive clearly went to the Michael Mann school of filmmaking and it is totally the kind of movie I would make if I had the resources.

[@ram3n_no0dle]

Thank you for this.

[@alejoparedes2388]

I started watching this video and Pat started talking about "The Driver", a film I haven't seen. So I went and saw it (it is really great) and came back to finish the video. And then Patrick started talking about "Le Samurai", which I also haven't seen. Be right back...

[@micah4029]

I saw Drive in theaters when it first came out and again 2 months ago at a showing in a local movie theater. I saw Baby Driver in theaters. I loved both and now I have tasked myself with watching The Driver (and possibly Le Samourai).

[@alexandrupatru2892]

I went down this rabbit hole since I saw Le Samourai. Ghost Dog, Ronin, Collateral and In Coldblooded could be added to this video's list. Lots more, actually. Le Samourai should have its own genre by now, it spanned across the decades and has been reinvented so naturally, it's a marvel to experience its history. It's like a silent assassin soul that travels through new characters in every new movie.

[@jgsouza12]

Patrick you should whatch the Wheelman. It's simpler, more straightfoward, not flashy or anyhting like that. But it does encompasses the spirit of the genre.

[@sirpizo555]

Baby Driver and Drive are both in my top 10 films list

[@RandomSkyeRoses]

I made an original story and character based on the 2 films

[@twiggy120]

Thanks for this video. I had not heard of the Le Samourai so I looked into it and found I had not heard of Jean-Pierre Melville. I looked into him and he sounds like a director every film person should know and I feel bad for not knowing him. Going to fix it this weekend. x

[@naaben6533]

I just watched Baby Driver like an hour ago... nice timing

[@ichtozavuzovsky8370]

The Transporter with Jason Statham has a similar Idea and a different twist as well.

[@marathonman2050]

Since Wes Anderson has the idea of making driver-related heist film I do hope Edgar Wright and Wes Anderson can collaborate for making heist action comedy Edgar Wright is good at directing action scene and montage scene in style On the other hand, Wes Anderson is good at storytelling and crafting a character with quirky personality They can make quite a good team

[@vgoncalves1985]

I love you, man.

[@remtromol]

wes anderson movie's probably gonna have symmetrical cinematography, father and son, someone smoking cigarettes, and having the title written down in a scene.

[@RoninYorch]

Now I really want to watch the Cronenberg pitch

[@bleunt]

Awesome info! Gonna check it out as Drive is on my top 10. Though you should call Gosling's character "Kid". So Baby and Kid.

[@martinarreola64]

well done

[@Rodrigo-rx4zr]

Do something with the Hellboy movies! Great channel man!

[@Ortex313]

You should have a whole episode of you and friends taking frameworks and directors and throwing out hypothetical ideas; just like what you did at the end of this video.

[@Roiben100]

They are all also very formalistic. Its interesting how the minimalistic formalism in Drive is turned on its head in Neon Demon where he just goes nuts with it. I must confess, Neon Demon is the better movie for me.

[@Roiben100]

Imagine Tarantino taking a sping. Man one thing I cant imagine is Jarmusch taking a spin at this.

[@patrickhwillems]

Jarmusch kinda did. Ghost Dog is a spin on Le Samourai.

[@Roiben100]

Well Im gonna have to wach it than. Thank you. Wonder what it will amount to.

[@tatehildyard5332]

Neon Demon is actually a big guilty pleasure for me. It was billed as a cerebral psychological horror film and I'm pretty sure Refn thinks it's one but it's not. It's a fun, sleazy, stylish, stupid, sexploitation flick. Everyone went in thinking they were getting Black Swan but instead, they got Blood and Black Lace and what's wrong with that?

[@Mr11thDoctor]

Glad to see The Driver getting the appreciation it deserves, particularly in the past year. Walter Hill is one of the great unsung action directors, and that film is his icy masterpiece.

[@patrickhwillems]

I gotta do a Streets of Fire video one of these days

[@Mr11thDoctor]

Oh, don't tempt me like that!

[@NoahMulder]

I snagged the Le Samourai Criterion DVD a month or two ago. Such a great film.

[@synthgrimss]

I'm so glad you didn't mention thief. Thief is constantly and consistently compared to drive and it drives me nuts. I couldn't believe how disappointed I was when I watched thief and realized it was nothing like drive. I was promised and told it was the same silent character who just does his gig. I was lied to and it almost cost my impression of that phenomenal film. I almost hated. But I found that it was different and beautiful in a good way, however I'm still pissed that I spent 2 hours on a film that I never had any interest in prior

[@WillDaRosa]

Flawless.

[@akshayneha]

Drive and Baby Driver, so similar yet so different

[@geekhut6296]

I heard of The Driver a little while ago and the plot seemed similar to Drive and Baby Driver, but different enough where watching it wasn't my main priority. Now I need to watch this film.

[@e93gsx]

I am aware of The Driver movie. I have it downloaded just haven't made the time to see it. Think I will have to watch it now.

[@zackhoerster7806]

GOD DAMMIT I WANT THAT WES ANDERSON MOVIE NOW!!! That sounds fucking sick

[@DaveTh3Ninja]

In Guillermo Del Toro's version, the Car is a monster and also the driver... like Transformers but with fun gross body horror. Man, I would watch that movie.

[@Adumb_]

I need that Wes Anderson movie about a driver. And I need it now.

[@MeganABarns]

YES!