American Gigolo with Richard Gere 1980

American Gigolo 1980 Mercedes-Benz 450SL
Perhaps the most iconic and memorable example of a Mercedes-Benz being showcased in a movie, appeared in 1980, when Richard Gere drove his black on black on black 450SL (R107), which appeared throughout the opening scenes, which Blondie singing "Call Me". Talk about Deja vu, and you can watch and listen for yourself in the video below.

What The American Gigolo Mercedes SL Model Looks Like Today

Just for frame of reference, I was thinking what the modern version of Richard Gere's Mercedes-Benz SL would look like today, and it would be the 500SL (R231). This model has matte black paint, and is a great looking car!

You know who I am. I know who you are.
In 2010, director, Guy Ritchie directed a very cool and long commercial for Dior Homme that starred Jude Law, and it was loosely based upon American Gigolo.

The opening first two lines in the Jude Law video commercial (above) are from American Gigolo, when Jude Law says:
 "You know who I am. I know who you are." 
Also, Jude Law drives a black Mercedes-Benz 190SL, and Richard Gere drives a black Mercedes-Benz 450SL. 
If you click on the American Gigolo trailer below you will hear Richard Gere's voice saying the opening lines of:
 "You know who I am. I know who you are." 

These lines are only in the trailer, and not in the movie, and ironically, they are the same opening lines from Guy Ritchie's Dior Homme video, as seen above. What is the correlation? Hmmmmnn!?!?

The fact the opening lines from the trailer are not in the movie made me curious, so I investigated and discovered the opening scene in the original movie scripts, which was written by Paul Schrader begins differently with:

INT. COCKTAIL LOUNGE -- NIGHT FADE IN:  

Pre-credits. We only see his face, speaking through the shadows. He brushes his index finger lightly across his lips as he speaks. He knows: his lips are his most sexual organ. 

JULIAN 

You know who I am. I know who you are. We have no secrets. I know what you're thinking. You know what I'm thinking. We have our own methods of communication. You don't have to say anything. I can read your thoughts. I know what you need. You're afraid. You're afraid of your husband. You're afraid of yourself. You're afraid of your own sexuality. You're afraid to ask for what you need. You're afraid of being hurt.  

Julian sits in a dimly lit booth with a middle-aged woman. His eyes are only on her. His crème brûlée is untouched. The woman nervously sips her coffee as he spins his web. 

There's no reason to be afraid. I don't know why you're afraid. I don't even know why we're sitting here. Why we're wasting time eating things we don't want to eat, doing things we don't want to do, talking in front of people who don't matter. It's so simple. You know who I am. You want to be here. You want to be with me. You know what I can do. I can make you relax, relax like you've never relaxed before. Make you aroused like you've never been aroused before. Excited. I know how to touch you. Where to touch you. How to kiss you. Where to kiss you . . . 

CUT TO: 

End pre-credits. 

The final American Gigolo movie omitted the above scene completely. Instead it began with the opening credits, which is interesting. Perhaps the editors thought it was better without it. Hmmmn?!?!? When I was doing research, I ran into a fascinating article that goes into depth on analyzing American Gigolo while offering different reviewers opinions of the movie from when it was originally released in 1980.

1980 Mercedes-Benz 450SL Ad

The following Mercedes-Benz 450SL ad is from 1980, and it offers a fascinating context for understanding Mercedes-Benz's perspective on the value proposition at the time.