National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Universal Pictures released The Fast and the Furious in June 2001, directed by Rob Cohen and produced under Neal Moritz's Original Film banner. Drawing from a 1998 Vibe magazine article about street racing culture, the film launched one of cinema's most enduring franchises. Shot on 35mm, it captured a particular early-2000s Los Angeles energy that subsequent entries would chase but rarely replicate.

This three-frame strip preserves the moment titled Brian and Mia Kiss, depicting Brian O'Conner and Mia Toretto in a warm interior setting that anchors much of the film's quieter emotional register. Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster share the frame across three consecutive exposures from a continuous shot, offering a rare still record of a scene that defines the human center of the story.