The Key to Reserva (2007)

I love this movie so much

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

A Disappointing Continuation

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

This sounds like a dream come true, doesn't it? Unfortunately, the outcome is pretty much the worst possible outcome for this encounter of directing legends. The only good thing about it were the scenes in the concert hall that really resembled Hitchcock's style. Everything else in this 9-minute short film from 8 years ago is pretty forgettable though, such as the Scorsese interviews. The worst, however, is the way that Freixenet was included and we get reminded that this is actually an advertisement spot. Pretty bad. I like Michael Stuhlbarg as an actor and he is probably the most famous cast member here. Sadly, his role was truly insignificant and he also had no audible dialog just like everybody else apart from Scorsese pretty much. Disappointing effort here. Not recommended.

Key to Reserva, The (2007) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Nine-minute short from Scorsese has him playing himself as he uncovers three and a half pages of an unfinished Alfred Hitchcock screenplay. Not much was known of this project but for fun Scorsese decided to film those pages and try to keep it as close to what Hitchcock would have done had he been directing it himself. If you're a fan of Scorsese or Hitchcock then this is a must see even though it's nothing more than an eventual product placement. It was great fun seeing Scorsese return to the short film because he certainly delivered the goods with not only his performance but his stab at directing like Hitchcock for those three and a half pages. The opening sequence, a homage to North by Northwest were just great as was the ending, which I won't spoil but it too is a homage to one of Hitch's most famous movies. Rear Window and Vertigo are also mentioned as is a joke about the lost portions of Greed. This film certainly isn't meant to be anything serious but it is a lot of fun for fans of the director.

Martin Scorsese goes to lengths at the start of The Key to Reserva to present it like it's buried treasure he's discovered; his enthusiasm seems genuine, even funny (i.e. when he goes on about if Hitchcock were alive he'd direct it, but he's not, so...) and then he presents what he's directed- missing pages from a few pages of script that were never shot by Hitchcock. But as the film unfolds, which seems like the greatest homage, as opposed to a real abandoned script, to the master of suspense ever made, there's the eerie feeling it is just that. I loved seeing Scorsese go into a kind of master's class demonstration of how to emphasize all of the obsessions, which were highlighted in the screenplay... And yet, it also seemed a little fishy. It wasn't until later on that a friend, who also saw the short, told me it was fake. Curses! And the birds at the end too were part of the gimmick I bet! All kidding aside, it's a splendid tribute to Hitch, with a dastardly sense of timing with the scene at the opera, a strange amalgamation of the tensest of Hitchcock's grab bag calling to the likes of Sabateur (ironically, or just oddly enough, twenty years ago Dario Argento, a disciple of Hitchcockian suspense to a very-much Italian horror degree, had a sequence almost just like this one in his film Opera). Simon Baker plays the killer, and there's a timing to his movements that suggests something like perfect clockwork, a kind of divine madness that comes more out of technique then in storytelling. Then again, it's the story itself, however short, that brings it out as such. In the end it's all a big goof by Scorsese played on the audience, but a brilliant one, and he puts himself in the background knowing of his own persona in the process. Matter of fact, that's the real key to reserva, if you'll forgive the not-quite pun: process is the way it goes, be it timing a murder to an orchestration, or a dolly shot or crane move to just the right pitch. And, of course, always with a knowing grin as with the master's best work... which reminds me, you'd never know it, but it's a wine commercial!

"The Key to Reserva" is the most innovative piece of film-making I have seen for a long time. It was recommended to me by a fellow Hitchcock enthusiast but actually seeing it really blew me away. The plot was so unexpected and the execution by Scorsese, a master of cinema, was flawless. The moment I reached for my phone to tell my buddies about this masterpiece it started ringing anyway with my pals also wanting to spread the news! But now we all have the same question for Martin Scorsese: 'Will you please finish writing and shooting the film?' Yes, yes I know you can't emulate that other master, Alfred Hitchcock, but 'The Key to Reserva' can take on a life and indeed style. of its own with barely a backwards nod. This can be a winner in the right hands and Scorsese has shown that he has the magic touch and is just the man to do it. So, Sir, please take us out of our agony and say you will. From Tim Costello, Ireland.