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Martin Scorsese directs Freixenet advert
December 5, 2007
 Oliver Styles
Acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese has produced a 10-minute television advert for Cava producer Freixenet.
The advert, which purports to use a lost Alfred Hitchock scene and uses many of the legendary director's cinematic styles, is currently showing on television and in cinemas throughout Spain.
The short film, entitled The Key to Reserva, shows a man carrying a briefcase entering a box in New York's Carnegie Hall. To the backdrop of the orchestral score of Hitchcock's North by Northwest, the man unscrews a lightbulb containing a key to the briefcase. A sinister violinist is sent to foil his attempts but falls to his death following a struggle.
The briefcase is opened to reveal a bottle of Freixenet Cava rosé.
The advert contains numerous references to the legendary director with camera angles and objects mimicking many famous Hitchcock films.
In several shots, the protagonist's handkerchief displays the monogram 'ROT', a nod to Cary Grant's character Roger O Thornhill in North by Northwest. The red wash following the flash of a camera is also a direct homage to Rear Window.
Scorsese, who directed such films as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas, is no stranger to directing adverts, having previously worked with American Express.
Although heavily edited versions of the advert are currently being shown in Spain, Freixenet is planning to roll it out to the US in 2008.
Natalia Celemin of Freixenet UK told decanter.com the Spanish company was also planning to screen it in the UK but not before the new year.
The full film can be viewed online here.
Have your say...
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 Now if Martin had directed a ten minute spot about the struggles of the small Cava producer represented by the Pimecava organisation, using footage from say, Salavador Dali's Un chien andalou, that WOULD be news.
C Wells
What with your other news alert announcing a 10% rise in Champagne for 2008, it could be a choice moment to start promoting Cava, which, when measured pound for pound, offers far more value for money.
Nick Breeze
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 won't want to emulate that other master, Alfred Hitchcock, but 'The Key to Reserva' can take on a life, and indeed the Scorsese 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. Tim Costello, Ireland.
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