Scorsese does Hitchcock
July 2, 2009 10:02 am Internet, mystery/thrillerMartin Scorsese uncovers a lost treasure by the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock
It should come as no surprise that Martin Scorsese, the director of “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull” and other American classics, is a big Alfred Hitchcock fan.
After all, Scorsese thrives on suspense and dramatic tension. He’s mirrored many of Hitchcock’s more familiar visual styles. And he loves appearing in offbeat cameos — just like Hitchcock, whose portly, tweed-clad frame and beak-nosed profile crop in every one of his masterful films.
In the above video, Scorsese uncovers three pages of a long-lost Hitchcock script, “The Key to Reserva.” Being Scorsese, he decides to make the missing movie.
The result, a brief thriller set during a classical music concert, is simply spectacular.
“The Key to Reserva” looks and feels right — from Simon Baker’s crisp suit to cunning camera work that takes viewers from the orchestra to the audience to the box seat balcony.
Of course, the film owes a lot of “North By Northwest” — from the iconic credits to the cliff-hanging suspense to Bernard Hermann’s thrilling score. There are also clever nods to “Vertigo,” “To Catch a Thief” and “The Birds,” including a final parting shot that will leave you chuckling.
The fact that the short film is a cleverly disguised ad for Freixenet, a Spanish sparkling wine manufacturer, makes the joke all the better.
For more on the connection between Scorsese and Hitchcock, check out the 2008 television documentaries “In the Master’s Shadow: Hitchcock’s Legacy” and “Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock’s Maestro.” (Marty previously talked about Herrmann’s music in a 1992 film.)
Scorsese is also mentioned in the “special thanks” section for “Vertigo,” having been instrumental in the 1996 restoration of the 1958 film.
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Thanks to Chris for the tip, via GeekTyrant.com.
The Man from Moqui :
Date: July 3, 2009 @ 10:34 am
I thought that “North by Northwest” had a Central Coast connection. I remember reading that Hitchcock had driven through the area on his way to somewhere else when he happened across the area where the famous crop dusting scene occurs. I was wrong. In the film the Cary Grant character gets off at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere. A nearby sign says Highway 41. (The intersection of Highways 41 and 46 — actually 466 — was the scene of the real-life fatal crash of James Dean in 1955.) But it turns out the famous scene was filmed east of San Luis Obispo County in Kern County near Bakersfield (Garces Highway and Corcoran Road). http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/21522/
Alan Smithee :
Date: July 4, 2009 @ 8:03 am
Fun! That pullback from the violin was very impressive — I wonder how that was done.
Scorsese also remade “Taxi Driver”, but with a slightly lower budget:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/651f1da5da/taxi-driver-parody-from-clasico-entertainment