The Key 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Key 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 18, 2026

Tinto Brass' "The Key" (1983) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epics. The supplemental features on the release include new program with actor Franco Branciaroli; archival program with Tinto Brass; new program with music critics Pier Paolo De Sanctis and Claudio Fulano; new audio commentary by critics Eugenio Ercolani and Marcus Stiglegger; archival promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The wife

It is not necessary to dig deep to find plenty of older articles where supposedly esteemed critics casually label Tinto Brass a pornographer, in America and on the other side of the Atlantic. It takes even less effort to discover that the same critics do not know much about Brass and his work.

Brass collaborated with some of the greatest European actors of the post-war era. In 1964, Brass directed Alberto Sordi, Monica Vitti, Silvana Mangano, and Eleonora Rossi Drago in The Flying Saucer. In 1966, Brass directed Adolfo Ceil and the terrific French character actor Philippe Leroy in Yanke. In 1970, Brass directed Franco Nero in Dropout. In 1976, in arguably his most scandalous film, Salon Kitty, which earned him all sorts of new silly labels, Brass directed Helmut Berger and interacted with production designer Ken Adam, who had just finished working with Stanley Kubrick on Barry Lyndon and, mere months later, won an Oscar statuette. In the early 1980s, Brass directed two of the most beautiful Italian actresses of the last century, Stefania Sandrelli and Serena Grandi, in The Key and Miranda, respectively. In 1991, Brass directed Debora Caprioglio in Paprika. And in 2002, Brass also directed the gorgeous Anna Galiena in Black Angel and Private.

In the film that did the most to transform him into a huge target, Caligula, Brass had before his camera Malcolm McDowell, Peter O’Toole, Helen Mirren, John Gielgud, and Adriana Asti. Production designer Danilo Donati, who collaborated with Federico Fellini on several of his greatest films, worked on Caligula as well.

How does this happen? How does a pornographer work with all of these enormously talented people, decade after decade, and they keep missing the obvious? How are they not protecting their reputations and careers by instantly avoiding Brass?

A date with The Key, which is not Brass’ masterpiece, can be enormously helpful in understanding how.

Brass was like Fellini, a satirist with a wonderful sense of humor, who loved showing most of what Fellini’s films only suggested. Brass, like Fellini, genuinely loved women, too. Some of Brass’ most fierce critics have argued that he only loved objectifying women, but this is not true. In Brass’ films, women always play characters whose sensuality and style are unique and, usually, their wit complements their beauty. Every single one of Brass’ films, even the cheaper ones he shot after 2000, utilizes lighting and color to enhance women’s sensuality and style. Brass demanded that, whenever possible, top designers dress the women in his films as well.

In The Key, a period tale for adults, an aging art critic (Frank Finlay) engages his younger wife (Sandrelli) in an unusual game that is supposed to rekindle their relationship. In a secret diary meant to be easily found, the art critic urges his wife to pursue her intimate desires and prepares to document her behavior with a portable camera. Soon after, the wife begins an affair with their daughter’s fiancé (Franco Branciaroli), while the art critic gradually rediscovers his passion for her.

The entire game is a somewhat predictable deconstruction of adult sexuality, constrained by typically Italian socio-cultural boundaries, which Brass quickly begins to erode with his famous sense of humor. As a result, the explicit material is, as always, hilarious and classy, rather than vulgar and ugly.

Brass' director of photography was Silvano Ippoliti, who lensed his best films, including his two most scandalous films, Salon Kitty and Caligula. The soundtrack was created by the great maestro Ennio Morricone.

Cult Epics’ combo pack release presents a new 4K restoration of The Key, which is also a reconstruction job. It combines footage from the English and Italian versions of the film.

The Key 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Cult Epics' release of The Key is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

Screencaptures #1-32 are taken from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #36-39 are taken from the 4K Blu-ray.

The release introduces a new 4K restoration of The Key on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray. In native 4K, the 4K restoration can be viewed with HDR, but not Dolby Vision. I viewed it in its entirety on 4K Blu-ray and in 1080p on the Blu-ray.

I have several releases of The Key in my library, DVD and Blu-ray, and I can categorically state that the combo pack has the most accurate, healthiest, and most attractive presentation of the film. While I do have a few small criticisms, I feel that the 4K restoration and its presentation finally do the film justice.

First, the entire film is properly framed, so the composition of several previously problematic sequences finally looks right. This said, I must immediately point out that the 4K restoration is also a reconstruction job -- it combines footage from the English and Italian versions of the film. Portions of this footage have lower resolution, with unmissable density fluctuations, but this is how it has been available in the past. In all other areas, delineation, clarity, and depth range from excellent to outstanding. Color reproduction and balance are very convincing. Only primary blue is slightly underwhelming in a few places, but I do not consider this inconsistency a troubling issue. All other primaries and supporting nuances are properly set and balanced, ensuring that the entire film has a convincing period appearance. I would describe the HDR grade as effective. However, the main reason the 4K restoration looks as convincing as it does is the initial proper color balance, which is equally great in native 4K and 1080p on the Blu-ray. Most footage featuring primary red tends to look lusher in native 4K. Image stability is outstanding. I did not encounter any traces of problematic digital corrections. The entire film looks spotless as well.

The Key 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided, but only for the exchanges in Italian.

The 4K restoration is a reconstruction job that combines footage from the English and Italian versions of the film. I would have preferred to have the English and Italian versions presented individually, but this option is still fine. On the other hand, English subtitles should have been made available for the exchanges in English as well. The lossless track is healthy, but expect to encounter unevenness, which is very common on English tracks prepared for Tinto Brass' films.

The Key 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this new audio commentary was recorded by critics Eugenio Ercolani and Marcus Stiglegger.

• Tinto Brass Trailers - presented here are trailers for the following films:
  
  1. The Key
  2. Cheeky!
  3. Frivolous Lola
  4. All Ladies Do It

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this new audio commentary was recorded by critics Eugenio Ercolani and Marcus Stiglegger.

• Tinto's Talisman - in this new program, Franco Branciaroli, who plays the young man Stefania Sandrelli has an affair with, discusses his career and recalls his involvement with The Key. Branciaroli also comments on Tinto Brass' working methods and explains how his sense of humor was reflected through his work. In Italian, with English subtitles. (39 min).

• Keyhole Venice - this new program visits some locations in Venice that are featured in The Key. With English text andmusic. (8 min).

• Sensuous Morricone - in this new program, music critics Pier Paolo De Sanctis and Claudio Fulano discuss Ennio Morricone's career and the soundtrack he created for The Key. In Italian, with English subtitles. (29 min).

• Soundtrack - presented here is Ennio Morricone's entire soundtrack for The Key. (33 min).

• Tinto Brass - in this archival program, Tinto Brass reveals how The Key came to exist and discusses his style, identity, and sense of humor. In English, not subtitled. (17 min).

• Outtakes - presented here are several outtakes with footage from Venice. Music only. (11 min).

• Gallery One - a gallery with original promotional materials for The Key.

• Gallery Two - a gallery with stills from different Tinto Brass films.

• Tinto Brass Trailers - presented here are trailers for the following films:
  
  1. The Key
  2. Cheeky!
  3. Frivolous Lola
  4. All Ladies Do It

ADDITIONAL CONTENT

• Booklet - a 20-Page illustrated Booklet featuring an essay by critic Eugenio Ercolani, as well as technical credits.

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage Italian poster art for The Key.

The Key 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tinto Brass and Federico Fellini genuinely loved women and shot them in very similar ways, and I am unsure how so many people miss this obvious connection between the two. Brass was not as brilliant as Fellini, but his sense of humor and relentless desire to satirize the cultured adult mind are practically identical to Fellini's, which is why plenty of material from their films looks indistinguishable. This upcoming combo pack presents a lovely exclusive new 4K restoration of The Key with a fine selection of new and archival bonus features. A separate Blu-ray release streets on the same date. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.