{"id":29417,"date":"2026-04-27T12:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T19:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=29417"},"modified":"2026-04-27T12:53:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T19:53:02","slug":"review-key-4k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2026\/04\/review-key-4k\/","title":{"rendered":"The Key 4K Ultra HD Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Key<\/em><\/strong> is another erotic drama from Tinto Brass and while it might not have the strongest story, it is a classy looking movie at the very least and although this isn\u2019t my favorite type of film, I can appreciate the passion that went into it.<\/p>\n

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The Key<\/span>
\n(1983)<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Drama<\/span>
\nCult Epics | NR \u2013 111 min. \u2013 $49.95 | March 24, 2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 04\/27\/2026 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n<\/strong>I may earn a commission when purchasing through the links below and appreciate your support!<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Directed by: <\/strong>Tinto Brass
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Jun’ichir\u00f4 Tanizaki (novel \u2018Kagi\u2019); Tinto Brass (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Frank Finlay, Stefania Sandrelli, Franco Branciaroli<\/span><\/p>\n
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DISC INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Features: <\/strong>Commentary, Featurettes, \u00a0Interviews, Theatrical Trailers
\nSlip Cover: <\/strong>Yes
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>2<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio (4K\/BD): <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono)
\nVideo (4K): <\/strong>2160p\/Widescreen 1.85
\nVideo (BD): <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.85
\nDynamic Range: <\/strong>HDR10, Dolby Vision
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, French, Spanish
\nCodecs: <\/strong>HEVC \/ H.265 (4K), MPEG-4 AVC (BD)
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A, B, C<\/span><\/p>\n
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Cult Epics provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe opinions I share are my own.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 3\/5<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Plot synopsis: <\/strong>Art professor Nino (FRANK FINLAY) feels he can no longer satisfy his younger, passionate wife Teresa (STEFANIA SANDRELLI) the way she desires. He articulates his innermost thoughts and sexual fantasies in a diary, including the secret wish to see his daughter\u2019s fianc\u00e9e\u2019s Lazlo (FRANCO BRANCIAROLI) make love to Teresa. Nino leaves the key in a drawer, containing the diary, out for wife to find.<\/p>\n

Quick Hit Review: <\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>Tinto Brass certainly was a colorful character in the interviews I\u2019ve watched and his movies, which were erotic cinema, did look far better than the material demanded and while I\u2019m not an avid watcher of porn in general (doesn\u2019t do much for me), I can appreciate that Brass took an artistic eye. Outside of that, there\u2019s not a whole lot to admire as the actors go through their motions but obviously lack the acting ability being they are adult actors.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 4\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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This release comes with a matted slip cover<\/strong> and the inside artwork, which itself is different from the slip, is reversible. Inside is a 20-page illustrated booklet.<\/p>\n

Audio Commentary<\/u><\/strong> by Eugenio Ercolani and Marcus Stiglegger, both film historians on Tinto Brass talking about the project and its impact.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  • Tinto\u2019s Talisman (38:55)<\/u><\/strong> is a new and lengthy interview with actor Franco Branciaroli as he discusses the differences with cinema versus stage, and working with Brass.<\/li>\n
  • Sensuous Morricone (28:29)<\/u><\/strong> examines the score by the legendary composer by historians Pier Paolo De Sanctis and Claudio Fuiano<\/li>\n
  • Tinto Brass (16:52)<\/u><\/strong> is an archival interview with the filmmaker as he discusses The Key<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Keyhole Venice (7:34)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014This featurette takes a tour of the filming locations.<\/p>\n

    Score by Ennio Morricone (32:05)<\/u><\/strong> is a selection of his score for the movie played over a film still.<\/p>\n

    Outtakes Venice (10:14)<\/u><\/strong> is extra footage from the film of location shots in Venice.<\/p>\n

    Galleries<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • The Key <\/em>Poster Gallery<\/li>\n
    • Tinto Brass Photo Gallery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Tinto Brass Trailers<\/strong> include The Key<\/em>, Cheeky!<\/em>, Frivolous Lola<\/em> and All Ladies Do It<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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      4K ULTRA HD VIDEO \u2013 5\/5, BLU-RAY REVIEW \u2013 4\u00bd\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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      Cult Epics releases The Key<\/em><\/strong> onto 4K Ultra HD (and Blu-ray) which has been restored from the original negative. As a film released back in 1983 it is a great looking transfer. Detail is sharp and well defined throughout and colors show a good balance with the black levels which show no signs of artifacts or aliasing while the color is in keeping with the time and no apparent boost or oversaturation.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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      AUDIO \u2013 4\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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      The disc comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track which is more than suitable for a movie likes this. Dialogue is clear and the classy music comes through quite nicely especially for a movie going on 30 years and probably not the highest quality sound equipment.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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      OVERALL \u2014 3\u00bd\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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      The Key<\/em><\/strong> is another erotic drama from Tinto Brass and while it might not have the strongest story, it is a classy looking movie at the very least and although this isn\u2019t my favorite type of film, I can appreciate the passion that went into it. This 4K UHD release by Cult Epics features a fantast video and strong audio to go along with a good amount of bonus features.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The Key is another erotic drama from Tinto Brass and while it might not have the strongest story, it is a classy looking movie at the very least and although this isn\u2019t my favorite type of film, I can appreciate the passion that went into it.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4581],"tags":[3774],"class_list":["post-29417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-4k-uhd-reviews","tag-cult-epics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29417"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29419,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29417\/revisions\/29419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}