Cape Fear starts as psycho Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is released from prison after serving fourteen years for sexual battery, while inside Max studied the law & found out that his defense lawyer Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) withheld critical evidence which might have cleared him. Unhappy at losing fourteen years of his life unnecessarily Max sets out to get even, he rapes one of Sam's co-workers, he harasses him at every opportunity yet remains within the confines of the law & Max threatens Sam's family including poisoning their dog. Sam has nowhere left to turn, the police can't do anything & he fears for his own & his family's lives...
Directed by Martin Scorsese this is a remake of the original Cape Fear (1962) & while I admit I have never seen the original I thought this was a decent enough film. The script by Wesley Strick was based on the novel 'The Executioners' by John D. MacDonald & is a psychological thriller that is maybe a touch long at over two hours but entertains, has a good solid story, good character's & an edgy feel to it throughout. A lot of the film is spent showing how clever Cady is, how he can use the limits of the law to harass & threaten the Bowden family knowing the law can't touch him, it tires to point out the inadequacies of the law & that intent isn't taken into consideration. Then it tries to say that taking the law into your own hands is the only option, which of course it isn't but you can't really blame the Bowden's. Then the climax is a big Hollywood action set-piece on a boat that is out of control during a fierce storm. The film works well enough, it comes together nicely, the character's & dialogue are fine & it's reasonably logical. A good if unspectacular thriller that probably goes on for twenty odd minutes too long.
Apparently Steven Spielberg was set to direct this but never & ended up as an executive producer on it. The film looks nice enough, there are lots of close-ups & some strange camera angles which give the film a bit of style. The violence isn't too graphic, there's some fights, a rape where Cady bites a chunk out of his victims cheek & there's some blood splatter as well. Director Scorsese apparently wanted Harrison Ford to play Bowden but I guess he didn't want to do it while the likes of Drew Barrymore & Reese Witherspoon both auditioned for the role of Danielle.
With a supposed budget of about $35,000,000 this has good production values although some of the model shots of the boat at the end aren't that impressive. The acting is good, Robert De Niro is just watchable no matter what he is in while Nolte puts in a good performance too. Three cast members who appeared in the 1962 original, Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum & Martin Balsam all have small roles in this remake.
Cape Fear is a good solid psycho thriller remake that maybe goes on for a bit too long & outstays it's welcome but is worth watching all the same.
Directed by Martin Scorsese this is a remake of the original Cape Fear (1962) & while I admit I have never seen the original I thought this was a decent enough film. The script by Wesley Strick was based on the novel 'The Executioners' by John D. MacDonald & is a psychological thriller that is maybe a touch long at over two hours but entertains, has a good solid story, good character's & an edgy feel to it throughout. A lot of the film is spent showing how clever Cady is, how he can use the limits of the law to harass & threaten the Bowden family knowing the law can't touch him, it tires to point out the inadequacies of the law & that intent isn't taken into consideration. Then it tries to say that taking the law into your own hands is the only option, which of course it isn't but you can't really blame the Bowden's. Then the climax is a big Hollywood action set-piece on a boat that is out of control during a fierce storm. The film works well enough, it comes together nicely, the character's & dialogue are fine & it's reasonably logical. A good if unspectacular thriller that probably goes on for twenty odd minutes too long.
Apparently Steven Spielberg was set to direct this but never & ended up as an executive producer on it. The film looks nice enough, there are lots of close-ups & some strange camera angles which give the film a bit of style. The violence isn't too graphic, there's some fights, a rape where Cady bites a chunk out of his victims cheek & there's some blood splatter as well. Director Scorsese apparently wanted Harrison Ford to play Bowden but I guess he didn't want to do it while the likes of Drew Barrymore & Reese Witherspoon both auditioned for the role of Danielle.
With a supposed budget of about $35,000,000 this has good production values although some of the model shots of the boat at the end aren't that impressive. The acting is good, Robert De Niro is just watchable no matter what he is in while Nolte puts in a good performance too. Three cast members who appeared in the 1962 original, Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum & Martin Balsam all have small roles in this remake.
Cape Fear is a good solid psycho thriller remake that maybe goes on for a bit too long & outstays it's welcome but is worth watching all the same.