Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1990s
    Movies - 1990s Movies - C 2 Mins Read

    Cape Fear (1991)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Martin Scorsese’s surprising remake of the 1962 Cape Fear affords a masterly demonstration of his technical virtuosity but eschews the creepy realism of the original to play to contemporary taste for overwrought horror. The result is stylistically brilliant and harrowing.

    The basic plot remains the same: vengeful ex-con Max Cady (Robert De Niro) mounts a terror campaign against the lawyer (Nick Nolte) he blames for his 14-year imprisonment for rape, targeting the man’s graphic artist wife, Leigh (Jessica Lange) and nubile 15-year-old daughter, Danny (remarkable newcomer Juliette Lewis) at their rambling North Carolina home.

    At first, Cady operates within the bounds of the law, threatening the Bowden family with his presence alone – his overbearing physicality, loud Hawaiian shirts and those suggestive draws on his cigar are warning enough of the coming threat.

    denirocapefear

    But such restraint was never going to last, and the Cady-Bowden showdown becomes a destructive battle of wills, as the white-collar father struggles to fend off Cady’s relentless campaign of terror.

    J. Lee Thompson’s original film was simple good vs. bad, but Scorsese opts for more complex themes of guilt and sin, with a dysfunctional family playing into the con’s hands.

    De Niro’s tattooed wacko, in contrast to Robert Mitchum’s easy menace, goes spectacularly over the top en route to the finale. Scorsese unleashes a series of shocks that will leave you breathless but the performances and psychology are as mesmerising as they are repugnant.

    Nice touches are cameos from the original stars, Mitchum (as a cop) and Gregory Peck (as Cady’s new lawyer), and Bernard Hermann’s memorable score, rearranged by Elmer Bernstein.

    Max Cady
    Robert De Niro
    Sam Bowden
    Nick Nolte
    Leigh Bowden
    Jessica Lange
    Danielle Bowden
    Juliette Lewis
    Claude Kersek
    Joe Don Baker
    Lieutenant Elgart
    Robert Mitchum
    Lee Heller
    Gregory Peck
    Judge
    Martin Balsam
    Lori Davis
    Illeana Douglas
    Tom Broadbent
    Fred Dalton Thompson
    Graciella
    Zully Montero

    Director
    Martin Scorsese

    Video

    Related Posts

    • From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
      From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
      A year after Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez each helmed…
    • Analyze This (1999)
      Analyze This (1999)
      Robert De Niro gives one of his best comedy performances…
    • Casino (1995)
      Casino (1995)
      This masterpiece from Martin Scorsese opens with the mob pushing…
    • This Boy's Life (1993)
      This Boy's Life (1993)
      This poignant adaptation of a Tobias Wolff memoir takes a…
    • Se7en (1995)
      Se7en (1995)
      Director David Fincher's brilliant postmodern crime thriller is a grim…
    • Creepshow (1982)
      Creepshow (1982)
      Night of the Living Dead (1968) director George A Romero and…
    • Backdraft (1991)
      Backdraft (1991)
      Conceived as an expensive look at the lives of firefighters,…
    • Ed Wood (1994)
      Ed Wood (1994)
      Tim Burton's Ed Wood, starring Johnny Depp as Wood, brilliantly reconstructs…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleRacing Game, The
    Next Article Kronos (1957)

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Innerspace (1987)
      Comedy about hotshot airforce pilot Tuck Pendelton (Dennis […]
    • State Of Emergency
      1 9 7 5 (UK) 3 x 50 minute episodes Debuting on 4 December 1975, […]
    • Idi Amin
      Born in 1925, Idi Amin became an Army officer in Uganda, trained […]
    • Sandy Becker Show, The
      1 9 5 3 – 1 9 6 8 (USA) One of the most beloved kids show […]
    • Some Kind Of Wonderful (1987)
      For young people hitting adolescence between 1984 and 1987, John […]
    • Chicago
      The band originally played across the USA as Chicago Transit […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.