DVD Movie Rating for: Cape Fear

4 out of 5

Movie Plot of: Cape Fear

Sam Bowden is a small-town corporate attorney/"Leave It to Beaver"-esque family-man. Max Cady is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, bible-quoting, psychotic rapist. What do they have in common? Fourteen years, ago Sam was a public defender assigned to Max Cady's rape trial, and he made a serious error: he hid a document from his illiterate client that could have gotten him acquitted. Now, the cagey, bibliophile Cady has been released, and he intends to teach Sam Bowden and his family a thing or two about loss.

Max Cady is a psychopath just released from prison for rape. He is out seeking revenge from his lawyer Sam Bowden who he believes deliberately held back important information about his case during the trial, which could have kept him out of jail. He sets off to terrorise Bowden, his wife and even goes after their 15 year old daughter.

DVD Production Details of: Cape Fear

Starring: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte

Director: Martin Scorsese

Format: Color, Closed-captioned, DTS Surround Sound, Widescreen

Studio: Universal Studios

DVD Release Date: September 18, 2001
DVD Features:
Making Of

Deleted Footage

Interviews with Martin Scorcese, Robert DeNiro, Jessica Lange and Nick Nolte

Script-to-screen

Widescreen anamorphic format

Cast of the movie: Cape Fear

• Robert De Niro .... Max Cady
• Nick Nolte .... Sam Bowden
• Jessica Lange .... Leigh Bowden
• Juliette Lewis .... Danielle Bowden
• Joe Don Baker .... Claude Kersek
• Robert Mitchum .... Lieutenant Elgart
• Gregory Peck .... Lee Heller
• Martin Balsam .... Judge
• Illeana Douglas .... Lori Davis
• Fred Dalton Thompson .... Tom Broadbent
• Zully Montero .... Ms. Graciella
• Craig Henne .... Prisoner
• Forest Burton .... Prisoner
• Edgar Allan Poe IV .... Prisoner
• Rod Ball .... Prisoner

Photo Gallery of the movie: Cape Fear

Click on one of the thumbnails to see the full size, high resolution photographs

Cape Fear

Reviews of the movie: Cape Fear

Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake of J. Lee Thompson's 1962 thriller dabbles a bit in some fascinating psychological crosscurrents between its characters, but it finally trades in all that rich material for extensive and gratuitous violence. Robert De Niro plays a serial rapist released from prison after 14 years. Angry because his appalled attorney (Nick Nolte) made it easy for him to be convicted, this monster is out to hurt Nolte's character through his wife (Jessica Lange) and daughter (Juliette Lewis). The themes of interlocking guilt and anger between these people suggests a smart film in the making. But the final act, set on a boat with De Niro's vengeful pervert attacking Nolte and the two women, takes a more unfortunate direction. Stick with the original (which starred Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck, each of whom make a cameo appearance in this film)

Under-achieving remake of the original from 1962 has lawyer Nick Nolte and family (Jessica Lange and Oscar-nominee Juliette Lewis) terrorized by recently released rapist and psychopath Robert DeNiro (in his latest Oscar-nominated performance). Scorsese has his own twisted brand of humor and horror to the story, but he also goes for so many elements that were prevalent in the original version. This makes the film feel artificial and cameos abound by actors from the first take (Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Martin Balsam) are more distracting than anything else. All in all the film just does not work. De Niro is way too over-the-top to be really scary and Lewis' Oscar nod is one of the strangest decisions the Academy has made over the past few years. 2.5 out of 5 stars.