7.3/10
172,115
341 user 134 critic

Cape Fear (1991)

Trailer
2:34 | Trailer
A convicted rapist, released from prison after serving a fourteen-year sentence, stalks the family of the lawyer who originally defended him.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

John D. MacDonald (novel), James R. Webb (earlier screenplay) | 1 more credit »
Reviews
Popularity
844 ( 159)
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 19 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Thompson ... Tom Broadbent (as Fred Dalton Thompson)
Zully Montero Zully Montero ... Graciella
Craig Henne Craig Henne ... Prisoner
Forest Burton Forest Burton ... Prisoner
Edgar Allan Poe IV Edgar Allan Poe IV ... Prisoner
Rod Ball ... Prisoner
Edit

Storyline

Imprisoned for brutally assaulting a young girl, Max Cady spends his time in jail wisely - reading literature, sculpting his body to perfection and planning his violent revenge on the defence lawyer who put him behind bars. After serving his fourteen year sentence, Cady is released from prison and his rampage begins. Written by BecksyKane

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Sam Bowden has always provided for his family's future. But the past is coming back to haunt them. See more »

Genres:

Crime | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, and for language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Features Juliette Lewis's only Oscar-nominated performance. See more »

Goofs

Sam orders the "hospital job" against Max Cady in the hope that Cady will leave the Bowden family alone afterwards. During the actual attack, Cady takes eighteen repeated heavy blows with metal pipes all over his body and then stands up to fight back, a complete impossibility. Max Cady would have been dead. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Danielle: My reminiscence. I always thought that for such a lovely river the name is mystifying: "Cape Fear". When the only thing to fear on those enchanted summer nights was that the magic would end and real life would come crashing in.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Later half of the credits are played to the sound of nighttime crickets. See more »

Alternate Versions

SPOILER: When the movie was originally shown on network television, the blood left by Kersek's killing was optically removed by censors and replaced by a clean tile floor. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #33.97 (2017) See more »

Soundtracks

The Creature from the Black Leather Lagoon
Performed by The Cramps
Courtesy of Enigma Records
(plays while Danny is in her bedroom)
See more »

User Reviews

 
'Counselor, could you be there?'
31 July 2008 | by johnny-08See all my reviews

Last night on TV there was "Casino" and today "Cape Fear" so I decided to take a look again at those two Scorsese movies. What I remembered from first viewing of "Cape Fear", about 8 years ago, is that that was one scary movie. I was only a kid back then, but even after all these years I felt again that this movie gives great doze of fear. Mostly it is because of brilliant portrayal coming from Robert De Niro (Max Cady is definitely not kind of guy who you wanna meet) and great Martin Scorsese ability to 'manufacture' terrifying scenes (for example when Nolte is hiding behind trash cans and when De Niro says: 'Counselor, could you be there?' - that one reminded me of Walter Hill's "The Warriors" and Luther in the same movie). Scorsese + De Niro (his all time favorite) never fails to deliver when they have as good script as this. Here, there is relationship between lawyers and clients, parents and children; also law in America is comprehended, where are holes in system, what can or cannot man do to protect his family and so on. I also read some of the comments that compare this one with the original and spits on this movie. To those people I say that this is an Oscar winning picture for some remakes I have seen in my life. If Mitchum and Peck (stars from the original) gave their blessing why can't you? So, I advise you to take a look at this Scorsese picture because it's scary, with Hitchcock elements and great acting coming from all actors involved. This is a great horror/thriller!!!


11 of 15 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 341 user reviews »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1991 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Cape Fear See more »

Edit

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,261,025, 17 November 1991

Gross USA:

$79,091,969

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$182,291,969
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (as Dolby Stereo SR)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1
See full technical specs »

Contribute to This Page

Everything That's New on Netflix in December

No need to waste time endlessly browsing—here's the entire lineup of new movies and TV shows streaming on Netflix this month.

See the full list



Recently Viewed