Cape Fear (1991)

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)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 19 nominations.

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 Dalton Thompson	...	Tom Broadbent
Zully Montero	...	Graciella
Craig Henne	...	Prisoner
Forest Burton	...	Prisoner
Edgar Allan Poe IV	...	Prisoner
Rod Ball	...	Prisoner

Storyline

Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte)is a small-town corporate attorney/"Leave It to Beaver" type family-man. Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, bible-quoting, 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

revenge | violence | houseboat | home invasion | bible quote | 

---

Taglines:

There is nothing in the dark that isn't there in the light. Except fear.

---

Genres:

Crime | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, and for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cabo de miedo

Filming Locations:

Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$79,100,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$103,200,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amblin Entertainment, Cappa Films, Tribeca Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (as Dolby Stereo SR)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The note that is broken on Nick Nolte's grand piano is an A two octaves above middle C.

---

Goofs

When investigator Kersek is crawling along the floor in the Bowden house following the fishing line that is moving, you can see that there are no bullets in the cylinders of his revolver. It is true that perhaps he only had a bullet in the chamber, but it would be more likely that under the circumstances that the gun be fully loaded.

---

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.

---

Crazy Credits

On the video, the music and nighttime crickets audio continue over not only the Amblin Entertainment logo after the credits end, but the MPAA Rated R screen and the Universal Studios plug as well.

On the DVD, the Universal Studios plug is removed and the audio continues over just a black screen after the MPAA Rated R screen.

---

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.

---

Connections

Referenced in Animaniacs: Video Review/When Mice Ruled the Earth (1993)

---

Soundtracks

The Bog
Performed by Bigod 20
Courtesy of Sire Records Company

User Reviews

'Counselor, could you be there?'

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!!!