zkonedog The original "Cape Fear" is a bone-chilling tale of pre-meditated violence. While all the elements of that original are indeed here in this remake, the new elements that director Martin Scorsese adds to the tale only cheapen that visceral sense of terror.For a basic plot summary, "Cape Fear" tells the story of lawyer Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte), wife Leigh (Jessica Lange), and daughter Danielle (Juliette Lewis). When Max Cady (Robert De Niro), an ex-con freshly released from prison who was unsuccessfully defended by Sam, begins to terrorize the family, they must make some difficult decisions in order to deal with such a terror.All the basic elements of the classic Peck/Mitchum thriller are present in this version of the tale, but its the new elements that downgrade the experience. I realize that Scorsese wanted to be his own little twist on the story, but unfortunately all the additions are negative rather than positive:For example (spoilers included):-Making the family a "troubled unit" does no service to the plot. Gregory Peck as the stout, unshakeable lawyer is better than Nolte's more ambiguous soul.-The subtle romantic hints between Danielle and Cady are utterly ridiculous. For this story to really work, the daughter character needs to be pure as the driven snow, not on the verge of being roped into a romantic relationship with him! Of all the changes made to the original in this effect, I found this change to be the most "unforgivable".Finally, though no fault of anyone's, the performance of Robert Mitchum in the 1962 version is un-matchable (e.g. iconic). De Niro gives it his best effort, but it just isn't quite as good.Overall, then, I will be steering people AWAY from this version and TOWARDS the original after this viewing. This isn't a bad movie, per se, but it clearly takes a back seat to the expertly crafted '62 version.

TheLittleSongbird Not one of Martin Scorsese's best films by a long shot (though he has also done worse). This said, as said in my review for 'Hugo', even when Scorsese was not at his best the films in question were still better than the worst films of most. This is also coming from a director who when at his best, like with 'Goodfellas', 'Raging Bull' and 'Taxi Driver' for examples, gave some of the best films out there.'Cape Fear' is a remake of the 1962 film with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum. While the remake may be slicker visually (the earlier film is still very well made instead, but Scorsese's film is gorgeously audacious) and be bigger and more expansive in its themes and character complexities, there is a vast personal preference for the more atmospheric, creepier and more eerie earlier film, one that didn't need excessive violence, gore or profanity to deliver the shocks, with an ending that was a masterclass in sexual tension and quivering fear and Mitchum unforgettably burning into the memory as how to haunt one's nightmares wile doing it in a much more subtle way.This is in no way denouncing Scorsese's film though. It is not as good (often very good though with major problems, while the 1962 film to me is a near-masterpiece let down only by the female characters not being as interesting) and perhaps not necessary. However, compared to how a lot of remakes have fared, which has seen abominations like the remakes for 'Psycho' and 'The Wicker Man' that should never have been made in the first place, it isn't halfway bad and hardly an amateur project.Where Scorsese does score over the 1962 film is in two things. One is the more expanded upon relationship between Cady and Danielle, which is genuinely disturbing and effectively makes the skin crawl as ought, it also further added to what was an already sadistic human monster (or shall we say psychopath?) like Cady. Even more so of an improvement is the portrayal of the Bowden family, instead of being humble and neatly black and white like it could have been (not knocking the 1962 film here) each member were portrayed as flawed characters with strengths and vulnerabilities, and much more of a family falling apart at the seams.Visually, 'Cape Fear' looks fantastic, the use of cinematic techniques not only dazzling in technical beauty but also adding a lot to the horror-like atmosphere rather than distracting. That is not surprising considering that it is the work of the great Freddie Francis, achieving great success with the likes of Amicus and Hammer. The film cleverly utilises Bernard Hermann's wonderful score from the 1962 film, arranged and conducted by Elmer Bernstein, there was the worry as to whether it would sound melodramatic, exaggerated and anachronistic in this particular film when it worked so brilliantly in the 1962 film, but it actually succeeded in giving the film a real eeriness and dramatic thrust and tension.A good deal of 'Cape Fear' is hugely entertaining. The first half in particular is rich in dreaded suspense and genuine entertainment. There are too scenes that chill the blood, like the scene between Cady and Lori and that between him and Kersek. Scorsese directs adeptly, often with a visual mastery, a knack of suspense and compelling character interaction.Robert De Niro's performance has been praised for being terrifying but also criticised for being over the top to the point of being a cartoon, both valid opinions. To me, while there is a much bigger preference for the creepier but more understated Mitchum and there are times where De Niro does fall into overdone parody, it is a very powerful and often scary performance in a fascinating, chilling and larger than life role, apart from the unstoppable Terminator-like traits in place bordering on the cartoonish. Nick Nolte does a very good job, bringing intensity and empathy to a morally ambiguous character that is written as much more than a heroic sort of role.Juliette Lewis' performance has also polarised viewers, again to me she was compelling in her rebellious attitude and sexual curiosity but also in the ability to think straight. Joe Don Baker is the standout in support and a casting highlight, a very strong performance. Having Peck and Mitchum (and Martin Balsam) in cameo roles the anti-thesis of their 1962 'Cape Fear' characters was a masterstroke.However, was not crazy about Jessica Lange, a very good actress. She didn't have an easy character to play, one with not a lot to do and one who seems to be in permanent shock and terror, but Lange both overdoes it and phones it in to the point that the character is annoying. While absorbing most of the time, especially in the first and second acts, a few of the Cady character building scenes did drag and go on for too long, 20-25 minutes trimming may have made things better.More problematic was that the thicker the story got the more excessive it got too. Especially suffering is the ridiculously unintentionally funny and illogical scene where Kersek's body is found and an ending that is ludicrously overblown and missing the suspense, sexual tension and quivering fear (plus that masterly improvisation touch with the egg) conveyed so unforgettably in the 1962 film. The violence did disturb a good deal, but at numerous times it didn't feel necessary, sometimes less-is-more and more atmosphere is better, and felt over-the-top, cartoony and more at place in a graphic cartoon or something.All in all, inferior but still surprisingly well done despite being a long way from perfect. 7/10 Bethany Cox

MaximumMadness If there's one thing that gets the blood of the cinema-goer boiling as their eyes light up with fury and anger, it's the word "remake." Or "reboot." Or "re-imagining." Or whatever other flowery terms that producers throw together to describe a former franchise reborn for new audiences. Just look at the inane controversy surrounding 2016's "Ghostbusters" reboot or the reaction to the recent strain of horror-film retreads to see audiences practically frothing at the mouth in rage over the concept of remakes of earlier classic films, whether or not the new films themselves are decent or not. But every so often, you encounter that rare diamond in the rough... a remake that is widely appreciated and beloved, and is allowed to stand on its own without negative comparison to the original source material. Those rare films that audiences embrace despite their status as remakes of old classics. Martin Scorsese's 1991 retelling of the classic thriller "Cape Fear" is most certainly one of these films. It's an excellent and tense thriller in its own right, and is never weighed down by the expectations brought about by the previous iteration. It's one of those rare remakes that people adore and enjoy, able to look past its labeling as simply a modernized version of an established story.Nick Nolte stars as Sam Bowden, a lawyer who is living with his wife and daughter (Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis), trying to rebuild his life. However, a former client named Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is released from prison, and becomes obsessed with tormenting Bowden and his family, seeking retribution for 14 years of imprisonment that he blames Bowden for, knowing that he suppressed evidence that might have lessened his sentence. Cady is cold and cunning, obsessed with vengeance and having transformed his body and mind through fanatical religious obsession and constant physical training, and seeks first to corrupt and damage everyone and everything around Bowden before targeting him for his final depraved act of vengeance. And so, Bowden and his family, torn apart from past events, must band together and work through their issues to try and stop this madman from destroying them...This very much is a film all about the performances and visual direction, where the actual storyline more-or-less takes a backseat to keen use of character and devilish aesthetics. Nolte and De Niro in particular are absolutely magnificent, and serve as just an incredible duo of adversaries to follow. Nolte's transformation from a man who is essentially a wannabe "perfect guy" into a terrified and damaged figment is just stunning, and De Niro hams it up to perfection with his fire-and-brimstone performance as a deranged, sociopathic lunatic who is just as entertaining as he is deadly. I also highly admired Juliette Lewis' role as Bowden's daughter, who becomes one of Cady's prime targets. She's exceptional, and it's honestly a shame she's not been getting as much high profile work over the past decade. I also really admired supporting roles by the likes of Joe Don Baker and original cast members Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck. All play their roles to perfection despite the amount of screen time given, and all help to build up the oppressive and intense world Scorsese sculpts.Scorsese delivers one of his most stylish and devious turns as a master visual storyteller in this film, and he relishes in piling on the tension and suspense with each passing moment. I've always highly admired Scorsese, even if I've only really seen a handful of his films. He's one of the great minds in cinema and he never delivers anything less than stellar in terms of storytelling. Here, he goes full-on into the insanity with a child-like glee, tossing and turning and tilting the camera whenever he can and expertly using a keen mixture of extreme close-up and wide-shots within every given seen to craft slow- building senses of paranoia and claustrophobia. But he never pushes it too far, and it always organically builds off of the scene and the emotional state of the characters he's exploring at a given moment. And he knows precisely when to slow it down or ramp it up, giving us a varied but also harrowing and entertaining experience in terror.Were I to lodge any complaints against the film, it would be that fundamentally, it's a bit overstretched and loses some steam in its second half, with a slower pacing that doesn't always match the manic energy of the performances and Scorsese's visual aesthetic. It feels as though a good 10 to 15 minutes of screen time are spent on meandering long-shots and sequences that could easily have been condensed together. Case in point is a prolonged sequence involving a sting operation lead by Joe Don Baker's Claude Kersek, with could have been pretty seamlessly cut down to a much more startling and impactful scene if its editing was a bit more abbreviated. Still, this is only a minor complaint against an otherwise exceptional thriller.As it stands, "Cape Fear" is definitely amongst the ranks of "The Thing" and "The Fly" as one of the more startling and high-quality remakes to come out of the Hollywood system. It's an intense and often terrifying feature that stands proud alongside the original as a valid and important retelling. And I think it's a film that's very much well worth experiencing for fans of terror and pure, emotional suspense. And so, I give it an excellent 9 out of 10.

SnoopyStyle Disturbed rapist Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is released from prison after 14 years. He starts hounding lawyer Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte), his wife Leigh (Jessica Lange) and daughter Danielle (Juliette Lewis). Cady reminds Bowden that he was his original public defense lawyer. He blames Bowden for his conviction. Bowden buried a report that the victim was promiscuous. Cady attacks Sam's friend Lori Davis (Illeana Douglas). Lt. Elgart (Robert Mitchum) can't arrest him because Lori is too afraid to press charges. Bowden hires private detective Tom Broadbent (Fred Dalton Thompson).Director Martin Scorsese is using all his Hitchcockian Brian De Palma skills. Some of the scenes have great tension. De Niro and Lewis in the school is amazing. De Niro is great throughout. The style and the great actors combine to make something more than a simple remake of the original.