Released in 1991, this massive remake of the 1964 release was the gutsy follow up to the epic Goodfellas. Robert Di Nero, Scorcese's most prolific actor, takes up the role of the psychotic Max Cady, attempting to pass a kind of judgement on the family of Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) of an almost Biblical nature for Bowden's handling of his rape case 14 years earlier; Bowden pleads him out to a lesser charge of battery. Cady fashions that he should have gotten off altogether. At the time of his trial, Cady is listed as illiterate, he tells Bowden, upon his release on parole, that in prison he learned to read--he seems to have, or claims to have found, evidence in his case file that Bowden could have gotten off completely. That, like everything with Cady is not nearly as straight forward as he claims that it is. He is completely psycho!
This is a movie that engenders pretty strong reactions from most: people either love it or hate it. I'm not talking about the professional critics, I'm talking about everyday folks like me who just love to watch movies. I admit to being on the fence about it. There are moments that seem over directed. The high pitch that the family jumps into almost from the beginning of the film, makes it hard to keep sustained throughout the film; that tends to make the ending seem ridiculous and way over the top. If the pass had built more slowly over the course of film, it would come off as a truly scary thriller. I mean, De Niro's Cady is a really scary guy, he would scare the pants off of Louis Cyphre for heaven's sake...and he's the devil! But all the fighting going on between Sam and Liegh Bowden (Jessica Lange) is really grating and detracts from the real fear Cady brings to the Carolina cape. Never mind that someone of parole would have been returned to prison immediately for threatening an officer of the court. He's on parole, he doesn't have the same rights as other citizens.
On the other hand, it is a pretty decent remake, as far as remakes go. It is pretty impressive to think that Scorcese managed to get this out there after such a massive project as Goodfellas just the year before, considering that his next two major films Age of Innocence and the epic Casino were spaced each two years apart. And this was not small production either. Most of the significant outdoor scenes were shot on location in Georgia and Florida. Hollywood...the other Hollywood, the one where Seminoles get to sell really good cigars and check you into the Hard Rock, was the location for a lot of the stand in shots for Cape Fear itself.
Scorcese also managed to get 3 principle characters from the original production to come into the project. Martin Balsam who played Mark Dutton the Police Chief assays the role of the judge is the remake. The two principles are also back, Gregory Peck, the original Sam Bowden is Lee Heller in the newer version, and Robert Mitchum the original (and very scary in his own right) Max Kady, comes in as Lt. Elgart, who is about as helpful to the new Sam Bowden as boobs on a bull. One of the reasons that Scorcese actually directed this in the first place, was because he was basically a hired gun. The project was already funded and Stephen Spielberg was to direct it; when he pulled out of the project, he personally called Scorcese and asked him to take over. So, the fact the Scorcese was able to sort "make it his own," so to speak, is also impressive.
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| The actual Cape Fear |
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