Other Titles • Cape Fear (1962) • Cabo de miedo • Círculo do Medo • 2 gigantes sygrouontai • El Cabo del terror • Le Cap de la terreur (1962) • Farlig främling (1962) • Frygtens terror (1963) • Köder für die Bestie, Ein • Les Nerfs à vif (1962) • Il Promontorio della paura • Rt straha • The Executioners (1962) • Tuomitun kosto (1969)
The original 1962 version of Cape Fear is directed by J Lee Thompson (The Guns of Navarone) in a deliberately Hitchcockian manner, and stars Robert Mitchum as a creepy ex-con angry at the attorney (Gregory Peck) whom he believes is responsible for his incarceration. After Mitchum makes clear his plans to harm Peck's family, a fascinating game of crisscrossing ethics and morality takes place. Superior to Martin Scorsese's punishing 1991 remake, which seems trapped in its explicitness, Thompson's film accomplishes a lot with a more economical and telling use of violence. The result is a rich character study that explores the nature of guilt.
Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake 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. The stars of the original film, Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck, each make a cameo appearance. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Featurette Making Of Documentary With Interviews And Director And Cast Deleted Scenes 3 Behind The Scenes Segments Photo Gallery Matt Painting Montage Production Notes Filmographies DVD Newsletter Theatrical Trailer
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