Cape Fear

Universal Pictures | Release Date: November 13, 1991

8.4	USER SCORE Universal acclaim based on 336 Ratings

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User Reviews

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JackTbugJun 23, 2016

Cape fear is universal's underrated movie released in 1991, max cady is released to have his own revenge on sam and his family, max cady is a murderous psychopath to bowden family, watch cape fear 1991.

6 of 6 users found this helpful60

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geewahJan 15, 2021

A great suspense/thriller movie and one of 1991's best movies.
De Niro is scary as hell as Cady, and the build up to it's tense ending will keep you on the end of your seat.

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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gracjanskiJan 23, 2021

Great thriller with an interesting character Max Cady: on the one side a victim, on the other side the bad guy in this movie and on a vengeance. The movie is also interesting to show, that a man can terrorise another one legally.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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glitchmasterApr 25, 2014

I hear people say that this movie is so violent but it really issn't this super violent i mean everyone over 14 can watch this.
the movie is not bad but it issn't super it's a movie that you can watch on tv and not regret it later on it's ok

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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CritiqueGirlMar 2, 2011

I was scared to death and too grossed out to ever watch again. DeNiro outdoes himself as a sick and twisted vengeful pig who goes after a lawyer and his family after he is released from jail. It sounds run of the mill but isn't, to say theI was scared to death and too grossed out to ever watch again. DeNiro outdoes himself as a sick and twisted vengeful pig who goes after a lawyer and his family after he is released from jail. It sounds run of the mill but isn't, to say the least. As usual, I saw this on TV so it wasn't even as violent as it could have been.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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dajhornApr 27, 2014

This version of Cape Fear has aged very well. Robert De Niro could carry the movie by himself, but the acting is generally good. Nothing in this movie is distracting and jumps out to say that it was made in 1991.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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imthenoobOct 11, 2016

Enjoyable movie that really benefits from the absolutely amazing performance of De Niro. Not to say that the rest of the cast wasn't enjoyable, They were, but he was the one that carried the movie and made it bare-able to watch.

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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beingryanjudeAug 31, 2014

Leave it to Martin Scorsese to create one of the few remakes to surpass its original film. Robert DeNiro is dynamite alongside Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis.

0 of 5 users found this helpful05

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heeldavidMay 8, 2014

Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear is one of the best. De Niro has played gangsters and boxers, but don't worry he is a genius as a psycopath, Nick Nolte, Julliete Lewis and Jessica Lange put on great performances too.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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mohamad91hkMay 16, 2020

Amazing film and great performance by De Niro, the film attracts you until the end, if you like suspense movies, this one is full of suspense.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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timoneAug 22, 2018

From the director of Goodfellas and Casino, it is now the time for me to review a underrated film that I absolutely love and that is without further a do Cape Fear. I am such a big fan of that film, I can watch for hours and hours and hoursFrom the director of Goodfellas and Casino, it is now the time for me to review a underrated film that I absolutely love and that is without further a do Cape Fear. I am such a big fan of that film, I can watch for hours and hours and hours and not get bored at all. Now um (chuckles) I gotta warn ya that girl that woman played reminds of Emily Robinson from college and................. the only thing I don't like about it is that Robert DeNiro bites the woman's cheek off cause that really freaked me out. And also there's a scene that really made me laugh that Robert DeNiro is singing in tongues. So yeah, that's it.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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MovieMasterEddyApr 4, 2016

Martin Scorsese's "Cape Fear" is a work of rippling cinematic muscle. It's a brutal, demonic film with a grip like a vise; it grabs you early, its fingers around your throat, and never lets go. No one can give evil a more voluptuous surfaceMartin Scorsese's "Cape Fear" is a work of rippling cinematic muscle. It's a brutal, demonic film with a grip like a vise; it grabs you early, its fingers around your throat, and never lets go. No one can give evil a more voluptuous surface than Scorsese; he's a dread master, and with "Cape Fear" -- his remake of the 1962 thriller with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum -- he's delivered a ravishing thesis on the anatomy of terror. If the director has set out to horrify us, then he's succeeded, and made us laugh at ourselves for being so spooked. "Cape Fear" scares you, all right, and more -- it makes your liver blanch.

What's puzzling about "Cape Fear," though, is why, at this stage of his career, Scorsese would set his sights so low. It's apparent by now that Scorsese can do just about anything he wants with a movie camera. His command of the medium goes far beyond technical brilliance; "GoodFellas" proved that and "Cape Fear" reconfirms it. He's got a blood instinct for hyperbolic moviemaking, so much so that the camera seems almost an extention of his own nervous system. His images hit the screen like firebombs, and the conflagration is enthralling, irresistible.

But "Cape Fear" is far from Scorsese at his best; in fact, it's our mostinteresting filmmaker's least interesting work. It's a slasher film, basically -- Scorsese's "Nightmare on Main Street" -- and to make it work the filmmaker misuses his gifts. What's he's done here is within the reach of a hundred other directors, none of whom is in his league. He's made the ultimate drive-in movie; a feat, perhaps, but disappointing nonetheless.

The movie premise is as straightforward as it is tough. Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) is an attorney in a small Southern town, who 14 years ago unsuccessfully defended a brutal maniac named Max Cady (Robert De Niro) on a rape charge that, after being reduced to battery, sent him to prison. At the time of his trial, Cady was illiterate, but during his imprisonment he has become a bookworm, reading literature, philosophy and, in particular, law. All the while, Cady has dreamed of taking his revenge against Bowden, whose shoddy defense, he believes, is the reason he's lost his wife, his child and a big chunk of his life. And so when Cady is finally released, he makes a beeline for Bowden's peaceful home town, looking for a little payback.

The first sight of Cady doing push-ups in his jail cell is chilling. Sleekly sculpted and covered with apocalyptic tattoos, his body has the coiled malice of razor wire. Cady is a predator -- you can see that just from his smooth, loping gait -- and in the first part of the film, Scorsese focuses on his efforts to set up his prey. His main targets are Bowden's wife, Leigh (Jessica Lange), and his 15-year-old daughter, Danielle (Juliette Lewis); he stalks them like a panther, slowly and methodically moving in for the kill.

De Niro throws himself into the part of Cady with unmistakable relish; playing this madman seems to have energized him and opened up the dark channels of his talent. As Scorsese and his screenwriter, Wesley Strick, have created him, Cady isn't merely a psychopath, he's a Nietzschean superman, the cruel, killing hand of justice meting out a stern, remorseless form of punishment. Nobody is more frightening in these roles than De Niro, particularly when he's as fully committed as he is here. Every movement, every narrowing of his eyes, is a threat. Pulling his face into obscene, leering grins, he gives Cady a kind of goofy suavity, especially in the long, mesmerizingly languid scene in which he sweet-talks Danielle into his confidence. At times, the characterization verges on the comic -- it's a tremendously entertaining performance -- but it's comedy mixed with cutting quality of horror. You may laugh, but it's laughter with no release -- tense, scary laughter.

Still, you can't help but feel that both De Niro and his director have gone deeper into the same territory before, and that, in earlier films, the violence has had sturdier psychological roots. In remaking the effective but minor 1962 thriller, the filmmakers have improved on the original, but the original is still there, at least in skeletal form, and they haven't managed to transcend its limitations.

Nolte and Lange suffer most from the script's lack of depth; they're both strong, confident, exciting actors, but their characters here don't allow them to express anywhere near the full range of their talents.

Even here, it's impossible to be indifferent to Scorsese's work; he's a virtuoso, and for some filmmakers this movie would stand as a pinnacle work. But masters must answer to a higher standard, and, as dazzling as it is, "Cape Fear" simply doesn't measure up.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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bossk77Feb 24, 2017

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0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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JoshCNov 19, 2006

Not Scorsese at his best, but better than white elephant art like The Age of Innocence, and bloated epics like Gangs of NY and The Aviator. The entire film is overwrought, but nonetheless enjoyable and highly watchable.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

SpangleJun 3, 2016

Cape Fear feels like a little different Martin Scorsese film in some respects, but still bears his trademark for compelling character-driven films and an incredibly noticeable religious influence on the film. Robert De Niro stars as theCape Fear feels like a little different Martin Scorsese film in some respects, but still bears his trademark for compelling character-driven films and an incredibly noticeable religious influence on the film. Robert De Niro stars as the unhinged Max Cady and turns in a true iconic performance that lets him demonstrate his immense talent. In a career full of great performances, it is tough to say that one is better than the others, but this one has to be up there. De Niro is honestly phenomenal and creates chills like nobody else can. Nick Nolte is also quite good here and does a great job making the audience unsure on how to read his complicated character. We know he is not a good guy, but we undeniably side with him since he certainly made the right choice. That said, Scorsese is in full control here and shows his skill at creating atmospheric tension and pure suspense, more so than some horror directors out there. The only negative here is Juliette Lewis who turns in a mediocre performance among such a talented cast of actors. That said, Cape Fear is a truly chilling experience that will leave you closing the blinds and locking all the doors.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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