prosecutor, but his defence councillor, Sam J. Bowden, played by Nick Nolte. It seems Bowden did not defend Cady to the best of his ability. Cady knows this and wants some payback.Cady's initial return into Bowden's life could not have come at a worse time. Bowden has been forced to move his family to Florida after his infidelities threatened his marriage and career. His wife is distrustful and worst of all, Bowden is on the verge of beginning another affair with a female workmate. Added to that, his daughter is at the difficult age of 15.Almost by ozmosis, Cady understands these problems in the Bowden household and acts on them. He begins terrorising Bowden and his whole family, taking it from one extreme to the next.What makes Cape Fear such a good film is the rapidly increasing sense of claustrophobia. Scorcese makes a point of using almost only close up shots towards the end of the film. It is a great touch that makes the viewer that much more scared as the film goes on.Along with that, Robert De Niro is superb as Cady. Only occasionally does the role slip into parody. Mostly he is expertly evil.Nick Nolte is good if not great, the same for Jessica Lange as Leigh Bowden. It seems as if they were void of any great lines in this film, which is unfortunate given their immense talent. Julliette Lewis is absolutely brilliant as the young daughter, Danielle. She slips effortlessly between curious sexual awakenings, rebellious teen and straight thinking woman. Add in small roles for Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck the leads of the 1962 version and you have a great ensemble cast.So not the best Scorcese film ever, but some tight editing, great camerawork, a haunting theme and devilishly over-the-top acting help make this a frighteningly fun movie to watch. Strongly recommended.

like "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver", but this is something completely different. Whereas his earlier movies simply made you identify with the characters, "Cape Fear" makes you both identify with the characters and find them unpleasant. Not only Max Cady, but also the Bowdens. They are never the "ideal American family", but Cady's threats against them make them get progressively nastier in their attitudes towards each other and to other people.I think that it's safe to say that after watching "Cape Fear", you will never look at any person the same way again.

'knew' this rough white guy had to have done the crime. The way he gets favors from his wealthy pals its obvious that if he defending someone of his caste he would have presented the evidence.In fact the ease with which someones life is ruined and the world doesn't even pay it an ounce of attention, this is one of the most terrifying things in the film. The film really shows the impact of power unlike any film i've seen.How does someone hate? To many people its some vague notion. To others its a sin. The 'christian' judge in the film represents this viewpoint, chastising a man who has been abused and hounded by a psychopath because he is 'displaying' negative emotions. While he himself has probably never experienced any major wrong inflicted on him by another, he has never had to resist hate.De Niros character never tried to resist it, he dove straight into it. 14 years in prison breeding and brewing hatred. Thats the films point, this guy is no saint and we have no doubt about that. But the viewer struggles with his feelings because he knows Noltes character was wrong, and we see how 14 years of prison has twisted De Niro and we hear about what happened to him there. One is forced to think, if someone set me up and got me put in prison would I hate to the point that De Niro would?The flip side of this course is how easy Noltes character loses it when faced with a similar situation to the abuse De Niro experienced in prison. How easily he breaks rules, how he seems ready to do anything to get rid of this character. Isn't this also hate? This culminates with the final scene, Noltes character bellowing like a wounded animal lifts a giant rock over his head ready to crush De Niros skull. We are used to the hero coming to his senses and renouncing violence. Not Nolte, he follows through smashing the rock down where De Niros head should have been.This is a powerful statement and the finale.The film pulls back the pretense most of us have about ourselves, how we are more like those 'on the other side of the tracks' than we can imagine. It just maybe that they have had to deal with these issues of hate, class, and violence and we have not.A great film that allows you to relax into it, its both ugly and beautiful at the same time. Truly a masterpiece, my highest recommendation.

"superior" middle class family is rotten with corruption, while the vicious, "psychotic" ex-con is a man of extraordinary courage, intelligence, and spiritual strength. Even his most horrible acts of violence are connected to the corrupt and self-serving behavior of his "betters." What makes this movie work so well is that director Martin Scorsese breaks away from his usual mean streets milieu. If Max Cady had been an Italian wise guy, the movie would have made excuses for him. The outcome would have been predictable. But here the great director remains an impartial observer of criminal behavior, rather than a sentimental apologist for ethnic violence. As in GANGS OF NEW YORK. Max Cady is pure evil, but he speaks the truth about the evil of allowing class distinctions to flourish in a so-called "democracy." When it came out, this movie was reviled by critics, especially by effete yuppies like Terence Rafferty at GQ and VANITY FAIR. Most of them whined about the violence, but it was painfully clear that what really disturbed them was the possibility that an ugly ex-con really could be smarter, tougher, and more virtuous than a spoiled yuppie lawyer.Shocking!!!

film is done a little over the top, it all adds together very well. I was very impressed with this film and would recommend it to Martin Scorsesse fans of course. Even though I wouldn't say this was his best work, it is one of his best thrillers though.9/10

likely enjoy this. ***1/2 out of ****. A recommended viewing.

on the lawyer Nick Nolte and his family Jessica Lange the mother and a young and supple Juliette Lewis as the daughter . At times the film is surprisingly slow, but the film is never boring, and suspense is always in the air; the climax/ending contains some of Scorsese and De Niro's finest work. Also, De Niro steals the show as the animal Cady by making the person who is supposed to be the hero into a flawed character, thereby turning the film almost into a Film-noir, which is quite a feat for Scorsese and company. Not perfect, but it shouldn't be. Those are Scorsese's parents briefly buying fruit. A-

it is a hell of a thriller. An enjoyable experience with a great cast and an Oscar worthy performance from Juliette Lewis .This is a finely tuned thriller that is also quite disturbing as well.8/10

strong support as Nolte's family Lewis received an Oscar nod for this, her first starring role . I also thought it was nice of director Scorcese to salute the original film by casting original stars Mitchum and Peck in supporting roles. but above all, De Niro is worth the price of the rental here.