Cape Fear poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker ... see more see more... , Illeana Douglas , Robert Mitchum , Gregory Peck , Martin Balsam , Fred Dalton Thompson , Zully Montero , Rod Ball , W. Paul Bodie , Parris Buckner , Forest Burton , Kate Colburn , Ken Collins , Paul Froehler , Robert L. Gerlach , Craig Henne , Bruce E. Holdstein , Tamara Jones , Will Knickerbocker , Joel Kolker , Billy Lucas , Margot Moreland , Elizabeth Moyer , Paul Nagle Jr. , Mary Ellen O'Brien , Linda Perri , Edgar Allan Poe IV , Roger Pretto , Catherine Scorsese , Charles Scorsese , Domenica Scorsese , Garr Stevens , Richard Wasserman , Jodie Wilson , Antoni Corone , Ellen Lewis , Jackie Davis , Chad Dowdell

Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear provided the director with a box-office success to follow up the critical success of the previous year's Goodfellas. After serving a lengthy prison sentence for a... read more read more... sexual assault, Max Cady (Robert De Niro) comes calling on the man who served as his public defender, Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte). Max begins a campaign of harassment against the man and his family because Bowden buried a report that would have in all likelihood acquitted Cady of the charges against him. Bowden's shaky ethics continue in his personal life as he is considering beginning an extramarital affair with colleague Lori Davis (Illeana Douglas), since he and his wife, Leigh (Jessica Lange) have had a difficult time coming back together since he has admitted to previous indiscretions. Cady infiltrates the family most insidiously by cultivating a relationship with the Bowden's troubled teenage daughte, Danielle (Juliette Lewis), who is all the more susceptible to Cady's advances because of her parents' problems. Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck, the stars of the original film, have cameo appearances in this version of Cape Fear. De Niro and Lewis were both nominated for Academy Awards for their work in the film. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Flixster Users

74% liked it

63,404 ratings

Critics

76% liked it

45 critics

R, 2 hr. 8 min.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Release Date: November 13, 1991

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: September 18, 2001

Get It:

Stats: 2,932 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Juliette Lewis in Cape Fear Robert De Niro in Cape Fear Robert De Niro & Juliette Lewis in Cape Fear Cape Fear Robert De Niro in Cape Fear Jessica Lange, Nick Nolte & Juliette Lewis in Cape Fear Cape Fear Robert De Niro in Cape Fear Nick Nolte & Jessica Lange in Cape Fear Robert De Niro in Cape Fear Robert-De Niro - Cape Fear Cape Fear Robert De Niro & Nick Nolte in Cape Fear Cape Fear - Max Cady Cape Fear Cape Fear Cape Fear Cape Fear
Upload a Photo | View All Cape Fear Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (2,932)

  • SirPant
    April 30, 2012
    SirPant
    Remaking Cape Fear was always going to be a brave move, even for a director as talented as Martin Scorsese. As remakes go, it's pretty good - bringing the story into the 90s effortlessly and without much problem. The cast is well chosen, De Niro is particularly good as Max Cady, ... read morethe character made famous by Robert Mitchum in the original. Indeed, the coup of this film is in getting Mitchum and Peck back for a couple of cameos - good cameos at that. In fact all the cast do a great job apart from Jessica Lange. What Scorsese really adds to the story is the fact that the most disturbing factor is that the family is just as unlikable as the bad guy as so you start to wonder about the justice involved, even though you know very well that its wrong. The theatre scene makes the skin crawl, something of an improvement on the original but overall you can't beat the '62 version. The music is also very impressive.
  • blacksheepboy
    February 21, 2012
    blacksheepboy
    A stylish neo-noir from Martin Scorsese, more mainstream than the rest of his work but still displaying his personal touch. It is a smart and anguishing thriller that takes a good time to develop the tension and boasts a terrifying performance by De Niro as the psychopath Max Cady.
  • fb1664868775
    October 28, 2011
    fb1664868775
    DeNiro is a monster.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    June 26, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    I never thought I'd say this, but of all the Martin Scorsese films that I have seen, I have to say that Cape Fear is by far his weakest film. Based on the original 1960's classic, the Cape Fear remake is a borderline decent thriller film with a few horror elements, but it's nothi... read moreng beyond good. De Niro was good however, but then again, I'm just a little disappointed in this film. I'd expect something from Scorsese to be yet again a masterpiece, because let's face it, everything he does is masterful. But Cape Fear is definitely the weakest film of his career. I take come comfort knowing that it's a remake, and usually with remakes, anyone can mess them up. Only a few remakes in the history of film have been great, even some outdoing the original. But withn Cape Fear there just isn't that spark or fire in the film to really make astounding. The film is a decent time waster, but it's also disappointing when you take into consideration who made this remake. Oh well, even the greatest directors are bound to make a weak film sometime, and in the case of Scorsese, it's the Cape Fear remake. A decent cast with with decent, horrifying chills, don't really go beyond anything remarkable or memorable.
  • fb619846742
    June 26, 2010
    fb619846742
    A disturbing, if flawed, story concerning a happy family of three (Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, and Juliette Lewis) who are terrorized by an ex-convict, who is seeking vengeance on the father, who served as his lawyer fourteen years ago and lost the case. Although dark material lik... read moree this is best handled by a master of film like Scorsese, and his casting for this film is impeccable, especially Robert De Niro who provides yet another stunning, magnificent turn as a vicious human being - this movie has it's share of problems. As the plot holes begin to pile up (especially concerning the Joe Don Baker character), the movie loses it's sense of realism and turns into something that proves somewhat ridiculous. Like the family's houseboat, the film's path shares a similar fate, and the ending monologue by Juliette Lewis is a poor attempt at wrapping things up. Definitely not a bad movie, for whenever De Niro appears he makes your skin crawl, but certainly not one of Scorsese's best.
  • dreamfaeries
    May 5, 2010
    dreamfaeries
    Another film that just doesn't live up to the original. It just didn't spark the same creepiness factor for me.
  • sononothing
    April 3, 2010
    sononothing
    I've never been a fan of remakes. I've always felt that if you wanted to see a movie, the original is very easy to come by and remaking an old movie is just lazy film making or total blasphemy (I'm looking at you Psycho '98). Cape Fear is one of those rare remakes that is able to... read more get beyond the stigma of being a remake, mainly because of the people that made it. Martin Scorsese directing Robert DeNiro is a good start. Throw in Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, and the legendary Joe Don Baker and you get a film that equals its source material.

    Cape Fear is about a southern lawyer (Nick Nolte) who is being harassed by recently released Max Cady (Robert DeNiro) who has been using his quiet time wisely by studying the law and his own case in particular. It seems that the good southern lawyer didn't use a piece of evidence that could have allowed Cady to go free because he knew he was guilty. Shame, shame. The film is basically a cat and mouse game as Max stays within the law to a point while Nolte's character is pushed over the line to rid himself and his family of this menace.

    The first thing I have to mention is the irony that Nick Nolte stars as a clean cut guy in a film with a character sporting long hair and looking creepy in general (mugshot). Cape Fear is a nice thriller that complements the Scorsese/DeNiro repertoire that I miss so damn much. Sure, there are things that are plot stretching bu the overall film is a creepy flick that tips it hat to the later noir films of the late 1950's and early '60's, particularly the Saul Bass opening and updating Bernard Herrmann's original score.

    Cape Fear isn't the greatest film known to man, but it is a very suspenseful thriller that delivers that edge of your seat feeling that doesn't deal with running to the restroom for a tinkle. It holds your attention throughout and doesn't bore. It's Scorsese's answer to the onslaught of stalker films that came out in the wake of Fatal Attraction and succeeds in being a better picture than the norm.
  • sanjurosamurai
    March 23, 2010
    sanjurosamurai
    incredibly entertaining, but not powerfully so as many of scorsese's films tend to be. the characters were just incredibly unlikable including the protagonists, and the dialogue was pretty far outside of what i would consider believable. the film had solid tension and a fun per... read moreformance from deniro making this film a step back from scorsese's usual genius but still very enjoyable.
  • ythelastman89
    March 15, 2010
    ythelastman89
    Martin Scorsese presents a very well done remake that improves upon characterization and plot. A great performance from Robert De Niro that made this movie the classic it is. He is by far one of the most disturbed characters brought on screen, in that he never gives up and never ... read moresurrenders. The lengths he goes in order to ruin Nick Nolte's life is unmatched. It is an essential film in Scorsese's work because it is so different.
  • emilebond007
    March 3, 2010
    emilebond007
    What a tremendous performance by Robert De Niro.

View All Cape Fear Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
May 24, 2011
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

It's hard to understand why Martin Scorsese wanted to remake a nasty, formulaic 1962 thriller whose only "classic" credentials are a terrifying performance by Robert Mitchum and a Bernard Herrmann score. Full Review

August 7, 2008
Variety

Smart and stylish. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Stay away if you're squeamish but, if you do, you'll miss an essential work by one of our masters, as well as two of the year's most accomplished performances, those of Mr. De Niro and Ms. Lewis. Full Review

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Though Scorsese doesn't always transcend the pulp in Cape Fear, watching him try allows us to share the exhilaration he experiences behind the camera.

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

It's a helluva movie. Full Review

Hal Hinson
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

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. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Impressive moviemaking, showing Scorsese as a master of a traditional Hollywood genre who is able to mold it to his own themes and obsessions. Full Review

November 13, 1991
Entertainment Weekly

Proves that when a maverick virtuoso like Scorsese sets his mind to it, making ''mainstream'' movies is one more thing he can do better than just about anyone else. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
January 20, 2012
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Scorsese's remake (also hommage in some ways) is inferior to the original 1962 version, though the acting is good, and both Robert De Niro and Juliette Lewis garnered Oscar nominations. Full Review

May 24, 2011
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Martin Scorsese's loose remake of J. Lee Thompson's 1962 thriller is an exercise in audience manipulation, with every frame designed to stagger the senses. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Taxi Driver
    Taxi Driver (77%)
  • Shutter Island
    Shutter Island (70%)
  • Vertigo
    Vertigo (100%)
  • Dracula
    Dracula (33%)

More Movies like Cape Fear

Facts

Submit a Fact | View All
    • Max Cady: Come out, come out, wherever you are!
    • Lieutenant Elgart: Well, pardon me all over the place
Submit a Fact | View All

Cape Fear : Watch Free on TV

Cape Fear Trivia

  • What did Robert De Niro say to Nick Nolte in the film Cape Fear just before Nick Nolte drove away  Answer »
  • Who connects the movies : Mean Streets , Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Cape fear, A Bronx tale, Sleepers, Copland ?  Answer »
  • In Cape Fear, What movie was Robert De Niro laughing at in the movie theater  Answer »
  • The score for the 1991 remake of Cape Fear by Elmer Bernstein is not only an arrangement of 'Bernard Herrmann' 's original "Cape Fear" score, but also includes parts of Herrmann's unused score for what movie?  Answer »
More Cape Fear Trivia

Movie Quizzes

Create a Quiz |

All Quizzes

Video Clips

Upload a Video |

All Cape Fear Videos

Meet Other Fans

Add Cape Fear to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?