Cape Fear

Rating:
Summary: a study in remakes
Review: I remember watching this movie when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I was impressed by a variety of aspects of the movie. Most of all, I was impressed by how utterly evil Robert Mitchum's character was. I was led to believe this by a number of suggestuive scenes. There was one with a lady he picked up. The police later came to interview her to try and get her to testify against him because of what he did to her. She was so terrified that she wanted nothing to do with it. Exactly what he had done to her was left up to our imagination. There was another scene that I would never forget. Initially, I couldn't understand it. Years later, when I saw the movie as a young adult, I was amazed at the power of the symbolism. It was a scene in which Mitchum smears a raw egg over a scared Polly Bergen. I often think of that scene as the difference between movies made in the "old days" and the ones of today. In that scene we have the suggested image of rape that isn't cause to send the younger viewers out of the room.

The remake of "Cape Fear" is probably an enjoyable movie for those who hadn't seen the original one. However, it serves for me as an example of how movie making has lost its' art of suggestive imagery. The remake spells out things a lot more even to the point of obsurdity. As example of obsurdity, consider how Robert DeNiro managed to "follow" Nick Nolte's family to its' hideout. I won't spell it out for those who haven't seen the movie. However, if you think about it, it really isn't possible that it could have actually happened. He would have either been killed or severely burned.

Hollywood had a talent that enabled it to make movies for viewers on all levels. Sure, there were romantic movies that juveniles wouldn't enjoy, shoot-em-up westerns that teenage girls wouldn't enjoy, etc. etc.. However, picking out a pre-1970's movie for the family to watch isn't the moral dilemna that modern movies pose. We either get the simplicity of Disney or the depravity of the R rated with little in between. The original "Cape Fear" had all of the suspense and evil that its' remake had. It was a sort of interactive movie that allowed the viewer to see it on their own level. The remake, while fairly "tame" for a modern R rated movie, puts it all on the screen to see. I realize that it is the audience that fuels the trends. We seem to demand more and more special effects, gore and sex. The original "Cape Fear" is an example of artistic talent that is sacrificed in such a trend.

Rating:
Summary: UGH!
Review: This movie was horrible! Mitchum and Peck are so dumb and bad actors. There wasn't even a plot. Don't see it, you'll be dissappointed! :(

Rating:
Summary: Have No Fear? Get Some NOW!
Review: The late great classic acting talents of Robert Mitchum are showcased in this 1962 classic, reproving his ability to play the villain with unsurpassed expertise, as in the former 1955 classic "Night of The Hunter". ............... Here, Mitchum plays Max Cady, a menacing figure with a perpetual lit cigar and Panama Hat. He has come to town after being released from jail to visit and wreak revenge on the man who put him there, enter Sam, played by Gregory Peck. From their initial reunion in the town parking lot, Cady lets Peck have a peek at what's on his mind. From that moment on, there are grippingly suspenseful encounters between the two men and even worse, threats to his wife played by Polly Bergen, and his daughter, in a rather ineffectual role considering what she goes through when encountering Cady. Particularly amusing is a scene in the beginning of the film. Cady casually watches the family bowl, while harrassing a waitress and having a beer. The expression on Pecks face as his Sam character looks up, and spots those sinister leering eyes peering from a nearby table at his family, is classic. ................ What needs to be mentioned more than the great direction, pacing and script, is the believabilty of the sociopath depicted, that Mitchum brings to startling low-life on the screen. He is truly mesmerizing in his sleepy-eyed evil countenance. His gaze, cigar in mouth, hat pulled low, will raise your hair as you watch him. He moves toward his victims in a slow and deliberate manner, and speaks his lines with that commanding voice that he was so famous for. When picked up for questioning, he hilariously mocks Pecks' Sam, calling him casually by name, "Why, Say-im..." and then as "counselor" refering to his lawyer status. My favorite Mitchum line here?"You might want to look closer, I've got a few jolts of horse stashed under the collar." as he hands over his shirt to the police. The other great line is to Peck in a bar, as he lets him know that he can't be bought off. When speaking of his dear ex-wife, "Pumped a quart of whiskey in her, tore off her dress, threw away her shoes, and gave her a fair chance to work her way home..." Needless to say, pretty daring for it's time. You will have to find out the rest for yourself, like the scene with the drifter girl Mitchum picks up, and of course, the showdown. .............. Don't even think that Martin Scorcese's subsequent remake comes close to this classic. The excessively demented southern accent and preponderance of large tattoo's on DeNiro, don't make him more frightening than Mitchums' original take on the Max Cady character. Mitchum's subtle style of menacing, which seems paradoxical, but works, is far more effective at eliciting the viewers rapt attention. Besides, the Scorcese version got mired in outside subjects like infidelity from Nick Noltes version of Sam, what for? Let's face it, the original doesn't need any additional subplots to be entertaining. ................. "Cape Fear" is a strange title, refering to the very real location of the story, while it also serves as a perfect double entendre for the utter fright Robert Mitchum delivers within, in an unparalleled style. Don't miss this classic.

Rating:
Summary: The Classic Tale Of Good VS. Evil
Review: The original "Cape Fear" is based on the novel "The Executioners". The original 1962 film is a classic tale of good vs. evil. Robert Mitchum perfectly portrays Max Cady, a force of pure evil who is on parole. Cady blames Sam Bowden, who was played flawlessly by Gregory Peck, for having sent him to prison. Sam is a good, ethical, and loving lawyer who is quite serious about his job. He loves his wife and daughter so dearly, and Max Cady can see that. Cady is clever. That's what's so frightening to Sam. Cady can basically stalk Sam all he wants, but it can't be proven that he's doing anything illegal. Finally, a trap is set to kill Cady within the bounds of the law. If the trap fails, all could be lost. This is a marvelous story that every film noir fan should see!

Rating:
Summary: A PART THAT FITS LIKE A GLOVE
Review: I am not terribly fond of revenge pictures,however this film is really worth seeing for MITCHUM's character...who can't forget the lawyer who send him to jail eight years before.Composer BERNARD HERRMANN adds to the suspense with another good score.Having seen the remake with DENIRO ,which goes over the top,i recommend the original in black and white.Such a story is fun in a film,but in real life it is certainly hell.While watching it,say to yourself:i am so glad that this is only a movie.Just imagine being stuck with MITCHUM in your basement...

Rating:
Summary: A classic portrayal of true evil
Review: The late Robert Mitchum truly created one of the classic portrayals of evil as Max Cady. Instead of going for explicit violence and over the top craziness, as Scorsese and De Niro did in their remake, Mitchum creates a monster who is all the more fearsome for being calmly and icily sadistic and calculating. Moreover, Gregory Peck as the lawyer Sam Bowden provides a convincing contrast of goodness to Mitchum's evil in that he is portrayed at the outset as a truly virtuous man rather than as a morally compromised one (as Scorsese did with Nolte), who crosses the line (i.e. has toughs attempt to beat up Cady) soley in order to protect his family. There is also a tragic outcome to Peck's character in that even though he foiled Cady's attempt to destroy the innocence of his daughter by raping her, he is forever psychologically transformed by the hatred and vengeance Cady elicited from him (e.g. where after wounding Cady, he tells him that he will not shoot him to death, as Cady requests of him, because he wants Cady to suffer in prison for the rest of his days instead), thereby losing an innocence that he as a decent man had formerly possessed. Scorsese, in his preocupation with explicit violence and gore, never raises this issue.
Furthermore, the director does a masterful job in maintaining an atmosphere of stifling fear and tension throughout and Bergen, Balsam and Savalas are all fine in their supporting roles.

Rating:
Summary: This one is Scary!
Review: Gregory Peck stars as a Southern lawyer stalked by ex-con Robert Mitchum. It seems Peck withheld evidence in Mitchum's trial, and by doing so, helped send him to prison. Now Mitchum's out and wants to get even by hurting Peck's wife and daughter. The family hides in a house boat in Cape Fear, but Mitchum finds them..!

Robert Mitchum is so creepy and slimy in this film you'll be breathless watching him terrorize wife Polly Bergen and daughter Lori Martin. Every ounce of him seethes with hatred and viciousness. He is terrifying to behold. This version of the film is much better than the remake, due to Mitchum's bravura performance and the overall dignity of the family. If you like chilling movies, you'll love Cape Fear.

Rating:
Summary: A gripping suspenser; Mitchum great.
Review: Robert Mitchum again proves his versatility in a chilling performance as one of the slimiest movie characters of the decade, a rapist who seeks major revenge on the witness whose testimony put him in prison for 8 years. When Gregory Peck tells him it makes him sick to even breathe the same air, you will feel the same way. And when Mitchum beats up a gang of thugs who have been extralegally hired to beat HIM up, you can actually believe he could have done it. Other elements of the film (J. Lee Thompson's suspenseful direction, Bernard Herrmann's musical score) are also excellent, but Mitchum makes it something special. The scene in which he menaces Peck's young daughter near her school (but without actually doing anything!) is particularly effective.

Rating:
Summary: DeNiro has nothing on Mitchum
Review: Much more realistic than the remake. Robert Mitchum's (perhaps the coolest actor ever) Max Cady exudes evil without the creepy, twistedness of Robert DeNiro's. And Mitchum does it without that annoying, fake accent DeNiro affects.

Rating:
Summary: Meet Fear Itself
Review: Robert Mitchum plays Max Cady, an ex-convict who goes after lawyer Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck) who had testified against him and put him in prison. Seems like your typical stalker film. The only difference is that Cady had planned this out real well.

Mitchum gives a creepy, degenerate performance ("I've got something planned for your wife and kid they ain't ever going to forget!") that somehow didn't get an Oscar nomination. I also note the lack of explicit content; there are some people beaten and assaulted in the film, yet little of the incidents are shown. Certainly, it would be different if made today (Come to think of it, it was some years back). I also congratulate Universal for their nice DVD edition.