Taglines: The Bowden family has moved to New Essex.
Cape Fear movie synopsis. Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) is a womanizing lawyer who has cheated on his burnt out, bitter wife Leigh Bowden (Jessica Lange). Sam, Leigh, and their 15 year old daughter Danielle (Juliette Lewis) have moved to a backwater Florida town for a new start, but Sam is already showing signs of fooling around with his clerk, 16 year old Lori Davis (Illeana Douglas).
Meanwhile, Leigh broods at home, venting her bitterness on Danielle. But Sam’s unfaithfulness becomes the least of Leigh’s worries. Years ago, as a public defender, Sam had a client named Max Cady (Robert De Niro), who was accused of brutalizing a teenage girl. Sam put up a lousy defense for Max after discovering that Max was guilty of brutalizing the girl.
Now, 14 years later, Cady has been released from prison and he’s hungry for revenge on Sam, having spent his sentence making himself well-read in philosophy and literature. Cady’s plan is to destroy Sam’s career and family. Cady fatally poisons the family dog, brutalizes Lori, and comes close to getting Danielle to sympathize with him, successfully goading Sam into violence. Sam has Lieutenant Eigert, of the local police department, try to harass Cady into leaving town, hires sleazy private eye Claude Kersek (Joe Don Baker) to have Cady beaten up, and offers Cady money to simply go away.
When all that fails, Sam uses his family as bait to lure Cady into his house while Kersek is guarding the place. It ends up as a bloody mess when Cady sneaks in and kills Kersek. This prompts the Bowdens to leave the house, with Cady following them all the way to the Bowden houseboat for a confrontation on the Cape Fear River in North Carolina.
Cape Fear is a 1991 American psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and a remake of the 1962 film of the same name. It stars Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Joe Don Baker, Juliette Lewis, Robert Mitchum, and Gregory Peck in his final theatrical film role. In addition to Mitchum and Peck, Martin Balsam cameos in the remake; all three starred in the original film.
The film tells the story of a convicted rapist, who, mostly by using his newfound knowledge of the law and its numerous loopholes, seeks vengeance against a former public defender, whom he blames for his 14-year imprisonment because of the purposefully faulty defense tactics used during his trial.
Cape Fear marks the seventh collaboration between Scorsese and De Niro. The film received positive reviews and was a commercial success. It received Oscar and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor (De Niro) and Best Supporting Actress (Juliette Lewis).
Cape Fear (1991)
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Illeana Douglas, Zully Montero, Fred Dalton Thompson, Forest Burton, Craig Henne
Screenplay by: Wesley Strick
Production Design by: Henry Bumstead
Cinematography by: Freddie Francis
Film Editing by: Thelma Schoonmaker
Costume Design by: Rita Ryack
Set Decoration by: Alan Hicks
Art Direction by: Jack G. Taylor Jr.
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, and for language.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: November 13, 1991
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