Cape Fear; Cape Fear

Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck square off in the J. Lee Thompson directed 1962 original Cape Fear, with Peck as Sam Bowden, a prosperous, small town Georgian attorney whose white picket fence existence comes under siege from the vengeful ex-con Max Cady (Mitchum). Cady, still bitter over an eight-year forced vacation in the big house, courtesy of Sam's eyewitness testimony, soon begins threatening Sam's wife Peggy (Polly Bergen) and virginal daughter Nancy (Lori Martin), until Sam, who discovers "there are either too many laws, or not enough," is forced to take matters into his own hands. Fast forward thirty years, and under Martin Scorsese's stylish helming, the plot in this rather straightforward thriller thickens. Sam and Peggy (now played by Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange) are near divorce proceedings due to Sam's wandering eyes; Sam's daughter, re-dubbed Danielle (Juliette Lewis), is free-falling into womanhood; and this time around it looks like Cady (Robert De Niro) may actually have a legitimate beef: Sam, who served as Cady's attorney in a brutal rape case, suppressed evidence at the trial that could have set Cady free. Disappointingly, though, after introducing these meaty complications, Scorsese plays the whole thing out as predictably as Thompson did, though with an unnecessarily graphic violent ending. So, which version do we recommend? Actually, both. Granted, the 2-disc 1991 version has a much better video and audio mastering (including a DTS track), as well as a slew of extras (though oddly, no commentary by Scorsese), but the 1962 has something even better. Mitchum. His Cady, skillfully underplayed, is a marvel of cool murderous intent, and his malevolent single-mindedness leads to a white-knuckle conclusion that is still quite effective today. By contrast, De Niro's take is more over the top (actually, way over the top), but giving credit where it's do, De Niro adds both cunning and a serpentine seductiveness to the role that fleshes Cady out. Interestingly, Scorsese's version serves as a "Cape" reunion: Peck is back as an attorney, this time defending Max; Martin Balsam's star has risen from detective to judge; and Mitchum, in a clever twist, is now the town's Chief of Police. If you can afford only one, I'd choose the '62, but larger collections should opt for both. (S. C. Sickles)[Blu-ray Review—Oct. 25, 2011—Universal, 128 min., R, $19.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1991's Cape Fear sports a nice transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Extras include a “making-of” documentary (80 min.), deleted scenes (9 min.), a collection of graphic designer Saul Bass's opening credit sequences (12 min.), a scene-specific segment on the parade (2 min.), a segment on the houseboat set (2 min.), photo and matte painting montages, trailers, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a fine Blu-ray debut for Scorcese's solid remake.]