Martin Scorsese’s 1991 remake starring Robert De Niro as Max Cady is titled Cape Fear. De Niro plays a convicted rapist who returns to terrorize Sam Bowden, the lawyer he blames for an earlier conviction. Nick Nolte portrays Bowden, while Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis play members of his family.
The film remakes J. Lee Thompson’s 1962 Cape Fear, which starred Gregory Peck as Bowden and Robert Mitchum as Cady. Scorsese retained the title and the basic revenge premise but made the violence, psychological pressure, and moral ambiguity more prominent. The remake also includes appearances by Peck, Mitchum, and Martin Balsam, performers associated with the earlier version.
Cape Fear is one of Scorsese’s most overtly suspenseful films. It combines courtroom conflict, domestic invasion, and thriller conventions with recurring references to classical cinema and religious imagery. De Niro received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and the movie became a major commercial success for Scorsese.