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Cape Fear Details

1961 Certificate 15
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 1841 members

Original version of the thriller that sees a stranger terrify a small family... Read more

Starring Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Polly Bergen, Martin Balsam
Director J. Lee Thompson
Genres Thriller

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Cape Fear

Original version of the thriller that sees a stranger terrify a small family...

Starring Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Polly Bergen, Martin Balsam
Director J. Lee Thompson
Studio UNIVERSAL PICTURES VIDEO
Certificate Certificate 15
Genres Thriller
Language DVD: English
Dubbed French, German, Italian, Spanish
Released DVD: 11 Aug 2003
Production year: 1961
Format DVD
  • Critics' reviews (2) of Cape Fear

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  • An irredeemable criminal exacts his revenge on the family of a lawyer who put him away. This supremely nasty thriller -... read more on Time Out

    • Time Out
  • Unpleasant and drawn out suspenser with characters of cardboard and situations from stock.

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
  • Most helpful member's review of Cape Fear

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  • 9 out of 9 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Menacing!

    Attorney Sam Bowden (Peck) finds his happy life with lovely wife and daughter suddenly shattered by the appearance of ex con Max Cady (Mitchum) - Bowden's evidence put him in prison and now he's out for revenge. Mitchum is wonderfully sinister as the violent psychopath who gets away with continually terrorising the family by keeping it all nice and legal. Peck is brilliant as the mild mannered family man pushed to breaking point. There's tension in abundance and some genuinely nasty moments. The infamous and oft-parodied house boat denouement doesn't dissapoint.

      • HB from Cardiff, Wales
  • Most recent members' review of Cape Fear

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  • 1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

    Rated - 3 stars

    Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck) is a successful lawyer, complete with happy family;

    wife Peggy (Polly Bergen) & daughter Nancy. All is going well until Max Cady (Robert Mitchum), a violent criminal, whom Sam prosecuted & helped imprison for 8 years is released. The story then revolves around the Bowden family trying to escape the misdirected wrath of Cady.

    I enjoyed this movie but felt the conclusion came too early, especially

    as the build up had been very good. The supporting cast including Martin

    Balsam as Sam's police chief friend & Telly Savalas as a private detective

    hired by Sam are used well. This is a first-rate B-movie, as directed by

    J. Lee Thompson, aided by the menacing, brooding Bernard Herrmann score.

    Herrmann's (a long time Hitch collaborator) score is the unheralded

    third supporting character.

    The dvd extras include interviews with Thompson & Peck & also include

    references to the 1992 Scorsese remake, starring De Niro, Lange, Lewis &

    Nolte.

    Personally, and rather unusually, I prefer the remake but the original

    is well worth a watch.

  • News and features

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    Cape Fear

    Scorsese's daughter eyes a new movie with her dad

    • 25 Apr 2009

    Actress-turned-director Domenica Cameron-Scorsese is looking to team up with her legendary father Martin Scorsese on the big screen once more - so she can show off her skills as a filmmaker. Cameron-Scorsese was a star at 15 when the iconic moviemaker cast her in his 1991 thriller Cape Fear. She went on to land a role in his 1993 romantic drama The Age of Innocence, but the father-daughter pair have not worked together since. The 32-year-old admits she's keen to re-establish a professional... Read more

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Rating breakdown

1,841 Member ratings
  • 100
219
  • 90
212
  • 80
482
  • 70
383
  • 60
286
  • 50
136
  • 40
58
  • 30
30
  • 20
24
  • 10
11

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    • Original version of the thriller that sees a stranger terrify a small family......