Cape Fear

“Cape Fear” was first released in theatres in 1962. It was then remade by Martin Scorsese in 1991 and starred Robert De Niro (Max) and Nick Nolte (Sam). As of this past October, “Cape Fear” was thankfully re-released in Blu-ray format. In the movie, Max has just been released after serving a 14 year prison sentence and he is out to seek revenge on his public defender, Sam. Sam and his family are living comfortably in the small town of New Essex, but Sam has several “skeletons in his closet” that are coming back to haunt him.

This was my first time watching “Cape Fear” and I thought it was awesome. The picture quality was great in HD and the sound was very clear and convincing. In addition, this Blu-ray was filled with so many extras. They included deleted scenes, behind the scenes, a making of featurette, paintings, a day on their set, photos, and trailers. This was a very complete package of the movie that would make any “Cape Fear” fan happy.

The movie itself was also very well done. The visuals, such as the vividly colored dark sky or the color changes during some of the scenes, were very masterfully placed and added a lot to the story. The music was perfect and added even more suspense to the already gripping storyline. In addition, the characters were complex and properly casted. I’ve seen a lot of Robert De Niro movies, but this was one of his finest and craziest performances ever. Nick Nolte was also perfect as the flawed protagonist and they really made the audience feel the frustration and madness Sam was being put through. My only gripe was Juliette Lewis as Danielle, Sam’s daughter. She seemed a bit too old looking for the part and was the least believable of the cast.

Overall, I enjoyed viewing and reviewing “Cape Fear” on Blu-ray. It had great picture quality, awesome sound, loads of extras, memorable visuals, fitting music, and mostly good acting. This is one of the few movies I would not mind watching again. I highly recommend this movie and am giving it an “A-.”