Cape Fear
Short description
Cape Fear centres on Sam Bowden, a lawyer living in a quiet Southern town with his wife Leigh and their teenage daughter Danielle. Fourteen years earlier, when he was a public defender, Sam handled the case of Max Cady, a violent sexual offender. Sam withheld evidence that might have helped his client, and Cady received a long prison sentence. Now released, Cady has spent his time inside educating himself and planning his revenge. He begins to circle the Bowden family, testing the limits of the law without quite breaking them, and turns their ordinary life into a campaign of intimidation.
Martin Scorsese directed the film, the seventeenth of the thirty-eight features listed for him and his first release after GoodFellas, followed by The Age of Innocence. Wesley Strick wrote the screenplay, Barbara De Fina produced, and Robert De Niro plays Max Cady opposite Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis. Robert Mitchum and Joe Don Baker appear among the large credited cast.
Made for about 35 million dollars, the film took roughly 182 million worldwide, a strong return for a dark thriller. Audience response has been solid and consistent: on IMDb it holds 7.3/10 from around 241,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.3/10 from about 4,000 votes. A critics' rating of 6.9/10 from 60 reviews sits close to those audience scores, suggesting broad agreement rather than a sharp divide.
What's left behind the scenes
- Steven Spielberg wanted to direct the film, but ultimately served only as an executive producer.
- Scorsese was not particularly eager to film Cape Fear, as he disliked the overly saccharine and proper relationship within the lawyer's family. However, De Niro wanted to play Cady and convinced the director to take on the film.
- In Scorsese's remake, Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck made cameo appearances. In the original film, Mitchum played Cady and Peck played Sam Bowden.
- A full allusion to the old film might not have happened, as George C. Scott was originally supposed to play Mitchum's role. He dropped out of the film a few days after filming began due to health reasons.
- Martin Balsam also appears in the film as the judge, having played a supporting role in the original film.
- This was Gregory Peck's last appearance in a major motion picture. He went on to do two more works on television.
- Robert De Niro paid a dentist $5,000 to give his teeth the necessary look for the role of a convict who served a 14-year sentence. And he had to pay another $20,000 to restore his teeth to normal after filming.
- The film's music was composed by Elmer Bernstein, but in some episodes Scorsese used Bernard Herrmann's score from the old Cape Fear. Also, Wesley Strick's new screenplay is based on the original screenplay by James R. Webb. Incidentally, Scorsese allowed a screenwriter on set for the first time in his career.
- Max Cady's tattoos were done with special inks that faded after a few months.
- De Niro read research on sexual offenses and himself suggested the scene where Cady bites his victim.
- De Niro spent several months in the gym to gain the necessary muscle mass for the role. Conversely, physically fit Nick Nolte had to go on a strict diet so as not to appear stronger than De Niro in the frame.
- Scorsese wanted to cast Harrison Ford in the role of Sam Bowden. He even asked De Niro to call Ford and persuade him to star in the film.
- Robert Redford was also considered for the role of Bowden's lawyer.
- Reese Witherspoon, who was then unknown, attended the audition for the role of Danielle Bowden.
- Drew Barrymore, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Nicole Eggert were also considered for the role of Danielle. The role was also offered to Jennifer Connelly, Alyssa Milano, Winona Ryder, Tiffany Thiessen, and Christine Applegate, but they declined.
- The scene in the school between Cady and Daniel was completely improvised by De Niro and Juliette Lewis. Incidentally, the script originally called for a chase scene, but Scorsese wanted to make it a seduction scene.
- In the scene of the failed attack on Max, a quote from the works of the 17th-century German poet and philosopher Silesius is used. Scattering the attackers hired by the lawyer, Max Cady exclaims with pathos: “I am as great as God! God is as insignificant as I!”
- The film being shown in theaters is 'Problem Child' (1990).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
