March 2023

A Remake That Can’t Miss: Cape Fear

By David Morgan This article was originally published in AC, October 1991. Martin Scorsese's films contain many homages to classic motion pictures — the techniques of influential directors often find new applications under his inventive hand. With his latest picture, Scorsese takes that trend one step further by remaking the 1962 thriller Cape Fear, which was directed by J. Lee Thompson and photographed by Sam Leavitt, ASC. A vigilante picture which met with some scathing criticism in its day (due to its violence and what some termed its “amorality”), the original has become a recognized classic. Adapted from a John D. MacDonald novel, The Executioners, the original Cape Fear starred Robert Mitchum as the psychopath Max Cady. Released...more