(Review originally written at 28 May 2004)
Many people know the 1991 remake but very few have actually seen the original. A shame because it is worth seeing- and to be known by more.
In a way "Cape Fear" seemed ahead of its time which it was not. It merely was a trend setter for later movies. The movie feels like it was made the same way as thrillers are made these days.
The movie doesn't rely on scary gory scene's and violence but more on the psychological thriller elements, it is thanks to Robert Mitchum that this works very well in the movie. He manages to put-, with his character, a certain tension in the movie.
The ending is a bit of a disappointing and not really tense or exciting. Another complaint is the way the dialog is delivered, it is done way too fast almost as if the actors were in an hurry, there are hardly any pauses between the sentences.
The famous musical score is from Bernard Hermann whose score was later reused for the 1991 remake, 16 years after his death. But the music wasn't the only thing that was reused, also the actors Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Martin Balsam reappeared in the remake. And then the question which movie is the better one? In my humble opinion the remake is even better and more exciting.
But judge for yourself which movie is the better one, both are recommendable.
8/10
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