- 1991movierewind
Episode #1: Cape Fear
Updated: Apr 25, 2021
Listen to our premiere episode of the podcast here while you enjoy the show notes.
SUMMARY - Cape Fear tells the story of the Bowden family who are being followed by recently released convict Max Cady (played by Robert DeNiro). 14 years ago, Cady was represented by attorney Sam Bowden (played by Nick Nolte), but very poorly in Cady’s opinion, so he is determined to exact slow, but escalating revenge. With this menacing presence stalking him around town, Sam finds he needs to do everything he can to protect his wife and daughter.
Based off of a book by John D. MacDonald, Screenplay by Wesley Strick; Directed by Martin Scorcese and released on November 15, 1991.
PREVIEWS & COMING ATTRACTIONS
Before we get to our feature presentation, how about some coming attractions? Sometimes, if we're able to watch the movie on VHS or DVD, there will be commercials and previews for other movies and various things. Let's take a look at what was on our VHS.
We start with a promo for the new Universal Studios theme park where a "documentary crew" interviews prisoners for some reason.
Don't you want to see the Beetlejuice rock music stage show?
Next was a preview for "The Housesitter" starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn, which we unfortunately won't be able to cover on this podcast since it came out in 1992.
"Murder 101" starring pre-Bond Pierce Brosnan is from 1991 and looks like it could be a fun one.
We were then treated to a trailer for the original 1962 Cape Fear. How will it compare?
After that was an interesting commercial just generally advertising home video as a concept...?
It was a strange, but interesting narrated slideshow. We may end up repurposing some of these. One more.
Okay, one more
Lastly, before the feature, we got...
...an advertisement for the tape we were playing. Get the thing that's in your VCR now, while supplies last.
Okay, on to the main event.
FILM DISCUSSION
We hope you'll listen to the episode for more details, if you haven't already. Here are some of the topics we discussed in our inaugural podcast.
Martin Scorcese as director had his fingerprints all over the movie with very active, very noticeable camera work at almost all times.
Roger Ebert explains to the world why it is important to credit Scorcese in his review, so how big of a name was he in 1991?
The movie was an effective neo-noir with interesting use of colors and lighting.
Comparing the remake to the 1962 original starring Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck.
Cast and Acting Performances - How did Robert DeNiro prepare for this role and was it worth it? Was Nick Nolte really a heartthrob? Was anyone other than Juliette Lewis pulling their weight?
Of course we had to mention the Simpsons episode that parodied the film.
Awards talk - Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, but more importantly we discuss the MTV Movie Awards (Best Kiss? Really?)
TRUE CRIME & POP CULTURE
Nikki provides 3 true crime tidbits related to the movie. Here are some of the resources referenced:
We forgot to add this to the podcast, but the Top Song of the Week this movie was released was:
Prince & The New Power Generation - Cream
TV Listings - This week's TGIF listing and the shows on the other channels too.
This date also saw the premiere of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" Video. Do you remember where you were?
RANKINGS & RATINGS
Nikki 1-5 star scale - 1962 Original: 3 out of 5; 1991 Remake: 3 out of 5
Jon 0-4 star scale - 1962 Original: 2 out of 4; 1991 Remake: 3 out of 4
Would you watch it again? - We both say the answer is yes if someone else wanted to, but probably wouldn't be in the mood on our own.
If you want to watch Cape Fear, as of this recording in January 2021, it’s available on Peacock, VHS, DVD. Check your local listings
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Join us next time for Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear
