FAQ

Cape Fear is based on the 1957 novel The Executioners by American author John D. MacDonald (1916-1986). It is a remake of the original Les nerfs à vif (1962). The script for the remake was written by American screenwriter Wesley Strick.

Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte), his wife Leigh (Jessica Lange), and their 15-year-old daughter Danielle (Juliette Lewis) are stalked and threatened by Max Cady (Robert De Niro), an ex-con whom Sam defended 14 years ago.

Cape Fear is a reference to the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. The Bowdens have a houseboat on the river, which is where their final showdown with Cady takes place.

The basic story is the same, even to an arrangement of Bernard Herrmann's haunting original music, although there has been some minor updating. For example, the names of Sam's wife and daughter have been modernized from Peggy and Nancy to Leigh and Danielle (Danny). Where Nancy in the original had the good sense to stay away from Cady, Danny is drawn to his sexuality. Peggy was a stay-at-home mom whereas Leigh is a graphics designer. The promiscuous pick-up in the original has become a clerk at the County courthouse where Sam works and with whom Sam plays racketball. In the original, Sam and Peggy had an idyllic marriage; Sam and Leigh have a rocky marriage due to Sam's previous promiscuity. Cady is portrayed as a psychotic religious fanatic, speaking in tongues and sporting biblical tattoos.

Yes. Robert Mitchum plays Lieutenant Elgart, the police detective who suggests to Sam the use of "alternative" means of stopping Cady. Gregory Peck plays Lee Heller, a criminal lawyer who ends up defending Cady. Martin Balsam, who played Police Chief Mark Dutton in the original, also appears in the remake as the judge.

That was a clip from Junior le terrible (1990).

Yes, Sexus is the first book in American novelist Henry Miller's The Rosy Cruxifixion trilogy, consisting of Sexus (1949), Plexus (1953), and Nexus (1960). The trilogy explores the details of Miller's marriages and philosophical musings.

Cady petitioned to represent himself at his parole hearings. In doing so, he was granted access to the complete case file.

During the credits, the music ends in the middle and is followed by the sounds of thunder, rushing water, crickets, and birds. After the credits end, no further scenes are shown.