From script to screen: The journey of Martin Scorsese’s 1991 movie ‘Cape Fear’
The filmography of Martin Scorsese is so impressive and so broad that there are inevitably some movies that slip through the cracks. The 1991 psychological thriller Cape Fear is indeed beloved by a strong contingent of fans. However, it is also overshadowed by the critical and cultural success of such movies as 1976’s Taxi Driver, 1980’s Raging Bull, 1990’s Goodfellas and many more.
A remake of the 1962 film of the same name, which was itself based on the 1957 novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald, the film tells the story of a convicted rapist, Max Cady (Robert De Niro), who seeks revenge on a public defender who he blames for his imprisonment. The seventh collaboration between Scorsese and De Niro, following such films as 1973’s Mean Streets and 1982’s The King of Comedy, the film gained two Academy Award nominations for the leading actor and his supporting co-star Juliette Lewis.
Steven Spielberg, who had just bookended the family-friendly Indiana Jones trilogy with The Last Crusade in 1989, was initially attached to develop the production. However, he later offered it to Scorsese, his good friend, after deciding it was a little too dark for his taste. Speaking to the New York Times at the time, Spielberg commented on the notoriously treacherous script, “I wasn’t in the mood; it’s as simple as that… I just couldn’t find it inside me to make a scary movie about a family being preyed on by a maniac”.
Staying on to produce the film through his Amblin Entertainment company, Spielberg’s decision to hand the film over sparked quite the cinematic trade-off. At the time, Scorsese was attached to helm the harrowing holocaust drama Schindler’s List from Thomas Keneally’s book Schindler’s Ark. But after the release of the controversial religious drama The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988, the director sought out a less daunting project. Instead, the two iconic filmmakers switched projects, with Scorsese taking Cape Fear and Spielberg helming Schindler’s List.
After taking over from Spielberg, Scorsese sought to cast Harrison Ford in the role of the public defender Sam Bowden, though the Star Wars icon wasn’t too keen on playing the hero, wanting De Niro’s role of Max Cady instead. Scorsese’s mind was only swayed when Nick Nolte, who worked with him on 1989’s New York Stories, approached him, eager to portray Bowden, with the director dumping Ford in favour of him after an impressive audition.
Both lead actors then went about physically dedicating themselves to their respective roles, with Nolte losing a considerable amount of weight whilst method actor Robert De Niro developed muscle and even underwent a major dental procedure. Paying a dentist $5,000 to have his teeth ground down, sharpened and deformed for his menacing role, the actor earned a nomination for ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role’ for his efforts and later paid $20,000 to have his teeth restored to full health once the film’s production was complete.
A surprising influence on the production was the British filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, with Scorsese directly lifting the director’s style, nicknamed ‘The Master of Suspense’, for his 1991 movie. The move came after Scorsese discovered the influence of Hitchcock on the original 1962 version of the film, with director J. Lee Thompson attempting to mirror the British filmmaker’s cinematic aesthetic, using strange lighting angles, closeups and a lack of visceral violence. In an attempt to replicate his eerie musical scores, Thompson even brought on the Oscar-winning American composer Bernard Herrmann, who had collaborated with Hitchcock on some of his most iconic movies, including 1958’s Vertigo and 1960’s Psycho.
To honour the 1962 movie and also draw from Hitchcock’s influential style, Scorsese’s version of Cape Fear opened with a credit sequence designed by graphic designer Saul Bass, who regularly worked with the British filmmaker throughout this career. In addition, Scorsese also solidified the link between his and Hitchcock’s work by reusing the score of 1962’s Cape Fear by Herrmann.
Speaking about the creation of the score, which was composed by Elmer Bernstein from the original soundtrack from Bernard Herrmann, Scorsese discussed his own passion for Hitchcock and his scores, stating (via Cinephilia & Beyond): “Psycho, of course, is fantastic…The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is very sad, beautiful. His music really got to me after Vertigo and Marnie. I think [that] was when I realized the sense of ruin, sadness, melancholy, fear and anxiety — and that was really terrific!”.
Scorsese’s 1991 movie is considered a quiet classic of his filmography, with many believing the film to be the director’s very best horror feature, likely thanks to Hitchcock’s ethereal touch.
