THE REWATCHABLES · March 28, 2023
A 1991 thriller / crime directed by Martin Scorsese, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The opening where Max Cady leaves prison is praised for its visual force and immediate menace.
About 40 minThe diner and car scenes where Cady demonstrates his legal knowledge and psychological control are admired.
About 40 minThe charged scene between Cady and Danielle is the episode’s most discussed sequence and the one Scorsese singled out as the reason to make the movie.
About 24 minThe sequence with the candles, the boat, and Cady fighting three attackers is a standout action stretch.
About 32 minThe movie’s sexual menace and stalking behavior are discussed as disturbing and confrontational.
About 24 minThe miniature and effects work in the climax are viewed as weak compared with the rest of the movie.
About 56 minJoe Don Baker’s confrontation with Cady is highlighted as a great tough-guy scene.
About 32 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Chris RyanIt is uncomfortable and would probably not happen now, but it works because it reveals Cady as a monster.
Bill SimmonsThe scene is fucked up, but it is honestly in character and incredibly effective.
Sean FennesseyHe says the discomfort fits the movie and its intent.
Sean FennesseyCritics were disappointed because they wanted more prestige from Scorsese, but the movie is still great genre filmmaking.
Bill SimmonsThe critical reaction makes sense historically, but the movie is still excellent and very rewatchable.
Bill SimmonsThe marriage should probably have ended; the movie shows they are trapped together by trauma.
Chris RyanThey are deeply damaged, but the film’s ending suggests Cady forces them into a kind of temporary unity.
Sean FennesseyThe movie intentionally centers the dissolution and instability of the marriage.
Bill SimmonsCady is more disturbing because he feels like something that could happen to you.
Chris RyanLecter is more overtly monstrous but Cady wins on realism and domestic threat.
Sean FennesseyBoth are era-defining villains from the same broad late-80s/early-90s horror-thriller shift.
Argues the movie is a rare Scorsese genre exercise that works because he brings pure craft to low-rent material.
About 8 minSays De Niro is unbelievable and one of his best ever given the material.
About 16 minTreats the Juliette Lewis/De Niro scene as the movie's most effective and riveting sequence.
About 24 minSays the scene where Cady fights off three attackers is his favorite part of the movie.
About 32 minSees Nolte as the perfect bruised leading man opposite De Niro during his comeback period.
About 8 minCalls De Niro the greatest maniac actor and cites Cady as one of his defining psycho performances.
About 56 minLikes the opening where Cady leaves prison and walks straight into the camera.
About 40 minArgues this film is part of Scorsese’s broader move toward entertaining genre movies, not just prestige art films.
About 8 minSays Scorsese’s racquetball, boxing, and pool scenes are fantastic and should inspire a sports movie.
About 48 minThinks the character is well-conceived as a stressed, smoke-filled, semi-disordered wife in a damaged marriage.
About 40 minSays killing the family dog is always a strong indicator the movie is really committing to its darkness.
About 48 minFeels critics were too disappointed that Scorsese made a thriller, even though the film succeeded commercially and artistically within its lane.
About 16 minThey argue the film shows Scorsese making a pure B-movie with A-list polish and Hitchcock homage.
About 8 minThey connect the film to 90s thrillers where the terror is unsafe marriage, home, and family rather than slasher-style shocks.
About 16 minThey discuss how critics were disappointed that Scorsese made a thriller, even though the movie was hugely successful.
About 8 minThey emphasize that the film is disturbing but still highly watchable because it is paced like a thriller and powered by star performances.
About 8 minThe movie was originally intended for Steven Spielberg before Scorsese took it over.
Opening minutesThe hosts say the film came out the same year as Silence of the Lambs.
About 8 minScorsese made the movie as a kind of payback for Last Temptation of Christ.
About 8 minThe movie was shot in 1.239:1 / CinemaScope for home-video protection, according to the discussion.
About 48 minJuliette Lewis was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
About 32 minDe Niro reportedly studied Southern speech by listening to regular people in diners.
About 16 minJoe Don Baker pours Pepto-Bismol into bourbon in one scene.
About 48 minCady's tattoo setup stayed on De Niro's back for months, according to the hosts.
About 56 min · medium confidenceThe original Cape Fear is based on the novel The Executioners.
About 16 minThe movie made about $182.3 million on a $35 million budget.
About 32 minThey discuss the story that Spielberg and Scorsese swapped projects, with Schindler's List and Cape Fear trading places.
Opening minutesUsed as an example of Spielberg's predatory-villain sensibility.
About 8 minCited as another Spielberg predatory-villain movie.
About 8 minCompared to Cape Fear as a 1991 sibling film with a celebrated villain performance.
About 8 minReferenced as one of the most famous Simpsons episodes and a shot-for-shot parody influence on how some viewers discovered the movie.
About 24 minUsed as a benchmark for Scorsese and as part of his 90s run.
About 8 minReferenced as part of Scorsese's career of genre-adjacent films.
About 16 minMentioned as one of Scorsese's major prior works.
About 16 minNamed as part of Scorsese's later genre-oriented films.
About 16 minUsed as another Scorsese thriller that fits the Cape Fear side of his career.
About 16 minA network cross-promo joke appears while introducing the show and other Ringer pods.
Opening minutes · medium confidenceUsed to discuss Nolte's career comeback and his 90s star run.
About 16 minCited as part of the 90s 'home insecurity' thriller wave.
About 16 minUsed as another domestic-paranoia thriller from the same period.
About 16 minNamed as another movie about a threatening intruder in the home.
About 16 minA bit describing the movie as a perfectly calibrated, endlessly rewatchable midweight thriller rather than an all-time heavyweight masterpiece.
About 8 minBill crowns De Niro the greatest 'maniac' actor and frames him as the GOAT of malevolent performances.
About 56 minThe hosts repeatedly joke about which older stars qualify as Dion Waiters-style surprise contributors.
About 24 min · medium confidenceThey toy with creating a new rewatchables category for great smoking scenes, focusing on Lange, Nolte, and Baker.
About 48 minA Simpsons joke is recalled as a defining line from the parody episode tied to the movie.
About 24 minThe hosts mimic Cady's repeated counselor taunt as a running impression throughout the back half of the discussion.
About 32 min“The Welterweight champ of the 90s.”About 8 min
“I am the greatest actor of my generation.”About 16 min · medium confidence
“You don't know anything about me.”About 40 min
“Maybe I moved to California.”About 48 min
“I am as large as God!”About 32 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Cape Fear, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Chris RyanThe Rewatchables
Sean FennesseyThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
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