Cape Fear (1962)

Greetings from across the pond...I live in the U.S. and this movie I've been waiting patiently for it's blu-ray release in the U.S. When I discovered that it was available here at the UK site, I had to order it straight away. I had seen all of these movies at a cinema back when I was in my early teenage years. I'm also still waiting for the original '60s film masterpiece THE HAUNTING which isn't available anywhere on blu-ray. Another film from this period that I also love was THE INNOCENTS. I purchased THE INNOCENTS from Amazon UK but it is a Region B release. Luckily I have a Region-Free blu-ray player so I can enjoy these films long as my player keeps working.Getting back on track I had seen a superb Hi-Def transfer of this film on one of the Hi-Def Movie channels from my cable company. The transfer was absolutely the best I could ever have expected. When the blu-ray of this title arrived from Amazon UK I couldn't wait to pop it in and get ready for this hi-def film.I was NOT one bit disappointed. On the contrary it was as good and probably far better than what I had seen on of the movie channels. There are a full range of black and white throughout the film. It definitely appears to have been remastered with loving care. The transfer is simply gorgeous - very clean which really shows off the fine work of the director of photography (the cinematographer). The sound is equally top-rate and this blu-ray is REGION-FREE.If you are lover of classic thrillers without all the gore shown in most of today's films... then this blu-ray is a must own.In the short time I've had this disc, I've seen it 4 times. It's one of those rare films that is great to watch multiple times without it getting stale.I highly recommend this blu-ray and thank Amazon UK for making it available to purchase from outside the UK..

This black and white film holds its own as being a masterful portrayal of evil vengeance. Intelligently interpreted without the need for overt blood and gore. This one grabs your attention. Mitchum's powerful performance leaves you in no doubt you are in the presence of a psychotic, violent sociopath "I was only playing with her". Peck, brilliant as the focus of Mitchum's target for revenge, when this extends to his family. Headed by two powerful leading actors whose tempered yet equally powerful performances give this film it's justifiable credibility. De Niro/Nick Nolte's over egged version, simply does not compare. Don't be put off by the age of this film, indeed view it with that in mind. It was ground breaking in it's day for dealing with taboos of rape and sexual violence. It has been brilliantly written, directed and performed. Grips you to the end. Still sends a chill.

I have seen the most recent Cape Fear film played by the legendary De Niro......but Robert Mitchum is outstanding in the original. His screen presence is electric and he portrays unease and danger in every scene. It is truly a great film and seems way before its time, the opening credits will send shivers down your spine.

All I can say is, "Wow!" I have never seen the original Cape Fear look and sound this good!! The 1080p picture on this region free (at least it played fine on my region A blu ray player) blu ray is full of detail for being from the early '60s. I cannot get over how clean this print is! Universal UK did wonders with this transfer. It is presented in its original 1.85 aspect ratio and the DTS-HD is only 2 channel mono, but not isolated to the center channel. There are no special features. I was fortunate enough to get this for ten US dollars, so I didn't expect much. But the transfer itself pays for this fine disc! Now if only Criterion would release this classic on blu ray here in the states...

J. Lee Thompson's 1962 version of Cape Fear may not be a masterpiece, but in everyway it's a superior thriller to Martin Scorsese's horribly misjudged remake. More surprisingly, it's also much nastier even with the heavier censorship of the day - Robert Mitchum's treatment of Polly Bergen in the last reel is startlingly violent and disturbing even now and its still shocking to see an early 60s film that revolves around sex crimes. There's no doubt exactly what's on Mitchum's mind, whether he's eyeing up a pickup in a bar or breaking an egg in his fist and smearing the yolk over the mother's shoulders and neck: like a lazy reptile waiting to casually catch a fly with his tongue, he merely has to look at Gregory Peck's underage daughter to exude menace. Where the remake offered a dysfunctional family forced to come together, the original offers something much more anarchic, as Gregory Peck's Mr Civil Liberties gradually comes to realize that the only way to protect his All-American family from Mitchum's strutting lizard-like vengeful ex-con is play dirty himself and plan his murder using his own daughter as bait. He may be playing another small-town southern lawyer, but he's is as far way from Atticus Finch as Mitchum's seedy, cocky but thoroughly self-aware Max Cady is from his self-deluding self-righteous `preacher' Harry Powell.While Mitchum and Peck occupy centre-stage, James Webb's tight script ensures the supporting cast make a strong impression too as they usher Peck further down the path to murder: Martin Balsam's sympathetic police chief who'll bend the law a little to harass an ex-con for a solid citizen, Telly Savalas (with hair) as a pragmatic private eye who is not above calling in as little help from the wrong side of tracks and Jack Kruschen, not playing Jewish for a change, as Cady's mouthpiece who knows just how to use the law to protect the guilty. Aided immensely by Samuel Leavitt's menacing black and white photography and Bernard Herrmann's dramatically sinister score, Thompson's direction is right on target throughout: he may not have been one of the great directors, but he knew how to tell a story without losing the characters along the way, and he's at the top of his game here. It may not be quite a classic, but it is a strikingly effective thriller, albeit an undeniably nasty one.Unusually for a film of the period, this boasts a surprisingly excellent DVD, with a good widescreen black and white transfer and plenty of extras, from a half hour documentary (though sadly only Thompson and Peck contribute, with Mitchum notably absent), production notes, a well-designed stills montage and the original theatrical trailer. Aside from the production notes these are carried over to the region-free US Blu-ray but have all been excluded from the UK and European Blu-ray release.