Dagada
14-01-2002, 22:14
Now - This is the sort of thing I want to see more of! Full marks here for top quality picture and sound, and excellent extras.
This is a 3 disk box set, with the original film on one disk with a 20 min documentary, notes and a trailer. The remake is on the second disk, with DVD extras. On the third disk you get a 80 min making of for the remake, 10 mins of deleted scenes, the trailer, etc..... However, the most interesting feature has to be an 11 min showcase of the work of Saul Bass, designer of title sequences extrodinaire. This is a quite fantastic little extra and certainly of interest to any true film fan. You get the openings of Vertigo, Psycho, Sparticus and Casino - all of which stand up to close deconstruction and analysis.
The films themselves. Well, these are quite nasty revenge thrillers in which a convict is released from prison and torments the family of the lawyer who defended him. A "Does the end justify the means?" type twist rears it's head shortly into the film, but I won't reveal it to those who have yet to see the films for the first time. Performances in both versions are excellent, with Mitchum and De Niro giving two very different versions of the same bad guy. Both films are taught and tense, with an air of threat running through them - Not least in the targetting of the wife and teenage daughter. More is made of this in the remake, with De Niro sharing a now famous chilling seduction scene with a young Juliette Lewis.
Be warned - The original, even though it's in black and white and decades old, still packs a hefty punch. It's arguable that it's a better film than the Scorsese version! Mitchum striding through the water, stomach in and chest puffed out like a predatory animal is a sight not to be forgotten. The wiry and muscular De Niro, covered in blblical tattoos gives a good performance - perhaps more realistic, but Mitchum's sticks in my mind more.
It's nice to see Peck and Mitchum crop up in the remake in small rolls - though this seems to be a convention of the remake now. In fact, Scorsese has gone to great lengths to retain the noir cinematography of the original, using many composite shots and stylistic filters.
For me, Cape Fear would make a great double bill with Night Of The Hunter, which is a similar film, but one with more of a sense of wonder. How long, I wonder, before that is remade?
A note on the picture and sound. On both films the image is sharp and clear, both widescreen, and the imposing soundtrack booms through well. This is a worthwhile purchase, in my opinion.
This is a 3 disk box set, with the original film on one disk with a 20 min documentary, notes and a trailer. The remake is on the second disk, with DVD extras. On the third disk you get a 80 min making of for the remake, 10 mins of deleted scenes, the trailer, etc..... However, the most interesting feature has to be an 11 min showcase of the work of Saul Bass, designer of title sequences extrodinaire. This is a quite fantastic little extra and certainly of interest to any true film fan. You get the openings of Vertigo, Psycho, Sparticus and Casino - all of which stand up to close deconstruction and analysis.
The films themselves. Well, these are quite nasty revenge thrillers in which a convict is released from prison and torments the family of the lawyer who defended him. A "Does the end justify the means?" type twist rears it's head shortly into the film, but I won't reveal it to those who have yet to see the films for the first time. Performances in both versions are excellent, with Mitchum and De Niro giving two very different versions of the same bad guy. Both films are taught and tense, with an air of threat running through them - Not least in the targetting of the wife and teenage daughter. More is made of this in the remake, with De Niro sharing a now famous chilling seduction scene with a young Juliette Lewis.
Be warned - The original, even though it's in black and white and decades old, still packs a hefty punch. It's arguable that it's a better film than the Scorsese version! Mitchum striding through the water, stomach in and chest puffed out like a predatory animal is a sight not to be forgotten. The wiry and muscular De Niro, covered in blblical tattoos gives a good performance - perhaps more realistic, but Mitchum's sticks in my mind more.
It's nice to see Peck and Mitchum crop up in the remake in small rolls - though this seems to be a convention of the remake now. In fact, Scorsese has gone to great lengths to retain the noir cinematography of the original, using many composite shots and stylistic filters.
For me, Cape Fear would make a great double bill with Night Of The Hunter, which is a similar film, but one with more of a sense of wonder. How long, I wonder, before that is remade?
A note on the picture and sound. On both films the image is sharp and clear, both widescreen, and the imposing soundtrack booms through well. This is a worthwhile purchase, in my opinion.