I haven't read the book, but I saw the two movies in quick
succesion, rented the original just before seeing the remake
in the theaters when it came out. Even though I liked that
the later version was more morally ambiguous (Cady had a
legitimate gripe with Nolte, who had tanked his defense), I
far preferred the original, especially Mitchum's quiet,
laidback menace to DeNiro's over the top threat. That said,
as several others have stated, the highlight of the latter
film was the scene in which Juliette Lewis sucked Deniro's
thumb -- genuinely creepy. I just finished reading Amy
Taubin's great analysis of Taxi Driver in the BFI Film
Classics series. In passing, she mentions that Scorcese says
that was the scene that sold him on doing the remake. Still,
I've seen Taxi Driver numerous times (and Mean Streets even
more), but I've never felt like watching Cape Fear a second
time.
Mark
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