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DVD pick of the week
cape fear (1991, Universal), dir. Martin Scorsese w/ Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange. Remaking the 1962 potboiler in which Robert Mitchum terrorizes Gregory Peck and his family, Scorsese turned in his juiciest popular hit. As the tattooed psychopath Max Cady, De Niro cranked all his mannerisms off the scale. He was matched by Juliette Lewis, playing the writhing teenage daughter of Nolte and Lange. Cape Fear’s pleasures lie in how deeply Scorsese understands baroque style, and how deeply he expresses it in every aspect of the film. Universal is releasing the 1962 original on DVD simultaneously.
Extras: a new documentary, interviews with Scorsese, De Niro, Nolte and Lange, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage and a script-to-screen comparison. 128 minutes. NNNN
