Sam Bowden is a small-town corporate attorney. Max Cady is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, Bible-quoting, psychotic rapist. What do they have in common? 14 years ago, Sam was a public defender assigned to Max Cady's rape trial, and he made a serious error: he hid a document from his illiterate client that could have gotten him acquitted. Now, the cagey Cady has been released, and he intends to teach Sam Bowden and his family a thing or two about loss.
Acting
De Niro's physical transformation and Lewis's devastating vulnerability.
Direction
Scorsese's Hitchcock worship with his own Catholic guilt layered in.
Cinematography
Storm-drenched Florida never looked more menacing.
Director
Martin Scorsese
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Robert Mitchum, who played Cady in the 1962 original, appears as the police lieutenant here.
Scorsese originally wanted Cady to be a more sympathetic working-class avenger; De Niro pushed for full monster.
US
