| Year | Country | Director | Starring |
| 1991 | USA | Martin Scorsese | Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis |
I remember when I was a kid, looking at the box of the VHS of this movie at the video store. It looked so impressive and scary. I knew that De Niro was supposed to be a great actor, but asides from that, there was a lot to learn about movies – and this one I wasn’t allowed to see just yet, at the tender age of 8 or 9. Well, I’ve seen it a few times since, but today must have been the first time in over 15 years since the last. It hasn’t lost its intensity. A remake of the 1962 film of the same name, De Niro plays a recently released convicted rapist/pedophile out for revenge by terrorizing the lawyer who represented him and the lawyer’s family while slowly seducing their 15 year old daughter. De Niro’s performance is batshit crazy and totally worthy of its 1991 Best Actor nomination. Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange are incredibly solid and convincing as the terrorized husband/lawyer and wife, but it is Juliette Lewis who blows them out of the water: at 18 years old when this was released, it’s mind-boggling to see how nuanced and convincing she is in such a difficult role. No wonder it ended up turning her into a household name (she was nominated Best Supporting Actress). As for Scorsese, you have all the typical touches here you know him for (no Rolling Stones in the soundtrack though!!), but with a twist: the editing, cinematography, music and direction all have nods to classic 50’s and 60’s Hollywood suspense movies. The score, by Elmer Bernstein, was a reinterpretation of Bernard Herrmann’s original score for the first film, and that movie’s 2 stars, Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum are back here, albeit in supporting roles. What’s interesting watching this so many years later is that despite all of Scorsese’s classic touches (no small feat considering his own typical style is retained), this also feels pretty close to a Brian De Palma thriller in its camera angles and lighting especially. Still great 29 years later (!).
Cinema Del Peppel 