← Apex Mountain

Cape Fear

1991 · directed by Martin Scorsese · 128 min
25,155 feet · Prominence
444th of 15,261 films scored
The Rewatchables‘Cape Fear’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey

How this film scores

Draw69

$182m worldwide in 1991 — $442m in today's money.

As released$182mIn 2026 money$442mRank717 of 8,589In 19919 of 146

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise79

Critics 75, awards 30. Half each, so Praise lands at 79.

Critics75 → 38Awards30 → 15

Oscars2 nominated Actor, Supporting Actress
How Praise works

Half critics, half a tiered award record where Picture and Directing carry most of the weight. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.

Legacy60

Judged directly: De Niro menace, still referenced.

Verdict60 of 100IMDb7.3 from 241kWikipedia102k views a monthAge35 years

Scored beside it · 488 of 3,430 films judged

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.

draw 69 praise 79 legacy 60averages 69, which places it at25,155 ft
How the three become one number

Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.

Whose apex this is

Robert De Niro

In these careers — elevation for this film

Robert De Niro23,082 ft