Classic Brit gangster film - highly recommended
- Get Carter review by RP
Michael Caine plays Jack Carter, a London gangster who comes to Newcastle to investigate - and then avenge - the death of his brother. Caine's character is hard and uncompromising as he wreaks vengeance on all around. The only emotion he shows is when he sees what has been done to his niece (?daughter?).
With gritty locations, gritty characters and a gritty story, I remembered the film as shot in black and white. It is in fact in colour - but back and white is still how I see it, so bleak is the storyline.
The acting is excellent. It's certainly one of Caine's best roles, and the boss baddy (Kinnear) is well played by the renowned playwright John Osborne.
The film is now some 40 years old and yet it doesn't seem dated. Certainly there isn't the bloodiness of more recent gangster films, but the tension builds throughout helped by Caine's portrayal of a cold, relentless, ruthless man. The ending is unexpected (and I won't spoil it here), but well in keeping with the bleakness of the film.
'Get Carter' is a classic amongst British gangster films. 5/5 stars - highly recommended.
5 out of 5 members found this review helpful.
Get 'Get Carter'
- Get Carter review by PLUTO
Unsurprisingly, this movie still feels up to date. Convincingly portrays the underbelly of society, heartless, utterly selfish, take what you want from other non-violent "softies", and give them a severe kicking if they objector resist.
amorality always disbelieves in having payback drop onto them. Carter's contempt hits back at him devastatingly.
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Classic British Crime Film
- Get Carter review by GI
Hailed as a masterpiece of British crime cinema this is a key 1970s film, a cult classic. Viewed today it might be a surprise at how impactive this film was when initially released. It's minimalistic, sudden and cold violence, it's delve into the criminal world of pornography and it's bleak and dreary visuals of northern England along with it's depictions of the life involving grubby pubs and betting shops were all very shocking at the time although much copied since. Additionally this is a surprising role for Michael Caine, a major star by the early 70s and here he was playing a thoroughly nasty gangster, and very brutal he is too. Jack Carter is an enforcer for a pair of London gangsters. Against their wishes he travels to Newcastle ostensibly for his brother's funeral but also to discover how he died as he suspects the death wasn't the car accident claimed by the authorities. Soon finding he has the unwarranted attention of local top criminals and pressured to return to London Jack goes on the rampage uncovering the truth behind his brother's death. With a great support cast including Ian Hendry (who coveted the lead role and lost out to Caine who he then resented) and playwright John Osborne along with a cameo from Britt Eckland, there's also a host of British character actors to spot too. There's no heroes in this film, it's a story about corruption and violence told through the eye of social drama, it remains a powerful film and one of Caine's most iconic roles. British cinema at its very best.
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Drink Up, Eric...
- Get Carter review by JJ
Great and prescient film from almost 50 years ago now. It wouldn't have passed the censors in previous decades; Michael Caine said the reason he liked the script was that it didn't treat villians in the traditional British cinematic way, i.e. as a kind of joke. He knew from his background that they were very far from that.
What else was new in the film was its matter-of-fact depiction of a society whare corruption is endemic. Nowadays we take that for granted, but back then Dixon Of Dock Green was on TV and people's blinkers were firmly in place.
Yet I never really bought the ending and that is why 4*, not 5.
As to the Blu-ray, it gets rid of the absurd Dick van Dyke Cockney voices in the opening scene and pictorially it's some improvement on the DVD for sure but I wonder if a 4k restoration is in the offing? In a couple of years I'd be interested in that.
But still the best British crime drama ever.
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Caine is the King of Cool in this gritty & shocking icon of 70's cinema
- Get Carter review by Timmy B
If you live in the UK and are a fan of film, it is almost impossible not to have seen something either related to or influenced by Get Carter at some stage. The iconic image of Michael Caine in his immaculate suit holding a shotgun will forever be a part of our culture & history. I had never seen Get Carter before, but was waiting until the 4K remaster was released (which given its status, was always going to be commissioned.) And this remaster is excellent, really fleshing out the picture without making it look fake or cloying.
Jack Carter is a Newcastle-born gangster who is based in London. He is informed that his brother has died, but the circumstances are highly questionable & Jack suspects foul play. He returns up North to attend his funeral, then goes on a one-man crusade to expose the truth of what happened, unleashing hell on the criminal underworld.
Whilst the story today would be the most clichéd movie imaginable, in 1971 this was a highly shocking & controversial film. The violence, relatively tame by today's standards, had never been seen in this context before, especially when coupled with sex, nudity & the pornographic industry. Jack Carter himself is also a highly immoral & vicious man, who is as violent towards women as he is men. But what the film makes clear is that there are no heroes or decent people in the world Jack inhabits. If you came looking for a hero, then you're out of luck.
This film is a template for hundreds of others that came after it, many of them poor imitations. I deliberately tried to watch it as if I'd never seen any of these types of films, which only enhanced my viewing pleasure. It is a gripping & shocking film, with Caine it's sensational center.
One of the best British films ever
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
Northern Realism.
- Get Carter review by Steve
This landmark British gangster film is Mike Hodges' debut as director and he says he was inspired by how Raymond Chandler used the crime story to make satirical observations about society. Which probably explains why Michael Caine is reading Farewell My Lovely while he travels up to Newcastle to investigate the death of his brother.
And it's the impression of Britain in decline which is the most penetrating aspect of the film. Newcastle is a filthy corpse, fed on by gangsters, pimps and worse. Its coal industry is a black stain on the land. If Britain boomed during the sixties, the wealth hasn't trickled down to these mean streets. And the culture has surrendered to a tawdry, joyless Americanism.
The weakness of the film is the uninspired plot. Basically, Caine's antihero knocks around from one hoodlum to the next until he stumbles upon the truth by chance. And then he kills everyone involved. It's a signature role for the star, playing a relentless, cold hearted loner set on revenge; a laconic, incredibly violent sociopath.
There's a large supporting cast, though only Caine gets much screen time. Britt Ekland is barely in it. Which is a pun. Carter famously tells Bryan Mosley that he is in bad shape. But Caine is also plainly overweight. And it's this shabby realism which is the visual style. It's a grim gangster film with a large body count and a famously bleak last shot.
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