Get Carter (1971)

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Directed by Mike Hodges.

Starring Tony Beckley, Michael Caine, Britt Ekland, Ian Hendry, John Osborne.

Get Carter stars Michael Caine as Jack Carter, a powerful British gangster out for blood. His brother has been murdered in Newcastle, prompting Carter to declare a one-man war on other racketeers. Carter must also get his niece out of the life she is leading as an actress in pornographic films. Now that he is a loose cannon, Carter must be eliminated. Get Carter is typical action fare of the 1970s in that there are virtually no "good guys" -- in fact, the assassin is probably the most likable character in the piece! Originally rated X for violence and female nudity, Get Carter was reclassified as an R after subsequent crime films became even more bloodthirsty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Re:Re:Favorites
by Risselada in British Invasion

loved it.

"If it were real Brits doing the voting, I think Get Carter would have been in there somewhere. " [More]

movie year countdown #36 - 1971 ...
by Risselada in Risselada Blog

loved it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"This blog entry is part of my “movie year countdown”. To read more about that check out my first Spout filmblog entry.Get CarterMaybe I haven't seen enough Michael Caine movies from his young years, but man he is absolutely ruthless here. I'm not sure if I expected that.This movie starts out slow for quite a while. I didn't know if I'd be able to get through it for a while. But then the action really picks up. I kind of love that feeling when you are watching a movie and you're rating of it in your head gradually goes up and up.Can I reiterate the fact that Caine's character is ruthless? Wow!Another one of those movies where pretty much every character is reprehensible, except maybe the poor lad who gets the total crap beat out him and looks completely hideous shortly before his girlfiend is coming into town to visit.This is an ugly England, but I love it. I think it's often considered one of the best and most influential British films ... " [More]

Re: Risselada
by Risselada in Stanley Kubrick Films

loved it.

"Get Carter IS great! Boy it starts off rather slow and takes a while to get going. I thought for quite a while that I was just going to be bored the whole time, but the last half hour is quite a rush. Wow, Michael Caine is absolutely ruthless! " [More]

Re: Kubrick is #1
by Risselada in Stanley Kubrick Films

loved it.

"Thsi is so weird. Dr. Gor, you just mentioned The Exorcist (although not that weird since you metion it a lot)And El_Aaron you just mentioned Get Carter.I just watched The Exorcist yesterday for the first time and I'm about to watch Get Carter for the first time tonight!WHAAAA WEIRD! " [More]

Shows how us Brits are really l ...
by El_Aaron in El_Aaron Blog

loved it.

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"For years, and even now, other countries think of us Brits as posh, stuck up, and snotty. See this film, and you'll think again. If you mess around with some Brits, you'll be covered in bruises.This is probably Michael Caine's best role, as a cockney gangster, in search of the murderer of his brother. Sexy, stylish, and violent! " [More]

Movie year countdown viewing pr ...
by Risselada in Risselada Blog

loved it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"Here’s the dilemma. I have a list of well over three thousand movies I want to see saved on IMDB. I have a subscription to Netflix and recently every time I return a DVD it has been an extremely arduous task to make the decision as to which movie I should see next. In an effort to narrow down my choices and make the process of choosing slightly less overwhelming I have devised a system, almost a bit of a game for me. Here’s how it goes.For my first film selection, I have narrowed the options down to only films that were released in the year 2006. Then after I have watched that movie, my next selection would have to be a film released in 2005. Then I would see a film from 2004, then 2003, etc. The process of deciding is still laborious, but actually quite a bit more exciting. (I'm going by IMDB as my source for release years)I have already been making a list and have also already begun watching the films. I decided this might be a good time to start fooling ... " [More]

Re: Favorite Film Scores?
by paul in Best Movie Soundtracks

hasn't rated it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"Which sort of brings up the John Williams phenomena. John Williams who does anything Steven Spielberg or George Lucas (and also a personal favorite score, Superman) is pretty much what most people in this country recognize as popular classical music. I've heard orchestral musicians tend to hate him. But it's fascinating how he took orchestral music and created hits within a pop music culture. Would we even care about his music if it didn't conjure up feelings from when we saw Luke blow up the Death Star, Superman jump into a phone booth, or Indy chase down the ark?Incidentally, have you ever tried to hum the following John William's scores one after the other?Star WarsSupermanRaiders of the Lost ArkI find it very difficult. I get stuck on one and it blocks out the other two (maybe because they're so similar).Anyway, Nino Rota with The Godfather is my favorite soundtrack (especially the 5/4 piece when Woltz wakes with the dead horse).Ennio Morricone's work for The Mission really sta ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

liked it.

Featuring a young Michael Caine in one of his best and perhaps least expected performances, Get Carter helped set the standard for contemporary gangster film grit. Adapted for the screen and directed by BBC TV veteran and feature neophyte Mike Hodges, Get Carter's starkly economical style and bleakly seedy Newcastle location provided an appropriate backdrop for Caine's Jack Carter. As a London mobster out for vengeance in his hometown, Caine's ruthlessness overruled any sympathy that could have been gleaned from the familial bonds driving his quest, turning him into a memorably amoral "hero" akin to Lee Marvin's equally brutal seeker in Point Blank (1967). Famed "angry young man" playwright John Osborne is a formidable nemesis as the smooth fat cat Kinnear, while Ian Hendry earned kudos for his performance as slippery chauffeur Eric Paice. Though it was not exactly greeted with open arms by the critics, Get Carter's toughness rejuvenated the genre and it has since come to be considered one of the best British gangster films ever made. Sylvester Stallone's 2000 remake suffers by comparison in every way. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

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