Get Carter. (18.)
Directed by Mike Hodges. 1971.
Starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, Bryan Mosley, Alun Armstrong, Britt Ekland, George Sewell, Tony Beckley, Rosemarie Dunham, Geraldine Moffat, Bernard Hepton, Terence Rigby, Glynn Edwards and John Osborne. A new 4K restoration. Out on 4K Ultra UHD and Blu-ray from the BFI on August 1st.112 mins.
UHD: https://shop.bfi.org.uk/get-carter-4k-ultra-hd-edition.html
Blu-ray: https://shop.bfi.org.uk/get-carter-blu-ray.html
The similarity between myself and the film Get Carter is that more than five decades have passed since our creation, but we both improve with each passing year. There are very few films that always seem to find new ways to impress you with each viewing but every time I’m caught a little off guard by how great this is. When it first came out, this tale of a London gangster (Caine) going up to Newcastle to investigate the death of his brother was seen as excessively nasty, even grubby, with its relentlessly bleak and cynical view of human motivation. Now, this exercise in taking a coal-black sensibility to Newcastle stands as a genuine classic of British cinema; this nation’s saving grace.
The film’s steady, remorseless march towards the acclaim it deserves mirrors its central character’s pursuit of vengeance. In 1971 it was another overly nasty film, another grisly product of cinema’s annus horribilis mirabilis alongside Clockwork Orange, The Devils, Straw Dogs, Polanski’s Macbeth, Dirty Harry, The French Connection. Its reputation only began to grow in the 80s. The Human League covered Roy Budd's theme music on the first track of the second side of their classic Dare album and Alex Cox had it on Moviedrome
A few Leans, Powellnpressbergers, Hitchcocks or even the odd Python may argue against it as being the greatest film ever to be made on or by this island, but as a Brit gangster film, there is no contest. The Long Good Friday is a fantastic film, but it isn’t even close. Between that opening train journey up to Newcastle and the climax on a Durham beach every element, every scene is damn near perfect.
Where are you going to find fault with it? The acting, the music and the dialogue are all superb and supported by the fantastic use of locations and the sense of a big screen story taking place in a real community. Hodges’ background was making documentaries for World In Action and often Get Carter looks like a thriller that’s throwing its weight around in a Ken Loach film.
(This time round I did try to nit-pick, look for flaws. The staging of a couple of the murders isn’t 100% convincing; Bernard Hepton’s look of fear when cornered by Carter on the men’s toilet is a little over the top; the repetition of the line “still got your sense of humour” is a bit strained; in a couple of moments involving the two hard men, played excellently by Sewell and Beckley, sent to get Carter their actions are rooted more on what looks good on screen rather than what would be the best way to get the job done. That’s about it.)
It's a great cast; more so now than at the time. It's full of people who went on to do something and make their name. Glynn Edwards will be forever known for his role serving VATS (Vodka and Tonics) to Arthur Daley from behind the bar at the Winchester club but he’s a heartbreaking study in wretchedness in the few scenes he gets here. I think it helps that nobody aside from Caine gets much screen time. They all have to make the most of their time on screen. Perhaps they all want to take on this cockney interloper but they never do. Caine has never been better; as good certainly and on quite a few occasions, but not better. His ability to play a charismatic leading man while still being reptilian ruthless and unpleasant is remarkable. The character of Carter is fundamentally a male fantasy figure – a hard-drinking alpha male that everybody defers to, an irresistible sex machine who is tougher than and always a step ahead of everybody else. And he's entirely without consideration for others yet somehow he makes this git Carter relatable and somebody we can root for without ever making him sympathetic.
Among the copious extras the disc offers is one where you can watch the film only hearing Roy Budd’s soundtrack. But the thing about his score is there is precious little of it. It’s there at the beginning to set the mood, accompanies Carter on the train up north and then there are just a few intermittent clips before it reappears for the finale.
All great films are to some extent happy accidents, a miraculous concurrence of random elements. Absolutely everything went Hodges' way making this (even the extras are fantastic) in a way that it largely wouldn't for the rest of his career. He never made anything as good as this over the rest of his career; but then neither did anyone else.
Extras
Newly recorded introduction by Michael Caine (2022, 3 mins)
Directed by Mike Hodges. 1971.
Starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, Bryan Mosley, Alun Armstrong, Britt Ekland, George Sewell, Tony Beckley, Rosemarie Dunham, Geraldine Moffat, Bernard Hepton, Terence Rigby, Glynn Edwards and John Osborne. A new 4K restoration. Out on 4K Ultra UHD and Blu-ray from the BFI on August 1st.112 mins.
UHD: https://shop.bfi.org.uk/get-carter-4k-ultra-hd-edition.html
Blu-ray: https://shop.bfi.org.uk/get-carter-blu-ray.html
The similarity between myself and the film Get Carter is that more than five decades have passed since our creation, but we both improve with each passing year. There are very few films that always seem to find new ways to impress you with each viewing but every time I’m caught a little off guard by how great this is. When it first came out, this tale of a London gangster (Caine) going up to Newcastle to investigate the death of his brother was seen as excessively nasty, even grubby, with its relentlessly bleak and cynical view of human motivation. Now, this exercise in taking a coal-black sensibility to Newcastle stands as a genuine classic of British cinema; this nation’s saving grace.
The film’s steady, remorseless march towards the acclaim it deserves mirrors its central character’s pursuit of vengeance. In 1971 it was another overly nasty film, another grisly product of cinema’s annus horribilis mirabilis alongside Clockwork Orange, The Devils, Straw Dogs, Polanski’s Macbeth, Dirty Harry, The French Connection. Its reputation only began to grow in the 80s. The Human League covered Roy Budd's theme music on the first track of the second side of their classic Dare album and Alex Cox had it on Moviedrome
A few Leans, Powellnpressbergers, Hitchcocks or even the odd Python may argue against it as being the greatest film ever to be made on or by this island, but as a Brit gangster film, there is no contest. The Long Good Friday is a fantastic film, but it isn’t even close. Between that opening train journey up to Newcastle and the climax on a Durham beach every element, every scene is damn near perfect.
Where are you going to find fault with it? The acting, the music and the dialogue are all superb and supported by the fantastic use of locations and the sense of a big screen story taking place in a real community. Hodges’ background was making documentaries for World In Action and often Get Carter looks like a thriller that’s throwing its weight around in a Ken Loach film.
(This time round I did try to nit-pick, look for flaws. The staging of a couple of the murders isn’t 100% convincing; Bernard Hepton’s look of fear when cornered by Carter on the men’s toilet is a little over the top; the repetition of the line “still got your sense of humour” is a bit strained; in a couple of moments involving the two hard men, played excellently by Sewell and Beckley, sent to get Carter their actions are rooted more on what looks good on screen rather than what would be the best way to get the job done. That’s about it.)
It's a great cast; more so now than at the time. It's full of people who went on to do something and make their name. Glynn Edwards will be forever known for his role serving VATS (Vodka and Tonics) to Arthur Daley from behind the bar at the Winchester club but he’s a heartbreaking study in wretchedness in the few scenes he gets here. I think it helps that nobody aside from Caine gets much screen time. They all have to make the most of their time on screen. Perhaps they all want to take on this cockney interloper but they never do. Caine has never been better; as good certainly and on quite a few occasions, but not better. His ability to play a charismatic leading man while still being reptilian ruthless and unpleasant is remarkable. The character of Carter is fundamentally a male fantasy figure – a hard-drinking alpha male that everybody defers to, an irresistible sex machine who is tougher than and always a step ahead of everybody else. And he's entirely without consideration for others yet somehow he makes this git Carter relatable and somebody we can root for without ever making him sympathetic.
Among the copious extras the disc offers is one where you can watch the film only hearing Roy Budd’s soundtrack. But the thing about his score is there is precious little of it. It’s there at the beginning to set the mood, accompanies Carter on the train up north and then there are just a few intermittent clips before it reappears for the finale.
All great films are to some extent happy accidents, a miraculous concurrence of random elements. Absolutely everything went Hodges' way making this (even the extras are fantastic) in a way that it largely wouldn't for the rest of his career. He never made anything as good as this over the rest of his career; but then neither did anyone else.
Extras
Newly recorded introduction by Michael Caine (2022, 3 mins)
- Audio commentary featuring Mike Hodges, Michael Caine and Wolfgang Suschitzky (2000)
- Audio commentary featuring Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw (2022)
- Isolated score by Roy Budd
- Mike Hodges in Conversation (2022, 60 mins): the director discusses his career in this interview recorded at BFI Southbank
- Klinger on Klinger (2022, 24 mins): Tony Klinger recalls and evaluates the career of his father, Michael Klinger, Producer of Get Carter
- Don’t Trust Boys (2022, 22 mins): actor Petra Markham reflects upon her career on stage and screen, and recalls her role in Get Carter
- The Sound of Roy Budd (2022, 17 mins): Jonny Trunk explores the varied career of Roy Budd, and revisits his iconic score for Get Carter
- BBC Look North location report (1970, 5 mins)
- Roy Budd Plays ‘Get Carter’ (1971, 4 mins)
- Michael Caine’s message to premiere attendees (1971, 1 min)
- The Ship Hotel – Tyne Main (1967, 33 mins): Philip Trevelyan’s evocative documentary film about a pub on the banks of the River Tyne
- International trailer (1971)
- Re-release trailer (2022)
- Script gallery
