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Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, Britt Ekland, John Osborne, Tony Beckley ... see more see more... , George Sewell , Ben Aris , Alun Armstrong , John Bindon , Rosemarie Dunham , Glynn Edwards , Bernard Hepton , John Hussey , Petra Markham , Geraldine Moffatt , Godfrey Quigley , Terence Rigby , Geraldine Sherman , Kevin Brennan , Bryan Mosley , Alexander Morton , Dorothy White

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. Car... read more read more...ter 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, Rovi

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82% liked it

16,248 ratings

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89% liked it

28 critics

R, 1 hr. 52 min.

Directed by: Mike Hodges

Release Date: January 1, 1971

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DVD Release Date: October 2, 2001

Stats: 1,057 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,057)

  • brooklynspo
    April 17, 2008
    brooklynspo
    Get Carter fully lives up to it's reputation. Michael Caine is just deadly in the role of gangster on revenge trail. Bravo.

    Ugly, ugly tale of British criminal class, violence, family and monstrous male sexual guilt. Superb naturalistic cinematography and use of locations.

    Q... read moreuibble - on first viewing I felt the director was holding back too much information.
  • FilmFanatik
    February 24, 2012
    FilmFanatik
    To me there's always been two Michael Caines. One was the young adventurous actor who would partake in a variety of different film roles. The other is the older and safer Michael Caine, who's less adventurous but still great. The younger Michael Caine gained some reputation as a ... read morebadass in Mike Hodge's little British gangster movie that could Get Carter in 1971. Not necessarily a perplex film instead is just mesmerizing. You're more or less drawn in by the characters and the situation they're put in. Not everything plot-wise is crystal clear right away, which is part of the mystery and intrigue, but you know you'll follow Jack Carter all the way through. This is a pretty dark and brutal film for its time frame. I like to think of it as a British Dirty Harry in tone. Some of the acting from the other actors is not perfect and it feels a bit too dark for its own good sometimes, but the film is quite effective and memorable. Caine gives a fantastic performance, Roy Budd delivers a fantastic jazzy score and Mike Hodges gives strong direction and visuals. Great movie.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    September 16, 2011
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Michael Caine kills, beats the shit out of people, bangs dem bitches and whotes and then some more.. The cold desolated industrial landscapes of England work great as the background.
  • ajv2688
    December 21, 2010
    ajv2688
    This is a great gangster film, Caine is fantastic as the main character. I loved this movie.
  • cancercapricorn2002
    October 8, 2010
    cancercapricorn2002
    Get Carter is of a gangster film class all by itself. Jack Carter is a gangster from London who goes north and back to his rotting hometown of Newcastle to find out who killed his brother Frank Carter. He plans to retaliate against those who killed Frank, going alone with more en... read moreemies than friends in Newcastle and his own London crime organization chasing him down to try and bring him back.

    If you are a fan of Michael Caine, then Get Carter is a must see. Caine is beyond excellent here, giving a performance generally unseen throughout his long and illustrious career. Caine is Jack Carter, the character might seem dark on the page but it's more Caine than anything else that really brings the character to life. Caine's Carter isn't a hero, his actions are vicious and speak louder than that of his enemies. Still, you root for him because he's lost his brother and is after people who are worse than him, not because he's a model for courage and nobility. His guard is let down a couple of times in the film, opening a window into his damaged humanity, but blink and you might miss it - Carter's been devoured by darkness long ago ("I'm the villain in the family, remember?") and his brother's death only enhances his brooding and violent nature. Carter is able to suppress his feelings with an aberrant quietness but is also quick to boil over - and Caine brings out these qualities superbly. Caine is the MVP of the film; even if you don't like gangster films, Get Carter is a must see simply because of Caine's performance.

    Get Carter is a brutal film, not holding back the violence, sex, and drugs of the British underworld for the sake of the viewer. However, it's not your average gangster flick. Unlike other films of similar genre lines that are graphic for the sake of shock value, Get Carter films the graphic scenes of violence in an artful way, and even do a lot for the story and development of the Jack Carter character. You might wince, but in the end you also sit back and think "that was a great scene." The film's story is simple on the surface - Jack's trying to bring justice to those who killed his brother - but as the film progresses you find out more and more about the circumstances that lead up to the murder, and as a result, you also see Jack's reaction to all this as well. This gives Get Carter a detective film feel set into the dirt of an unruly gangster film.

    The film is well shot, with a real gritty look - perfect for the dirty and unchecked nature of the film. The angles, the zooms, the pans, and everything else that go into the camera work are all top-notch - the way the filmmakers highlight one of the characters eyes, hiding the rest of the face behind something else in the shot, is especially great. Get Carter does have a slower pace to it and all the supporting performances are fine, but are nothing much to write home about outside of John Osborne who was great as the slimy Kinnear. Still, riding a good script, well shot picture, and a career best from Caine, Get Carter is a great and unparalleled gangster film.
  • matertenebraum
    June 19, 2010
    matertenebraum
    "Get Carter" is often said to have inspired the current crop of British gangster films. If this is the case, Guy Ritchie et al must have well and truly got the wrong end of the stick. I haven't actually seen "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" or any of the "Right Royal Cockney... read more Barrel O'Monkeys" type films which followed it, but I get the impression that these are merely dumb entertainment for "new" lads. In contrast, "Get Carter" is unremittingly bleak. If Samuel Beckett wrote a gangster film, it might come out something like this. The grim Newcastle locations add to an atmosphere of decay and despair. The naturalistic camera work avoids cliches and adds effectively to the atmosphere. Long, static shots give the impression of actually being present as a bewildered bystander as the gangsters go about their "business". Although the long tracking shots of people walking/running are almost pythonesque at times, this only serves to emphasise the down to earth realism of the film. After all, even violent gangsters have to go through banal routines such as walking down the street. The score is minimalist but very effective, in contrast to the modern British films which seem to be conceived as a gravy train for music publishers and second rate "indie" bands.

    There are few, if any, sympathetic characters. Jack Carter, the central character, is not at all pleasant or heroic. The only people for whom he shows any affection are Frank and Doreen, and he is unable to express this affection except through money and violence. Keith thinks he is Carter's friend, but when he is let down and beaten up he realises that he is being used. Carter does not appear to love Anna, and it is not certain whether she really loves him, although there is a genuine sexual attraction between them. Carter belongs to a misogynistic and hypocritical culture which the film scathingly exposes. The only scene in which he shows any genuine emotion is when he discovers a porn film featuring his niece, Doreen. The cruel irony is that in the opening scene, he was seen looking at dirty pictures with his cronies, and his disgust must be partly directed at himself even though he refuses to acknowledge it. He then expresses his shock and outrage by going straight upstairs to assault and humiliate the nearest woman! And she just happens to have appeared in the very same film as Doreen: a clear case of men projecting their own sexual guilt onto women. The makers of the film cannot have been unaware of the implications of this sexual hypocrisy. The scenes are deliberately juxtaposed to emphasise Carter's ambivalence and double standards.

    The certainties of a linear narrative have been bravely eschewed. Carter is only able to react to events which are beyond his control and is sometimes led up blind alleys, taking a long time to realise what is really going on. This, again, is realism at its best. Real life does not have a coherent plot and nobody has complete control over their own life. Carter's lack of control is a central theme of the film. He likes to think that he is big, hard and clever, but his acts of revenge are ultimately pointless. Like Frank Machin in "This Sporting Life", he is emotionally shallow and able to express himself only through futile acts of aggression. He is cruelly exposed in the final scene as the smile is wiped off his face, the closing shot of the sea emphasising man's powerlessness.

    The film also contains elements of social comment and class politics. Frank is portrayed as a decent, honest, "salt of the earth" working class type, while the slimy and sinister Kinnear has a chauffeur and lives in a big house in the country where he hosts decadent orgies. These themes come to the fore in the (often overlooked) funeral scene. As Frank's small cortege pulls through the gates of the crematorium, we see an endless stream of cars leaving from the previous funeral. The message is that the "liberation" of the 60s brought few practical benefits for working class people in the north of England. Again, this relates to the dominant theme of control, or lack of it. The "swinging 60s" are exposed as a dead end of pointless hedonism. The extent of women's liberation is also questioned. "Get Carter" portrays a society in which women are not at all liberated except in a few superficial ways. The female characters in the film are all victims, owned and used by men who see them as sex objects and little more. It is implied that the sexual freedom brought by the contraceptive pill has benefited men more than women.

    It's not all angst and depression though. There is some good fighting, swearing, shooting and dangerous driving. There are also many subtle touches of black humour. Nevertheless, this is not a mindless action film. The consequences of violence are never ignored or glossed over. We are shown Keith lying on his bed in agony after getting a severe beating, leaving us in no doubt that his brief flirtation with gangsters has ruined his life.

    "Get Carter" is a masterpiece, although it will not be to everyone's taste. If you want non-stop action, try a mindless Arnold Schwarzeneger film. There is nothing for you here. However, if you are prepared to approach "Get Carter" with an open mind and think about it rather than be a passive observer demanding to be entertained, you will find a rewarding work of art with hidden depths. Forget Guy Ritchie. The only worthy successor of "Get Carter" is Neil Jordan's "Mona Lisa", which addresses similar themes and is equally bleak and disturbing.
  • mumby1988
    April 1, 2010
    mumby1988
    So many of the films we now regard as classics were severely misunderstood when first released. Blade Runner received mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office, with critics saying it was visually arresting but insubstantial (snigger). The Shawshank Redemption sank witho... read moreut a trace at the cinemas and was snubbed at the Oscars (but what do they know?). Both films have, through subsequent rehabilitation (and with Blade Runner, substantial revision), become recognised as the towering achievements they are.

    In the same way, Get Carter was once lambasted as soulless, misogynistic garbage. Even fans of the film, like the American critic Pauline Kael, commented on the sense of moral emptiness at the heart of it. But nearly forty years on, Get Carter has survived the vitriol of critics (and a really rubbish remake) to take its place as one of the greatest British crime films of all time.

    Get Carter is part of the 'Unholy Quadrilogy' of films released in 1971 which changed the landscape of what was acceptable on screen. The groundwork had been laid by the likes of The Graduate and Midnight Cowboy, but it was these films which truly blew away the rose-tinted looks of the late-1960s. The French Connection, Straw Dogs and A Clockwork Orange took audiences in the dark underbellies of British and American society, showing sides to these countries which had been swept under the carpet in the age of peace and love.

    Get Carter is a happy meeting point between these three films, taking the British setting and violent sexuality of A Clockwork Orange, the vigilante edge of Straw Dogs and the crime thriller aspects of The French Connection. It is a rough, edgy and endlessly tense film which manages to get beyond both its exploitation roots and the pulpy nature of its source novel, producing both a really solid crime film and a biting attack on British society.

    The film begins very slowly, with the introduction of Jack Carter in a brief scene before he travels from London to Newcastle to attend the funeral of his brother Frank. This opening is the weakest part of the film, and in reality most of it could have been cut. We don't really need to establish Brit Ekland's character in any great depth; not only is she largely incidental, but the graphic phone call between her and Carter paints a vivid enough picture of their relationship. In any case, Carter's reason for heading north, along with the antagonism between him and the other gangs, is clearly established throughout the first half hour.

    Roy Budd's jazzy soundtrack underscores the film, but after watching it a few times you realise that there is really very little incidental music. The thing which is making the biggest noise on screen is not the cars, or the guns, or the boats: it's the landscape. The images of Newcastle and Gateshead which Mike Hodges puts on screen speak volumes about the state of urban Britain -- not just the poverty but the sense of standardised despair and awkward silence which permeates through these communities. Early on we see the funeral cars driving down the cobbled street meeting every house - row upon row of faded brick, fading into the smoky distance like a dream slowly dying of old age. Throughout key sections of the film the only noise on the soundtrack is a hollow breeze, which adds a sense of starkness which threatens to shred ones nerves at any minute.

    The film is brilliantly anchored by Michael Caine, who gives his finest performance as the ruthless Jack Carter. In a huge departure from his light-hearted 1960s work, Caine builds on his typical understatement and uses it as the driving force for uncontainable. terror. Carter is someone who is brutal, callous, sexist and rude, and yet charming, quick-witted and immensely cool. The sight of Caine in that black trench-coat, carrying a shotgun and a whisky bottle, is an iconic symbol of British criminals; like the Krays, Carter is hard as nails when he needs to be, but also understands the power and place of both family and dignity.

    What makes Caine's performance and the character so remarkable is that Carter is never played as a straight-out heavy or meat-headed psychopath. It makes sense considering that he only finds out his brother's true fate during the last third of the film; while his methods have been forthright, if not shocking, they are not necessarily motivated by blood lust. When he does tip over the edge, he does so both out of a desire to avenge his brother and -- just as importantly -- to protect those whom he loves.

    Despite its graphic sexual content, which seems gratuitous on first viewing, Get Carter is an oddly moral film. It is not moral because it suggests that what Carter is doing is 'right'; while it is established that what Eric did to Frank was 'wrong', it does not necessarily follow that vengeance will right that wrong. The ending is perfect because it encapsulates the ultimate futility of vengeance, and by extension love -- in the very moment when he thinks that he and his family will be safe, Carter's happiness is taken from him by as cruel and cold a method at that by which he lived.

    Instead, the morality of Get Carter lies in its simultaneous documentation and criticism of society, particularly with regard to sex. Nearly all the female characters who appear on screen are either topless or in short skirts for any length of time, but with the possible exception of Ekland, these scenes are not there for our titillation. Instead they are on screen to make a point about how degraded and corrupted society has become, from the exaggerated fashions of ordinary women to Kinnear's den of vice at his country home.

    Carter undergoes a kind of transformation late in the film, rejecting casual sex and the lifestyle which goes with it. Up until seeing the porn film, he has bedded women willy-nilly; but after seeing Doreen being exploited, he openly weeps and singularly resolves to take out the culprits. The fact that he chooses to ring the police and send the film to the vice squad before he kills Eric is a clear sign that the character has undergone some kind of moral shift. It doesn't make Eric's murder any easier to condone, but it does demonstrate the film's commitment to its subject matter.

    Get Carter is also surprisingly twisty for a low-budget thriller. With so many different characters and named being batted around, we have to keep our eye on the ball if we are to follow every turn and understand every development. The dialogue in which key plot details are revealed is well-crafted, so that it doesn't just feel like exposition. The best scenes from this point of view are Carter interrogating Thorpey, the conversation on the top of the car park, and the fantastic final encounter between Carter and Eric on the beach.

    Aside from its slow opening act and occasional moments of gratuity, Get Carter is a near-as-damnit perfect film. Caine's sterling performance is flanked by a cast of great supporting ones, the highlights being a young Alun Armstrong and a caddish John Osborne (whose seminal play Look Back in Anger hangs over whole sections of the film). The dialogue is perfectly pitched, the direction is strong, and the tension is brilliantly sustained right up to the final minute. It's a crackling crime thriller packed with subtle social commentary, and it deserves its ever-growing reputation.
  • 76Majikat
    October 14, 2009
    76Majikat
    A film that becomes more exciting the further you watch. A great character played by Michael Caine and an enjoyable storyline. Some fairly suggestive material for a film of it?s age, considering the time, give it chance to warm up a little and you?ll find it an enjoyable classi... read morec British film.
  • SirPant
    September 29, 2009
    SirPant
    It?s gritty, it?s honest. Its 1000 times better than anything made since. No CGI, no explosions, just a great cast, good story, great direction and a killer soundtrack. A great film and a British classic!
  • tsigur
    April 8, 2009
    tsigur
    Good revenge film with a great performance from super badass Michael Caine. I remember seeing the remake years ago (my sister was in love with Sylvester Stallone for awhile but she's better now) and it was the biggest piece of shit of all time. Watching the original makes you und... read moreerstand why they want to remake it. The only problem that I had with the movie is that with such a good leading role, why they had to mess it up with a zig zagging plot when I was more interested in just watching Caine find interesting ways to kill people and doing it suavely (I don't even know if thats a word, but it fits for Caine). I did not see the ending coming, but in this case I would have like to seen it done differently. I am all for bleak endings, but this one just didn't work for me.

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Critic Reviews

Jay Cocks
April 20, 2010
Jay Cocks, TIME Magazine

It wallows in its ceaseless bloodbath and emerges like its protagonist -- sleazy and second-rate. Full Review

Variety Staff
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff, Variety

Mike Hodges' top-notch adaptation of a Ted Lewis novel not only maintains interest but conveys with rare artistry, restraint and clarity the many brutal, sordid and gamy plot turns. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Caine has been mucking about in a series of potboilers, undermining his acting reputation along the way, but Get Carter shows him as sure, fine and vicious -- a good hero for an action movie. Full Review

Cole Smithey
April 22, 2012
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

...represents the apex of the British Gangster genre for the its realistically gritty tone, fetishized eroticism, and dynamic attention to details that serve to delineate a unique sense of regional co... Full Review

April 20, 2010
TV Guide's Movie Guide

While Caine would like to think of himself as one of Chandler's or Hammett's lonely avengers, he is really nothing more than a vicious brute with a warped sense of honor, trapped between the past and ... Full Review

April 20, 2010
Film4

Ranks up there with the likes of The Long Good Friday as one of the finest home grown films of the past 30 years. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
September 6, 2009
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

Mike Hodges is a steely Diebenkorn, dry and dangerous Full Review

Tim Brayton
December 29, 2008
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

Its finest triumph may be that it's still more immediate and brutal than almost any of the films that it inspired. Full Review

Chuck O'Leary
February 16, 2006
Chuck O'Leary, FulvueDrive-in.com

A classic British crime-thriller that's as mean and uncompromising as its vengeful main character. Caine is in top form.

February 9, 2006
Time Out

Refusing ever to dwell, it cuts sharp rather than deep, but sharp enough. Full Review

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