Get Carter

Summary

“Pint of bitter…. In a thin glass.”

In 1971, Mike Hodges directed the classic gangster picture Get Carter starring the iconic British actor Michael Caine. The film was an adaptation of a novel named Jack’s Return Home by Ted Lewis. It was an instant crime classic. Gritty and violent, Get Carter set the bar for gangster films in the UK. The role of Jack Carter is one of the best roles that Michael Caine received in his lengthy career. I watched the film a few years ago on the decent Warner Blu-ray, but I was very excited when I saw that Warner Archive was giving the picture a 4K UHD release that utilizes the well regarded 4K restoration from BFI. This release also ports over most of the special features from BFI’s release, so fans of the film stateside should be ecstatic. As soon as my copy arrived, I happily revisited the film.

London gangster Jack Carter, against the advice of his fellow gangsters, is heading to Northern England to find out how his brother Frank died and to lay his brother to rest. The police have ruled the death an accident but Jack is not satisfied with that explanation. He arrives in Newcastle by train. At the pub, his brother’s girlfriend that was meant to meet him, Margaret, phones him there instead of appearing. Jack heads to his brother’s apartment. He finds some panties in his bedroom and he retrieves his brother’s shotgun. Jack’s niece Dorene shows up at the wake. Jack asks what Dorene plans to do and if she is planning to live with Margaret. Dorene does not commit to that plan. Jack speaks with some of Frank’s friends who seem shaken up that their friend had died so suddenly and in a way that was completely out of character. Margaret finally shows up for the funeral. Jack asks her point blank who killed Frank, but she does not give him any information. As Jack begins to nose around town and investigate the death of his brother, he rubs up against the local gangsters the wrong way. Carter won’t rest until he gets his revenge against those who killed his brother.

Mike Hodges passed away in 2022. He lived a full life and had an accomplished film career before his death at the age of ninety. He was a truly eclectic director that was seemingly able to tackle any genre. I think that his willingness to work in different genres kept Hodges from earning the auteur title which he rightfully deserved. I have enjoyed Hodges’s work that Arrow Video exposed me to with both Pulp and Black Rainbow, and remember seeing Croupier (great) and I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (didn’t love it) in college. I checked Flash Gordon out on Arrow’s 4K, and I probably need to revisit it because I must not have been in the right mood for it. I checked out Get Carter a few years back on Warner’s prior Blu-ray and thought the movie was great, but I really enjoyed watching the film so much more on this gorgeous 4K edition. All of this is just a prelude to say that Hodges was a very talented writer and director, and Get Carter is arguably his best film. He directed the picture with unflinching cold confidence, with a great eye for mise-en-scene, landscapes, and framing that never detracts from the grittiness of the film. Working with cinematographer Wolfgang Suschitzky, Hodges brings Newcastle, England vividly to lide in a way that few films had done before. The staging of chase sequences on foot or by car is brilliant. The small sequences where the camera moves away to focus on small details (such as Carter’s gaze towards other folks on the ferry ride) add so much to the film. These little touches fuel the narrative realism. The violent outbursts in the picture are never prolonged, which makes them so much more effective. Hodges does a fantastic job of directing all the actors in the film. His documentary background comes through in his shot compositions and cinema verite style whenever he has gangster characters in close quarters. His directing style works very well to amplify performances that could have easily been turned into caricatures. The picture embraces subtlety and I applaud Mike Hodges for every decision he made on Get Carter.

The other element that is just as important to the enduring allure of the picture is obvious – Michael Caine is an absolute badass in the film. Caine grew up in an extremely poor blue-collar household. He served his country when called upon to do so. He knew roughneck gangster folks in real life, and he knew how to play them. His performance in Get Carter ranks as one of his very best. Jack Carter is an anti-hero that has very few redeeming qualities. He is a bruiser gangster sociopath who sleeps with any woman who will have him (including his boss’s girl played by the beautiful Britt Ekland in a memorable scene.) Despite all of the bad qualities of Jack, we root for him from the beginning of the film until the end. Michael Caine is absolutely the epitome of cool in the film. With his properly coifed hair on top of that sociopathic smile or killer gaze, Caine simply exudes menace while simultaneously entrancing the audience. He does it all while speaking in his fantastic Cockney accent. It is truly perfect casting.

The rest of the cast is enjoyable if not overly memorable. This is Michael Caine’s world and the rest of the cast are just living in it.  Britt Ekland is beautiful as the gangster moll he leaves in London. She is probably only onscreen for a total of four minutes. Her scene in the film is pure exploitation, but it is definitely memorable. The film benefits from a really cool soundtrack by composer Roy Budd that utilizes notes of jazz to draw attention to moments of suspicion and to action onscreen. Fans of the film Brick will find that soundtrack owes Get Carter something (even if it also owes something to Morricone.) Ian Hendry is enjoyable as Eric. Dorothy White completely commits to the role of Margaret which demands a good amount from her. Everyone else does well in their parts. No one stuck out to me as phoning it in. The music by Roy Budd is effective and adds a lot to the film.

Overall, Get Carter is a classic British gangster film and a classic revenge picture. Mike Hodges and Michael Caine would next work together on Pulp, which I love, but Get Carter would prove to be one of the crowning achievements for all involved. The 4K release from Warner Archive is derived from BFI’s 4K UHD release, and it is spectacular. Buy it!

Video

Warner Archive have provided a fantastic transfer of the film in 4K UHD with Dolby Vision/HDR10 in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Get Carter was given a 4K UHD release by BFI in 2022 that I was mighty tempted to purchase. From what I have read, this is the same great 4K transfer as was used on that release. The notes on that release specified:

“Get Carter has been restored by the BFI using the original camera negative held at Warner Bros. The original negative was scanned at 16-bit 4K resolution by Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging using a Lasergraphics Director scanner. Extensive picture restoration was then undertaken by Silver Salt Restoration, removing any instances of physical damage, scratching, and negative/positive density defects. This was followed by full HDR (high dynamic range) color grading.

Shortly after the film’s original release in 1971, a couple of very small sections of the original negative were replaced with sections of duplicating negative, most likely due to damage. Thankfully, YCM (yellow, cyan, and magenta) protection Promaster elements had been made from the original negative prior to these sections being removed and they were re-combined and used to replace the duplicating negative sections. Elements created for previous releases of the film were dating from 1971, 1999, and 2004 were examined to determine the final look and the film is now presented here in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Dolby Vision and HDR 10 playback. The original English language audio was remastered by Warner Bros. and is presented here in its original mono configuration.

Throughout the entire process, director Mike Hodges was consulted and signed off the final restoration.”

I don’t think I am going to provide much more valuable information than that write-up, but I would like to say that their hard work has paid off. Get Carter looks amazing in 4K. Fine detail shows a huge leap forward from the Blu-ray release. Saturation levels are totally convincing, and the excellent color grading is completely true to the source. It really is exceptional work. Fans will be over the moon with this transfer.

Audio

Warner has provided BFI’s excellent DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono track. The track has been cleaned up expertly by BFI’s team. The track makes the most out of the very cleverly performed score by Roy Budd. The dialogue is clear and hiss has been all but eliminated. Fantastic.

Supplements: Only a couple features and a script gallery have been left off from the BFI edition. This is great news.

• Audio Commentary #1 – An archival track recorded in 2000 with director Mike Hodges, cinematographer Wolfgang Suschitzky, and actor Michael Caine.
• Audio Commentary #2 – A 2022 track with film critics Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw. Any track with Kim Newman is appreciated.
• 2022 Introduction by Michael Caine – the legendary actor lends a couple of moments of time to talk about the legacy of the picture in his intro.
• Mike Hodges in Conversation – BFI spoke with the auteur for an hour in a wide-ranging interview regarding his career. This would prove to be one of the finall interviews with the ailing director.
• The Sound of Roy Budd – the founder of Trunk records discusses the difficulty of finding the Roy Budd songs on vinyl and the excellence of his work.
• Don’t Trust Boys – actress Petra Arkham discusses her experience playing Doreen.
• Klinger on Klinger – the son of Tony Klinger, Michael Klinger, reminisces about his dad.
• 1971 Original Release Trailer
• 1971 Michael Caine Newcastle Premiere Intro 1971 Music Trailer with Roy Budd
• 2022 BFI Re-Release Trailer 

Overall Scores:

Video: 5

Audio: 4.5

Special Features: 5

Overall: 5/5

Get Carter is one of the best British crime films of all time. The lead performance by Michael Caine ranks as one of the very best for the iconic actor. The film is gritty and tough and completely unsentimental. Filmmaker Mike Hodges was extremely talented as both a filmmaker and screenwriter, and this picture shows off his immense talent, especially when you consider this was his debut narrative film. He passed away in 2022 at the age of ninety and left behind a diverse filmography that I really enjoy. I am grateful to Warner Archive for porting over the exceptional 4K transfer that was utilized on the 2022 BFI release in the UK along with the majority of the special features from that release. This release earns our highest recommendation. Buy it!

The film can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com.