Luke
stu-kicks
CibbuanoGet Carter
July 24th 2006 07:18
Get Carter (1971)
'Get Carter' is what many would call a classic. This is vintage Michael Caine, and this is vintage gangster filmfare. This film broke the mould on it's release, and ran miles in a direction a lot of other films wouldn't have dared to in their time.
It's pretty safe to say that Carter is an anti-hero. We follow Carter, a London heavy, on his return to Newcastle, where he begins to investigate the suspicious death of his brother. The film is slow to piece together what has happened, but it draws you alongside Carter in the process, aligning your sympathies with him as he eyes up the local gangsters and attempts to find out who murdered his brother, and why.
The plot isn't anything particularly enthralling, but Carter makes for an entertaining and surprising protagonist. He shags and shoots his way through Newcastle, out-manoeuvring his opponents and manipulating his 'friends'. Caine plays him as the hero, but with a cold, calculating streak that never lets us forget the business he is in. It’s actually quite a mean feat that we’re sympathetic to his character at all in light of some of his actions. At one point he watches on, seemingly unaffected in the slightest, as a woman he has locked in the trunk of a car drowns at the bottom of a river.
It's a wonderfully shot film, full of memorable images and slightly twisted characters. It's also a nice view into early 70s England, and spins a film-gangster culture unlike anything before it. There's a gritty realism throughout that leaves similar films of it's era well behind. This is one of the great touchstones of Caine’s prolific and widely varying career. Get it.
TRIVIA…
- Remade in 2000 starring Sylvester Stallone. Caine has a small supporting role in it.
- In the first scene set in the bar, there is an extra who has an extra finger. Odd.
- Apparently several efforts were made to demolish the multi-level carpark featured in the film some years after it was made. There were a lot of protests, owing to the fact that it was one of the only ‘famous’ buildings in the area, thanks to ‘Get Carter’.
- Based on 60s pulp novel ‘Jack’s Return Home’ (later reissued as ‘Carter’) by Ted Lewis.
An iconic promotional shot from the film
- Reviews at the time of the film’s release were almost universally negative. Many found the film completely unredeeming and could not excuse it’s lack of morals. Oh how times have changed.
- The character of Sid was played by John Bindon, a real life associate of the Krays and Richardson (famous London gangsters). He spent several years in gaol, and worked in protection rackets and as a drug dealer. He was linked with a murder in 1978 and didn’t really act again as a result. He died of AIDS five years after that.
CAINE QUOTES…
“You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow.”
“A pint of bitter… in a thin glass!”
“You’re a big man, but you’re out of shape”
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Im a fan of Director Mike Hodge's (Croupier, I'll Sleep When Im Dead) Crazy that he went on to helm Flash Gordon in the 80's.
But Carter is just such a rivetting piece of tough guy cinema. Love that funky score in the opening credits as we travel by train. And that ending still knocks me out every time.
Comment by Luke
Old Movies
Cane Toad Warrior
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
have you seen Ill Sleep When Im Dead? It reteams Hodges with his Croupier star Clive Owen. It's almost like a gentler retelling of Carter. Playing on Foxtel at the moment I think.
Hodges B]Terminal Man [/B] is a fun mindscrew.
As a big time Mickey Rourke film from back in the day A Prayer For Dying is also in my collection.
Comment by Luke
Old Movies
Cane Toad Warrior