Get Carter is a classic British crime film from 1971 directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine as Carter. Caine once again plays a London gangster, a role you could say he plays very well, in a way natural. Michael Caine has had an impressive career spanning over seven decades. Along the way he has played some notable roles in some classic films, like The Italian Job, Alfie and Educating Rita. Get Carter is up there amongst the great films he has made of which there are so many. Caine is one of only two actors to be nominated for an Academy Award in every decade from the 60’s to the 2000’s; the only other actor to achieve this feat is the brilliant Jack Nicholson. One of the things that makes Caine stand out from the crowd is the Cockney accent which he has in nearly every film which he appears in, this movie is no exception. Also Starring in this film alongside Caine include, Britt Ekland (future Bond Girl and sex symbol of the era) and Ian Hendry (famous for appearing in the British TV series, Avengers)

The film Starts out down south where the audience find out that Jack Carter’s brother has died in a drink driving accident in Newcastle. It isn’t long until carter is up north for the funeral. Carter has already been pre warned not to stir up trouble with the Newcastle lot. Carter already knows that his brother’s death wasn’t an accident and he goes with full intent to find out who’s responsible. Carter doesn’t care who he upsets or hurts along the way. Carter is out for revenge.

The film seems to be such a throwback to an era where you could smoke in pubs and fights in such establishments was seen as normal or entertainment. Having turned eighteen after the smoking ban was enforced in the UK, it seems strange that people used to smoke inside the four walls of a public house. Another that I found funny was when Caine is talking to his niece Doreen and is asking about how everything is going. She mentions that she works in Woolworths. Another thing that we no longer have due to the recession.

Get Carter is a brilliant crime film that is full of twists every time Carter finds something else about the mystery that surrounds the death of his brother. There are many individuals that Carter meets along the way that tell him something different that leads him in another direction. Caine seems to command the screen and is the main focal point throughout. Whether this is when he has the shotgun in his hands or when he is seducing a woman. Talking about the women within the movie, there is a fair bit of nudity. It’s not surprising when part of the film is based upon the pornography industry. That is where one of the biggest twists in the movie comes from. It turns out Doreen appeared in a porn film which was shown to Carter’s brother before he died. This is where Caine goes mental at one of the women in the film. He starts using the word bloody, which sounds fantastic when used by Caine. Most notably in The Italian Job, “you were only meant to blow the bloody doors off.” One of the best lines in cinema history. There are a few lines in this film that i quite enjoyed like, “You know, I’d almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow.” and “You couldn’t run an egg and spoon race Eric.”

The acting in this film outside of the performance given Michael Caine, i personally didn’t think were brilliant. Apart from Caine, no one else within the film really made much headway on the big screen, mostly limited to the small screen. Apart from maybe Britt Ekland, who did go on to appear in The Man with the Golden Gun, but the reason why she got this role was based upon her looks. You only have to look where she was in 2010, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. You wouldn’t find Michael Caine on a programme like this.

The violence within the film isn’t too gruesome, but i can see why some viewers of the time would have been shocked. The most shocking it gets is probably when Cliff Brumby is thrown of the multi storey car park and lands on a car. Half the time he doesn’t even look like the punches are connecting with the individual Jack is punching. One other shocking scene within the movie is when Carter kidnaps Margaret, a woman who was involved with his brother. He proceeds to take her to the woods and tells her to get undressed and murders her. You get a sense at this point of how sinister a person he really is.

The last couple of twist in the film come at the end, when he tracks down Eric who he believes is most responsible for the death of his brother. With the shotgun in his hands you think he going to shoot him, but no he uses the unconventional method of hitting him with the butt of the gun. The final twist however is when Caine is walking away up the beach he shot in the head by an assassin. This is where you could say if the film was made today there would be more blood on show, but you have to remember this 1971 after all. The whole time Carter was out for revenge, everybody else was out to get Carter.

My consensus on this film is that i really enjoyed, partly because of how British the movie is and the other is the performance of Michael Caine. Who doesn’t love the voice of Michael Caine. This film is a gritty and classy film and is one of the best British films I have seen. If you enjoy Michael Caine’s film and you haven’t watched this one, what are you waiting for get watching. I would give this film 8/10.