Get Carter - What You Give Is What You Get 

Best British film ever. And not a lot of people know that.

You can see it 100 times and each time it is different: best british film ever, and best film about british mood ever

Michael Caine was always a hero/darling during the swinging 60s movies, now he's Carter, a violent, sociopathic villain. The role immortalised Michael Caine.

Michael Caine was never better in this movie and agreed fully is one of the best British films of all time. I read that Daniel Day Lewis was an extra in Get Carter (1971) . I always like Caine but this movie hits all cylinders and Ian Hendry I always like as well very underrated at least in the states. Enjoy your RU-vid videos

Agree with all that. As a side note, I love Caine’s ability to give such a cynical edge to his one liners. It brings some humour but doesn’t depart from the oppressive tone you highlighted at the start As well “You’re a big man”. my other favourites are “You’re getting very optimistic in your old age” and Hendry’s response to “besides, I’m nosy” - “well that’s not always a healthy way to be” Very hard balancing act they pull off

I'm sorry but I do agree with every word you say about this marvellous film. If I have the chance to I'll ensure the pint I buy you is in a thin glass.

Fantastic review. I'm sure it was intimidating to create this review, but you can rest easy.

Nice one Tony. Cheers. Michael Caine is a legend and so is this film. Caine has done himself proud since his early screen appearance in "The Day The Earth Caught Fire". Who would have thunk that a role as a Bobbie directing traffic in foggy London would go on to forge a path leading to superstardom. Didn't Sly Stallone try to remake this film? Why, I have no bloody-idea.

Yep, Jack Carter was John Wick long before the idea of the Wick films arrived on the scene. The main attribute of both the Carter and Wick characters is that they inspired dread and terror wherever they went.

Great description of one of the best films ever made.

Get carter is a masterpiece, it is such a gritty and realistic revenge film that is very atmospheric when it comes to its overall look of the film and the setting of post industrial city of newcastle which really adds to the films realism of the whole class structure and also the way the criminals are portrayed is very realistic, because even though they are actors they honestly don’t feel like actors they feel like real criminals that’s how realistic the film’s portrayal is of the criminal underworld in Newcastle.

Saw this again at the BFI last summer. Great on the big screen. Interesting factoid: Geraldine Moffat, the girl in the Sunbeam Alpine, went on to marry a Mr Houser, and their two sons started Rockstar, makers of Grand Theft Auto franchise.

Fantastic review. It's also my favourite film. It's violent and dark but at the same time beautiful and pure. Don't ask me to explain that because I can't:)

WELL DONE! | Thank you, Tony, for the usual, excellent work of pithy commentary and perspective; yet I think you are too kind to the Stallone remake. I watched that THING only out of duty as a cinephile.

Brilliant documentary film, 👏 👍 👌 I love the film you have produced. Get Carter is timeless and your short documentary emphasises the best British feature film ever produced in an understated, humourous and creative manner. Bravo!

Ian Hendry was actually due to play Carter, but his drinking habits led him to the more fitting role of Eric. I could never see Hendry as Carter!

First saw this incredible movie possibly the best crime British film of its genre on its theatrical release in 1971, I was seventeen and even then I knew I had witnessed a classic, there was a heady hush as the credits rolled, everyone else it appeared had felt the same. Over the years I like to catch up with GC and somehow it continues and reveals more layers. Imo I believe Carter knew he was being tailed from the get go, knowing his bosses only too well and was also probably ill (popping his pills) and had nothing to lose but wreak havoc on the Northern crime syndicate, they being totally unaware of what had arrived on their doorstep and Carter unleashing his violence in the light for the first time whereas before in the shadows. In an alternative movie universe I would love to see Caine in a cameo as a retiree in Spain in 2024 with the remains of a deep bullet wound scare on his forehead….gazing out to Mediterranean with his particular glass of alcohol…..

I first saw get carter on BBC 2's moviedrome hosted by Alex Cox when I was 16. My best friend saw it too and we were both blown away by it. Still one of my top five films. Caine said he didn't want to appear in the Stallone version but he owed Stallone a favour. Any chance of a review of William Friedkins Sorcerer please Tony? Arguably my all time favourite film :)

Have to hold my hands up and admit I only watched this for the first time at Christmas. Good film, stylish by being gritty. MC is superb, as is the rest of the cast. Always been a fan of his, but he has done enough to turn people off him occasionally...Jaws:The revenge, anybody? Although, I read he once said "I always say yes when someone phones and offers me an acting job...because one day, they will stop phoning!"...No arguing with that!

Caine looks 3D in a 2D world in this. Stunning performance. And it's hard to think of a better British film. Check out the film he made when he was older - Harry Brown - he's superb in that too.

Brilliant stuff Tony. You´ll appreciate the irony of taking a while to comment on this work of utter genius as, like you, how could I possibly do it justice ?Just to say that after catching it on late night BBC2 back in the day, I´ve been mesmerised ever since. There´s not a single moment in this masterpiece that´s not perfect. Like you, I watch it at least once a year and always feel the better for it. The script and acting is so good that it´s impossible to imagine any other actors in their roles. I have the poster on the wall of my Spanish apartment and every time I glance at it I feel a warm glow of Englishness and what we used to be able to achieve.

I first saw it on late night TV in my teens, it fascinated me as I didn't think the UK had criminals. Just us in the states. I like Michael Caine and he is great in this film. The film has been copied a few times but none come close to the original. I re watch when I can and I always find stuff I missed or forgot.

It is the best British film ever made

I would have to say that this is my all-time favorite film. Don't worry, I would NEVER watch the crappy remake. This film and Day of the Jackal are, I think, perfect films I never get tired of watching. Ironically, they're both about cold, determined killers. Get Carter has STYLE without ever once trying to be stylish.

Thank you. I thought your summary was excellent and I learned a few bits I didnt fully understand, despite GC being in my all time top-ten. Best wishes

I saw GC for the first time in 2001. Classic.

Absolutely agree and great review btw 😊. I saw GC late one night whilst living in Newcastle in Benwell and remember so many of those old pubs and the landmarks… I was certain the nightclub scene was The Mayfair. Performance ( 1970) had come out the year previously although I didn’t see either film till 1991 must have been a season of gangster films as I saw Long Good Friday around the same time. One of those films was called The Reckoning which whilst a pretty good film the similar storyline made me think it was a Get Carter pastiche ( you may recall after Lock Stock there was a run of somewhat inferior similar films)…. except it wasn’t it came out 1969 but moreover like GC it was an adaptation of a book by Patrick Hall ‘ The Harp That Once’ which had was published in 1967, 3 years before the Ted Lewis novel. The plot similarities are interesting this it’s a top London business man rather than a gangster who goes to Liverpool to avenge the brutal murder of his father. Worth a watch. Then of course Dead Men’s Shoes Shane Meadows directed starring Paddy Considine …. utterly brilliant and some plot similarities again to Get Carter.

A masterpiece. The maniacal laughing and the paino music as Eric is being carried along. Mirroring his acts. Caines hair ruffled and the shotgun present. So many insanely iconic scenes. It grips you in a way that is difficult to define. His utter ruthlessness to everyone he encounters. Also the fact he kills women with the same icy detachment. That's something you dont see in films. Albert's death has such an incredible back and forth between them. That guy had one scene and it was brilliant. Con and Peter were a great double act. Caine's best performance indeed. Cool video.

Gen X in the house here. Agree with you on this one. Get Carter is a fantastic gritty film which I have seen umpteen times. Ive also read the book by Ted Lewis (not a fan). Anyways fantastic film, fantastic reviews and good social commentary at the end. Subbed!

compared to today films is like to compare a rolex clock to a 1 pound chinese bedclock

Great review of one of the greatest British films of all time 👍

Pure gold from the beginning to the end: every detail does reach the maximum aestethic and aestatic level: camera, cast, direction, script, locations, cars and of course music (the real starring actress) are the non plus ultra: never levelled, it cant be levelled

Spot on Tony fantastic film another one is Nichols Williamson the reckoning give it a bas

Really enjoyed your docu, I’ll have to dig the film out to watch again soon. Loved Ian Hendry in ‘The Lotus Eaters’ written by Michael J Bird. To be fair he played a pretty decent leading man in that. Interestingly he was cast as a recovering alcoholic when he was anything but at the time. He was also called Eric in that strangely. It’s a shame what the drink did to him, but still a great actor.

I love Get Carter another crime film that doesn't mess about. Michael Caine best performance especially his confrontation with Ian Hendry. Newcastle is brilliant location especially the High Bridge location. Mike Hodges direct this dark film of dark characters. I love Hodges films Pulp, The Terminal Man, Flash Gordon, Black Rainbow, Croupier and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. I even got a soft spot for A Prayer For The Dying.

''Get it. Got it. Good.'' I remember my grandma quoting it. It's from a Danny Kaye movie I believe. Great review of Get Carter by the way. A true classic. I can't help but notice the black paint that's supposed to be the bullet hole at the end. That's the thing with older movies and HD. You can see the cracks. It doesn't take away from its greatness obviously.

3:33 a British Manifest, it cant be levelled

I saw the BFI's screen showing of their 4k restoration of this film recently - I hadn't seen it for years and had almost forgotten how great a film it is. However claiming it a peak never since matched is doing a huge disservice to the Long Good Friday which is right up with this and could even be reasonably argued even better in some respects.

Yes yes Sir Michael’s masterpiece

Going to view this after Tony

Its a fantastic film , similar in some ways to the Spy who came in from the cold.

Masterpiece. And a good video.

Brilliant review of a brilliant film.👍

Caines finest early period classic. Supported by able cast-even vapid Britt eckland good in this. Ian hendry as snivelling Eric paice and John Osbourne as Kinnear the possibly asexual gangster of the north east. More interested in winning money than the women or men around him. I was fortunate enough to see this movie on a re-release at a local cinema and had always been a Caine fan and seeing him in one of his early classics was to much of a opportunity to miss. Like Hodges the terminal man, this is the bleak underpinnings of society and the culture carter grew into. JC is not seeking love, affirmation, or even God forbid a happy ending. When I first saw the movie on TV was surprised that Brian Roberts off coronation Street in such a grim film. (Not realising at that young age, actors take work whenever they can). The brilliant Alun Armstrong in his debut, holding his own easily against Caine. Nice to have Camp Freddie as Dutch Pete with a shocking dyed blonde hair. And Glyn wliams (Zulu) as a Ill fated swift. It's a remarkae and beautifully bleak movie with as you say a documentary style of shooting by Suschitzy (his brother shot the empire strikes back) All in all a truly repellent movie, with only possibly three UK equals-the squeeze, the long good Friday and Mona Lisa. Each have different aspects of its bleakness but only TLGF has that utterly darkness at its core. Hodges did make at least two movies of its equal if not three-the black rainbow, pulp, the terminal man. And ALIEN3 was shot on the same place as paice meets his end. Somebody should take prince Andrew for a bottle of whiskey on the Newcastle coast. Didn't the book take place in Doncaster? Brilliant review. Get the beautiful restoration by bfi. Stunning.

Brilliant review.

It’s my all time favourite movie too. It’s that good. It changed movies apparently. And it’s easy to see why. And I love the music in it as well.thanks for mentioning who did the music, The music in the opening scenes especially when he’s on the train to Newcastle is so good .The music is pure late 60’s early 70’s cool. I love it. And I wonder if Britt Ekland was still married to Peter Sellers when she was in Get Carter. A And Good point, There are no good ppl in the film, except maybe the young girl who plays his niece.

I cannot help but agree with you about modern cinema. I once a month watch a film from the 40s,50s,60s, and 70s to remember what good storytelling was. The trouble with any Stallone film, you know from the outset he is not going to die, ( even John Wayne died in a few of his films ). I would say Caines next good film would be The Man Who would be King. It was good that he retired because the last few films he made were crap. I know this blog is nine months old Tony, but i have only just discovered you mate, so i am slowly getting thru your reviews. Thanks again and Happy New Year.

@ 12:57 "from here on it gets darker". That was a nice touch. Love your work.

Recently bought the blu ray again, the restoration is excellent😄😄😄

What impresses me most about Get Carter is that, while he's looking into his brother's death, Jack remains and operates as a thug. He doesn't suddenly become a detective. I think his motivation is, as he indicates to the woman in the bathtub, his name. "Carter! Her name is Carter! That's my name!" Any thoughts on The Hit Man, with Bernie Casey?

First saw Get Carter in the early 90s and it has become one of my all time favorites-grest cast, dialogue, location later bought the spec edition DVD shows what can becdone on a low budget thanks for the doc Auckland New Zealand 2023

It's the charisma of the whole cast especially Caine and Ian Hendry which makes it a compulsive watch because in reality you would run a bloody mile to escape the whole lot of em

Great analysis of a great film👍

Brilliant review of a brillant movie. I’ve seen Get Carter about 100 times but I learned a lot from this video. Go make The Swarm 2…. lol.

No dispute!!!

True Classic the Stallone one would have been an ok film but for two things the name Caine being in it

caine carried this film like most films he was in he like equity bad choice

Just disvovered your channel and must have seen close to 20 of your reviews. You review all the films that I have started to rediscover, and make me appreciate them even more. Thank you.

Barbie is awesome.

Caine made some great films, and some stinkers, but Get Carter was by far his finest hour. I can also very highly recommend a film called 'The Offence' (Sean Connery, Ian Bannen) almost as brilliantly bleak as GC.

Caine Is Carter

Totally

Michael Caine, the main man. Just so you know.

loved your video Tony and i'd like to ask you about the drugs carter takes on the train.Are they black bombers i.e. amphetamines.I figured they must be because he dosen't seem to do much sleeping in bed.It used to confuse me how he killed Margeret with morphine as this was always cut from the film .

Possibly my favourite movie of all time as well. Definitely in the top five. But there is a another film in there ... that shall not be named. Give me a break, I was 10 in 77. I know it spelt the end of a very innovative period in movie making that came after the death of the major studios monopoly, but I dare you to review it, it may be a kind of therapy ? ... or not. Love your channel, look forward to evey review.

I totally missed the reference about the affair and Doreen maybe being his daughter… where is this in the film?

Fab film and lightyears from the santised, braindead and formulaic garbage Hollywood has been cranking these last 20 years. 18:24 That's some pretty impressive muzzle flash from a SIG 210. Mine doesn't do that. 😯 Then again, I don't use movie ammo. 😁 I suppose for Jack Carter, only a precision Swiss-made pistol sighted in at 50m would do.

I think that the remake, with Sylvester Stallone this nowhere near as good as this original. I know that the story is exactly the same, apart from Carter outside the house in the nuddy, and the fact that in the remake Carter got away alive.

You’re not wrong in your assessment of this movie. Shame you had to go off the rails near the end, with your “they don’t make films like they used to” crap. That’s just lazy nostalgia, and you’re entering “old man yells at cloud, or, Hey you kids get off my lawn “ territory. And not for nothing, but if that was meant to be a Michael Caine impression, you should study Steve Coogan or Rob Bryden. Other than that, I liked it.

100 % Spot & On.

brilliant review.there is a slim book on the oddities around making the movie.very loosely based on the fruit machine wars so called of the late 60s get carter wandered into another even huger racket about to erupt into a huge scandal.the house they used for kinnears mansion was raided by the police for real while shooting as it belonged to his real life counterpart the godfather of the north east! brumbys absurd restaurant on top of a car park was filmed at a location where that was exactly the plan! again as they finished shooting just in time the place was sealed off by baliffs police customs and excise etc it was part of a massive fraud! it was in fact one of the first signals about the massive paulson t dan smith scandal which involved the government gangsters and a lot of other people involving the basic looting of the northeast for massive property and redevelopement plans! it got stranger.the betting shop where albert meets his demise was real including a blind customer as seen.it had had a similar murder outside it weeks before.even routine shots revealed things mike hodges never noticed.the pub scene...thin glass...! when looking at the rushes hodges exclimed christ almighty i couldnt invent this! one of the extras at the bar watch closely has 6 fingers! no wonder it was such a spot on movie .few films had the authenicity of real life intruding into the shoot thar this did!