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Get Carter

post #1 of 9
9/20/05 at 7:34am
Thread Starter 
'CARTER'

I managed to see this last night, I have it on VHS but I haven't seen it in some time. I'd forgotten how bleak it is, the setting of Newcastle gives it a really grimy feel. When Jack walks in, it almost feels like he's brightening it up, being a big city enforcer. It's a testament to Caine's performance here that he turns such an unlikeable character into something we can uncomfortable root for, never once does his character descend into cliche, he's a complete bastard from beginning to end, this isn't a film about heroes, just a nasty character looking for retribution in the wrong place. What I also found interesting was the dark humor in this film like Carter pulling a shotgun in the middle of shagging the female owner of the bed and breakfast, he escorts the two men outside, Carter is naked and in full view.

I also really like the opening theme, it's so haunting and with Carter just standing on the railing alone.

I'll pretend the 'Get Carter' remake doesn't exist.

'You're a big bloke but you're out of shape, for me, it's a full time job, now behave yourself'

For some reason, it sounds so much more badass when Caine says it, there's no posturing.
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post #2 of 9
9/20/05 at 12:42pm

My introduction to English Film

When I moved to London, an English friend of mine asked me if I'd ever seen the original Get Carter. Of course, being an American girl raised on Jerry Bruckheimer, I'd never seen it. Good Christ, what a revelation it was. Michael Caine IS the ultimate badass. He's so sexy - I didn't know he could be. I mean when you've seen Jaws 4 or even Educating Rita, he doesn't seem that kind of guy. The phone sex scene alone is worth the price of the DVD. My GOD!! And then he just ruthlessly kills everybody. The ending is exactly what it has to be, especially for the time period. Truly, I think you can kind of understand the bleakness of England in the 1970s (the three day work-week, rolling power-outages, strikes all the time - yeah, it was bad. Sometimes Socialism really sucks.).

By the way, you can download the theme and the phone sex conversation from iTunes. It's great to listen to the theme on the Tube on the way to work...
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post #3 of 9
9/20/05 at 2:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragon Ma
What I also found interesting was the dark humor in this film like Carter pulling a shotgun in the middle of shagging the female owner of the bed and breakfast, he escorts the two men outside, Carter is naked and in full view.

You forget the children's parade that's conveniently passing by. Hilarious.

Yes, it really does kick a lot of ass. I love watching it every once in awhile, makes me grow hair on my chest. And so damn bleak!
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post #4 of 9
9/20/05 at 11:09pm
Well, it's no Copland, but it sure beats Avenging Angelo.
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post #5 of 9
9/21/05 at 1:34am
The original English badass. I especially like the scene when he stabs that guy while saying "I know you didn't do it!".

How did Caine go from this to Miss Congeniality and Bewitched?
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post #6 of 9
5/11/11 at 7:53pm

This is a hard flick. The first forty five minutes I wondered what everyone was talking about. It was fun enough, Caine investigating his brother and all, but when he's watching that porno and that tear slides down his face, everything changes. From that point on the film is relentlessly brutal, and relentlessly watchable. I love the subtle reference to Doreen actually being Jack's daughter, and how the sniper at the end is on the train at the beginning completely as a coincidence. Or maybe not, maybe death was following Jack all along.

 

Carter has been called the British Parker, but strange how he dies in the end after a righteous retribution, but Parker just keeps on heisting. That's the one thing that bother me about the Payback: Straight Up Edition, the end feels like Helgeland is punishing Porter. A Parker story should never pass judgment. On second thought, Carter isn't being judged, his death is completely pointless (especially since Kinnear has already been arrested). It's just a happenstance of his lifestyle, and the implication is that "J" is continuing the path Carter did and will get the same some day.

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post #7 of 9
5/11/11 at 8:03pm

Recently saw this for the first time myself and my take's about the same as yours. Bored out of my mind for the first 40 minutes or so(except for the Britt Ekland finger banging scene) and then the porno and BOOM this thing get....well...badass. Also in that scene you can clearly see one of Caine's nipples is missing. Was that for this role or does Caine have that in real life??

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post #8 of 9
5/11/11 at 8:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bartleby_Scriven View Post

This is a hard flick. The first forty five minutes I wondered what everyone was talking about. It was fun enough, Caine investigating his brother and all, but when he's watching that porno and that tear slides down his face, everything changes. From that point on the film is relentlessly brutal, and relentlessly watchable. I love the subtle reference to Doreen actually being Jack's daughter, and how the sniper at the end is on the train at the beginning completely as a coincidence. Or maybe not, maybe death was following Jack all along.

 

Carter has been called the British Parker, but strange how he dies in the end after a righteous retribution, but Parker just keeps on heisting. That's the one thing that bother me about the Payback: Straight Up Edition, the end feels like Helgeland is punishing Porter. A Parker story should never pass judgment. On second thought, Carter isn't being judged, his death is completely pointless (especially since Kinnear has already been arrested). It's just a happenstance of his lifestyle, and the implication is that "J" is continuing the path Carter did and will get the same some day.


The film is kinda slow but Caine is such a charismatic badass that you could watch him garden for 2 hours. Also, I never watch Get Carter without Point Blank right after it. They're like chocolate & peanut butter, them two.

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post #9 of 9
5/13/11 at 12:55pm

I read the original novel by Ted Lewis some years back, and was surprised at how faithful Mike Hodges was to the work. Lewis also wrote two prequels about Carter (Jack Carter and the Law and Jack Carter and the Mafia Pigeon).

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