Get Carter

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Get Carter

R

Released Mar 18, 1971

1h 51m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

38 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Jack Carter (Michael Caine) is a cold-blooded London gangster, and not the sort of man you want to cross. When Carter's brother winds up dead, he travels to Newcastle to arrange the funeral. Convinced that his brother was murdered, Carter questions local thug Eric (Ian Hendry), who eventually leads him to kingpin Kinnear. From there, Carter carves a bloody trail of revenge through the seedy underbelly of Newcastle in search of his brother's killer.

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Critics Consensus

Darkly entertaining and tightly wound, Get Carter is a gritty revenge story done right.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

A stone-cold, liquid-nitrogen classic.

Rated: 5/5

May 25, 2022

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Jay Cocks

TIME Magazine

It wallows in its ceaseless bloodbath and emerges like its protagonist -- sleazy and second-rate.

Apr 20, 2010

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Variety Staff

Variety

Mike Hodges' top-notch adaptation of a Ted Lewis novel not only maintains interest but conveys with rare artistry, restraint and clarity the many brutal, sordid and gamy plot turns.

Mar 26, 2009

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Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

A weathered classic of vengeance cinema for good reason that remains a distinctive tour de force of director Mike Hodges' aesthetic and Michael Caine's wraithlike performance.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 28, 2025

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Michael Caine is more than able in this excellent Brit crime flick from writer-director Mike Hodges.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 28, 2025

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…Get Carter is an iconic but deliberately unlovable film; like the central character, it’s brutal and utterly dangerous to know…

Rated: 4/5

Aug 5, 2022

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Ed .

Blood is thicker than liquor. What's Get Carter all about? This movie is about bros and hos, retribution and violent solutions. It captures the grimy northern England of the early 1970s right down to the disgusting wallpaper and window treatments. Following Alfie and The Italian Job, Get Carter further solidified proof that Michael Caine is an able actor. Be sure to 'drink up' this uncomfortable yet gripping motion picture. Stay at the very least for Britt Ekland's scene where she demonstrates her talents and a flair for the phone sex business.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/29/25

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BowTangey M

A great film I only came to watch after seeing an online recommendation purportedly by Stanley Kubrick.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/14/25

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Ari V

Bit of a nothing burger, but some pretty decent little arrangements on the way to confirming this. 2.75/5

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/08/25

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Mark B

Surely Caine's finest hour? Every movement, every stare and every word from Michael Caine's brilliantly portrayed assassin should come with a government health warning. The ice-cold London gangster Jack Carter, armed with his double-barreled shotgun, on a robo-killer, one-way vengeance mission, makes all other wannabe hardmen look as threatening as a pet poodle as he sets about killing the list of perpetrators (believed to be involved in his brother's death) with all the precision of a surgeon's knife. Even ordering a night-time pint in a noisy Newcastle pub where Caine clicks his fingers and shouts out to the barman "in a straight glass!" has drinkers quickly edging for the exit. A truly iconic gangster movie, all set in grimy 1970s Newcastle before it smartened itself up a bit.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/25

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Jason C

I agree with the gangster that Caine based the character on. There was no heart in the movie.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/16/24

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john T

PERFECTION! Acting, direction, writing camerawork and soundtrack it has it all

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/03/24

Full Review

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Mike Hodges

Director

Michael Caine

Jack Carter

Ian Hendry

Eric Paice

Britt Ekland

Anna Fletcher

John Osborne

Cyril Kinnear

Tony Beckley

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Synopsis

Jack Carter (Michael Caine) is a cold-blooded London gangster, and not the sort of man you want to cross. When Carter's brother winds up dead, he travels to Newcastle to arrange the funeral. Convinced that his brother was murdered, Carter questions local thug Eric (Ian Hendry), who eventually leads him to kingpin Kinnear. From there, Carter carves a bloody trail of revenge through the seedy underbelly of Newcastle in search of his brother's killer.

Director: Mike Hodges
Producer: Michael Klinger
Screenwriter: Ted Lewis, Mike Hodges
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 18, 1971, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2008
Runtime: 1h 51m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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