Get Carter

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Get Carter

R

Released Mar 18, 1971

1h 51m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

36 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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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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Rob Aldam

Backseat Mafia

A time capsule of a crime story, propelled by a full-bloodied performance from Caine.

Jul 28, 2022

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Get Carter is the volatile gangster film that solidified the British culture's embrace of the genre.

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 4, 2022

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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

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Bobby J

An amazing film with a brilliant cast! One of the best British crime flicks of all time!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/02/24

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Audience Member

All the bad guys can do is get Carter. Why? Because he's out for blood and for the truth. A young Michael Caine in one of his earliest thrillers. Jack Carters brother is dead but he doesn't sit well with leaving it where it is. He's determined to find out what exactly happened. It doesn't matter how many he has to step on or kill to do so. He is after all a London gangster and during his search in Newcastle he comes across kingpin Kinnear. Maybe he can actually solve his brothers death. This movie kinda follows the lines of Dirty Harry with some Clint Eastwood ingredients thrown in. One man going off the rails to find the ones responsible. Corruption, dark secrets, and dirty betrayals are what Carter gets mixed in. How long can a man over the edge go before it all catches up to him? Caine gives one of the most raw performances of his career and he's a dime a dozen. He plays a man so deeply rooted in revenge and has cuts that run more deep. Other than a less than stellar ending this gangster flick is gritty, violent, thrilling, and full of old school elements of the 1970s era. Who gets who first? Caine dominates the movie from start to finish.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/11/24

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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