Get Watching ‘Get Carter’!
Michael Caine has made a hell of a lot of movies over the years. Most of them are good, a few of them are amazing and one or two of them are pants (not a lot of people know that). But out of every film that Michael Caine has ever done, the one that sticks out in my mind is, ‘Get Carter’ by director, Mike Hodges. They just don’t make films like this one anymore.
Set in Newcastle in the seedy world of gangsters, pornography and prostitution, it is a very gritty film that doesn’t always make for comfortable viewing. Caine is brilliant as Jack Carter and the other actors are also on top form. There is great support from, amongst others, Ian Hendry, Britt Ekland and George Sewell.
As Jack Carter pokes around in Newcastle’s underworld, trying to find out why his brother was murdered, he upsets quite a few unsavoury characters. The story is gripping, the script is witty and Caine’s stoic manner is perfect for the role. Out of every character that I have seen him play, I think that Jack Carter’s definitely suited him the best.
The only other film I’ve seen that has a similar atmosphere to this is also directed by Mike Hodges. If you enjoyed ‘Get Carter’ then the chances are that you will also like ‘A Prayer for the Dying’ with a young Mickey Rourke in the lead role.
Hollywood, dunderheads that they so often are, decided to do a remake of ‘Get Carter’ in 2000. It starred Sylvester Stallone as Jack Carter, was set in Los Angeles rather than Newcastle and went down like a lead balloon. If something like the original British version of ‘Get Carter’ is so good then you really should just leave it alone…
The old adage applies here; ‘If it’s not broken, don’t fix it’.
Now for the work update (and a bit of bragging to boot), if any of you are curious, check out the new images that just went up for exhibition stands. That was my trained hand at photoshop!