Get Carter Blu Ray Review (Warner Bros.)

Get Carter is a 1971 revenge film written and directed by Mike Hodges (Flash Gordon, Damien: Omen II, The Terminal Man, A Prayer for the Dying, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, Black Rainbow, Croupier, Murder by Numbers, and Pulp). It’s based on the novel “Jack’s Return Home” from author Ted Lewis. It was remade in 1972 as Hit Man and in 2000 as Get Carter. It was produced by Michael Klinger (Pulp, Riding High, Shout at the Devil, A Study in Terror, Repulsion, and Gold). The budget was £750,000 and it grossed $60,404 worldwide at the box office. Jack Carter (played by: Michael Caine from The Dark Knight trilogy, Mona Lisa, Alfie, The Italian Job, Deathtrap, Dressed to Kill, Jaws: The Revenge, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Sleuth) is a cold-blooded London gangster with a vicious reputation. When Carter’s brother ends up dead, he travels to Newcastle to arrange the funeral for his family. He is convinced that his brother was killed, Carter does his own investigation and he questions local thug Eric (played by: Ian Hendry from Repulsion, Tales from the Crypt, Theater of Blood, and The Avengers), who eventually leads him to kingpin Cyrill Kinnear (played by: John Osborne from Flash Gordon, Tomorrow Never Comes, and First Love). From there, Carter carves a bloody trail of revenge through the seedy underbelly of Newcastle in search of his brother’s killer!!!! Get Carter is one of the greatest British gangster films ever made. It’s an excellent entry into the revenge sub-genre. Director Mike Hodges really shines behind the camera for Get Carter. I love this film but it’s always felt like 15 minutes too long, I think it would have been even better edited down a little bit because it doesn’t drag much but there’s moments every once in awhile that are a little slower when it comes to the overall story and plot. Regardless, Michael Caine is top notch as Jack Carter. He’s a dangerous man and he pulls all his sources to find out what really happened to his brother. This is one of the best roles from the legend. The rest of the supporting cast includes Ian Hendry, John Osborne, Britt Ekland (The Wicker Man), Tony Beckley (When a Stranger Calls), George Sewell (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Geraldine Moffat (From Russia with Love), Dorothy White (Sam), Rosemarie Dunham (Croupier), Petra Markham (EastEnders), Alun Armstrong (Van Helsing), Bryan Mosley (Coronation Street(, Glynn Edwards (Minder), Terence Rigby (Tomorrow Never Dies), John Bindon (The MacKintosh Man), Godfrey Quigley (A Clockwork Orange), Kevin Brennan (Ivanhoe), and Bernard Hepton (Colditz). Get Carter shows vengeance from across the pond. It’s one of the highest quality retribution productions that was made overseas back in the 70’s. It’s loaded with plenty of violence and it doesn’t shy away from nudity either. The criminals run crazy on this one, law enforcement is basically non existent which makes for a very chaotic atmosphere. It never holds back on anything and I’ve always appreciated that about Get Carter. Once it fully kicks in, it pays you back for it’s patience. It’s packed with tension and suspense. The mystery and noir feel just adds to it all. It’s darkly fun and very entertaining, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Warner Bros Pictures! This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer still looks very solid from being an older 2014 restoration from it’s original home video release. It’s an upgrade compared to all of it’s older versions. It’s already been announced that it’s getting a brand new 4K restoration soon so I’ll be covering that one whenever it’s released. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono (Spain), and Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono on the disc. This gritty gangster film has some loud and crazy moments that shine here. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the vengeance is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” with director Mike Hodges, lead actor Michael Caine, and cinematographer Wolfgang Suschitsky. They put this track together with separate interviews so it’s definitely interesting. Hodges is the main person on here but the other two do have some entertaining contributions. They are very detailed on a variety of inside information. They share some personal stories from this production. They all add something different when it comes to Get Carter. It has 3 different “Trailers” which includes Music, International, and Michael Caine. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!