16 + GUIDE - British Film Institute

FILM COMMENT
vol.36 no.5. September/October 2000, p.35
Brute force, by Graham Fuller
Written primarily for an American audience, this article gives an overview of GET CARTER,
which in particular highlights its “Britishness” and why the film is enjoying a renaissance
nearly thirty years after its release. Fuller begins by stating that the film is “the apex of postsixties
British crime films”. However, Fuller is at pains to point out, that to re-characterise the
film as a “celebration of underworld chic” is to misrepresent it. Fuller also picks up on GET
CARTER’s noir sensibilities in terms of its structure and narrative.
CLASSIC TELEVISION
no.4. April/May 1998, p.30
Now take me back to London, by John Matthews
Looking in particular at the dialogue of the film, Matthews notes that for GET CARTER most of
it is “simple phrases said with just the right hint of menace”. A brief but interesting article.
FILM REVIEW
November 1996, pp.44-47
Call sheet: Get Carter, by Howard Maxford
An account of the making of GET CARTER, that covers many of the topics the film raises, such
as violence, the characters and location. At the start of the article, however, is a very useful
explanation of how the maker’s of the film had perceived the portrayal of gangsters in earlier
British films and how they wanted a change from this.
STILLS
May/June 1986, p.154
Razor’s edge, by Peter Richards
GET CARTER is featured on the censoring of films for television.
SIGHT AND SOUND
vol.40 no.2. Spring 1971, p.107
Get Carter, by Tom Milne
Milne argues that while GET CARTER is a good film with good characters, it lacks the mystery
and charisma of the earlier American crime films he feels it’s trying to emulate. He also states
that the motivations of Jack Carter are too ambivalent – veering towards either being an
avenging angel or an “authentic post-permissive anti-hero, revelling in the casual sadism”.
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