News

Great news from the BFI this morning who have let us know that Get Carter is being re-released back into cinemas in 2022 with an accompanying new 4k UHD BluRay release. Great news!

I’ll let them pick up the story:

London – 16 March 2022.  The BFI is excited to announce the forthcoming re-release of director Mike Hodges’ seminal GET CARTER, starring Michael Caine, in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on Friday 27 May 2022. A partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment UK Ltd has enabled the film to be newly restored in 4K by the BFI for theatrical and home entertainment release. Utilising the original 35mm camera negative, the restoration will be approved by Mike Hodges himself.

As well as screening in cinemas around the country, the film will have a two week Extended Run at BFI Southbank as part of the Mike Hodges retrospective, RETURN OF THE OUTSIDER: The Films of Mike Hodges running from 1 – 31 May 2022. The season will feature special in person events including Mike Hodges In Conversation on 3 May, and showcase his distinctive and eclectic body of film and television work. The BFI will then release GET CARTER on UHD (Ultra High Definition) and Blu-ray on Monday 25 July 2022 with accompanying special features.

Legendary British actor Michael Caine is Jack Carter, the London gangland enforcer who returns to his hometown of Newcastle to avenge his brother’s untimely death. Rarely has the criminal underworld been so realistically portrayed than in this 1971 masterpiece. Shot on location, resulting in a devastatingly authentic snapshot of life in the north east of England in the late-industrial period, GET CARTER remains arguably the grittiest and greatest of all British crime films.

Mike Hodges comments: ‘I’m grateful to the BFI for yet again stepping up to champion Get Carter. The first time the Institute restored both the film and its reputation was 1999. That release led to it being favourably reappraised by audiences and critics. How could I not be grateful?’

This re-release is an unmissable opportunity for fans across the UK to enjoy the film once again in all its glory, looking the best it has ever looked on screen. Younger film fans will have the chance to discover the brilliance of Michael Caine’s portrayal of one of his most memorable and best-known characters.

Once we have more details of where to buy tickets etc. we’ll spread the word here.

Great news for all lovers of the iconic Roy Budd Get Carter score as it will be played live this November in Hull.

Acclaimed pianist and Hammond player Wendy Kirkland presents fresh arrangements of Roy Budd’s iconic score for the Ted Lewis-inspired Get Carter, probably the most influential gangster movie ever made. This world premiere has been commissioned by the Ted Lewis Society to mark the film’s 50^th anniversary. Ted attended Hull School of Art and lived in Barton-upon-Humber.

Before the performance there will be a screening of the film to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Both events sound great and are well worth a look in if you can make it to Hull on the 10th November.

More information and to book tickets visit their website.

Update March 2022:

The Ted Lewis Society have kindly supplied a scan of the evening’s programme which you can download here (PDF).

Slightly late with this news but the architect of the infamous Get Carter car park, Owen Luder, has died aged 93. There have been plenty of wonderfully written obituaries, which are linked below:

• The Guardian
• Wallpaper
• The Times (Non-paywall link)

Jools and Paul Donnelly have recently been in touch to let us know of a campaign they have running to mark a piece of Newcastle film history by attempting to get a heritage plaque installed for the film Get Carter. I’ll let them take up the story:

We are proposing a heritage plaque is placed on the site of the ‘Get Carter Bridge’ (High Level Bridge) in Newcastle.  Our application to the Newcastle Historic Environment Advisory Panel must be submitted by the 16 July 2021 and it will further our cause if we can show the strength of public support by submitting a petition to back our application.

We have been successful in our most recent heritage plaque application, a plaque at the site of the Club a’Gogo, Newcastle’s legendary 60s club and ‘Home of the Animals’.  We aim to continue to lobby for plaques at sites which played a significant part in Newcastle’s cultural and musical heritage and which we feel deserve to be recognised and remembered.

Get Carter is based upon Ted Lewis’ novel, Jack’s Return Home about a native of the North East of England who leaves his new base in London to investigate the mysterious death of his brother in his home town.  The casting of Michael Caine in the lead role was a masterstroke and Get Carter remains a cult classic and a much loved film around the world. Shooting takes place in various locations across the Newcastle and the North East but one of the most memorable locations is the ‘Get Carter Bridge’ or High Level Bridge.  We feel it is only right and fitting that there should be a heritage plaque at this location.

Anybody that enjoyed the film knows the prominent part this bridge played and it’s great to see a couple local to the area attempting to recognise this, so bravo to Jools and Paul.

If you wish to sign this petition (and why wouldn’t you?!) then please head on over to change.org/GetCarterHeritagePlaque and give it your support.

As Get Carter turned 50 years old last week it was inevitable that there would be a number of retrospective articles around the web looking back on the film and it’s anniversary. Whilst the site didn’t get much more activity than usual (unlike when the film is shown on the TV and I have a huge spike in numbers), I thought it might be useful to collate some of the articles from across the web that celebrated the milestone:

• ITV Tyne Tees did a nice piece with a wide variety of fans and experts
• The Newcastle Chronicle have done a 3 part ‘then and now’ photographic piece, great stuff if you like the locations on this site – 1, 2, 3
• The Daily Mirror have some newly released unseen pics from ‘behind the scenes’ from the shooting of the film in Newcastle
• Far Out magazine offer a retrospective review of the film to celebrate 50 years
• The Daily Star tell the story of the One Armed Bandit Murder, a tale which supposedly influenced ‘Jack’s Return Home‘
• The New European do a piece on the social aspects of the film and how it contributed towards the 1970s social fabric
• Gentleman’s Journal did another retrospective piece on the film
• The BFI conduct a new interview with Mike Hodges discussing the impact of the film
• Unbeknownst to me there was a COVID-curtailed art exhibition in Scunthorpe at the tail end of last year to celebrate 50 years of Get Carter – they did a retrospective video summing up the event
• Crimereads has posted a 50 year anniversary essay on the film
• 02/04: Forbes has done a late recollection of the film
• 14/07: The BFI have done a location ‘then and now’ piece

‘Movie Birthdays’ YouTube channel also did a nice video essay on the 50th anniversary:

A huge milestone for the film as this week marks 50 years since Get Carter was released to the British public all that time ago in 1971.

The film initially held a Newcastle premiere on the 7th March 1971 where unfortunatley Michael Caine wasn’t able to be present, although he did film a small introduction to be shown before the film:

Another premiere followed some days later in London on the 11th March and the film was finally open to all on 12th March when it was released under General Release across the UK. As was the way at the time, not all cinemas got the film at the same time and it took a number of weeks until the film had made it’s way back up north to the cinemas in Newcastle and beyond.

Interestingly, the very first premiere was held on the 3rd February all the way over in Los Angeles, an idea seemingly cooked up by MGM to try and generate interest to a Stateside audience. How well that worked is unclear, as the film never really took off there, especially on the West Coast – it was said to have had some interest in New York City at the time in selected art house style cinemas, but it was far from the global smash hit that MGM were possibly aiming for.

The interest in Get Carter was initially strong, as detailed by Steve Chibnall in ‘A British Film Guide’: