‘Get Carter’ 4K UHD Review
Stars: Michael Caine, Britt Ekland, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, Tony Beckley, George Sewell, Geraldine Moffat, Alun Armstrong | Written by Mike Hodges, Ted Lewis | Directed by Mike Hodges
Michael Caine is an icon of cinema. He has starred in many major motion pictures throughout his career, including Zulu, The Man Who Would Be King, and Sleuth. Later on, he would play against type in films like The Muppet Christmas Carol and Austin Powers: Goldmember, before going on to be a comic book movie icon, appearing in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. However, in 1971 Caine took a dark turn into the world of organised crime with his film Get Carter. Now, 54 years after its original release, Warner Archive Collection have decided to restore and release this film on 4k Ultra HD.
London mob strong-arm Carter is drawn north of Newcastle by his brother’s death – which he doesn’t believe is accidental. All too familiar with the ways of the mob, Carter single-mindedly – and single-handedly – tears into the local crime syndicate with terrifying precision and cold enjoyment, hunting the identity of the killer and then the killer himself. But what Carter doesn’t know is the corruption within the mob is widespread, high-ranked and may hit closer to home than he thinks!
In Get Carter, Michael Caine delivers one of his best, if not his best, performances of his career. The film is raw and gritty; the writing is good and the direction is spectacular. This is a real thrilling piece of cinema.
Get Carter has been restored and transferred to 4K in 2160p and presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. There are two audio options available on his disc. There is the original theatrical DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and the new Dolby Atmos TrueHD track. There are also English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Honestly, Get Carter looks absolutely stunning in 4k. Watching this film now on this release is like seeing a whole new film. In addition to the film being restored and released on 4k Warner Archive Collection added some really nice bonus features, including:
Special Features:
- Vintage audio commentary featuring Michael Caine and Cinematographer Wolfgang Suschinsky
- 2022 introduction by Michael Caine
- 2022 Audio commentary featuring Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw
- Mike Hodges in Conversation (2022 60 minutes): director discusses his career in this interview recorded at BFI Southbank
- The Sound of Roy Budd (2022 – 17 minutes): film music expert Jonny Trunk explores the varied career of Roy Budd, and revisits Budd’s iconic, minimalist score for Get Carter
- Don’t Trust Boys (2022 – 22 minutes): actor Petra Markham reflects upon her career on stsage and screen, and recalls her role in Get Carter
- Klinger on Klinger (2022 – 24 minutes): Tony Klinger recalls and evaluates the career of his father, Michael Klinger, Producer of Get Carter
- 1971 Original Theatrical Trailer
- 2022 BFI re-release trailer
Sometimes, on new releases, older features that were included on previous releases are just forgotten about and cast aside. I am glad to say that is not the case here. As you can see, previously released audio commentaries, interviews, and featurettes have been ported over to this release. That is awesome!
***** 5/5
If you like crime thrillers, Get Carter on 4K Ultra HD is a must-add to your collection.
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