Get Carter | What to Watch

Michael Caine points a shotgun at the back of a man entering a house

A hard-hitting vintage British gangster thriller. 5/5 stars

London hard case Jack Carter (Michael Caine) goes up to Newcastle to get to the bottom of his brother's death. But once there he uncovers a den of corruption, pornography and drugs that has engulfed his dearest family members.

Britt Ekland acts provactively over the phone, playwright John Osborne makes the most of a rare acting role as the local Mr Big and - as well as being a graphic reminder that the North East once had a coal industry - Caine's final confrontation with Ian Hendry is as tough as cold steel.

This relentlessly bleak thriller ranks with Brighton Rock and The Long Good Friday as one of the few truly great British gangster movies. Far superior to the Sly Stallone remake of the noughties, this is also a lot more hard-hitting, certainly not for the squeamish.

A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.