British Film Guides
2 primary works
Book 6
"Get Carter" is now widely acknowledged as the finest British gangster film of all time. Released in 1971, the film fell out of fashion until the cultural changes of the 1990s gave a new currency to its pessimistic vision of a doomed male within a decaying social order. Before its re-release in 1999, Mike Hodges' fusion of the crime genre with social realism received surprisingly little critical attention. Steve Chibnall's book now gives "Get Carter" the consideration it demands. With the co-operation of Hodges and access to rare documents, including an early draft of the script, Chibnall places the film in its social context, describes its making, discusses its characteristics, scene by scene, and charts its changing status since the 1970s.
Book 10
John Boulting's Brighton Rock is a milestone film; it made Richard Attenborough a star; it is the first realistic depiction of the British criminal underworld; and the first of Graham Greene's adaptations of his own work. Godfather of classic crime films like Get Carter and The Long Good Friday, its American cousins include Little Caesar and Mean Streets. To mark the centenary of Greene's birth, Steve Chibnall presents a detailed re-view of this authentic slice of English seaside noir. It includes scene-by-scene analysis, the writing, production and reception of the film, and the real activities of the racecourse gangs and protection racketeers that inspired the drama. Steve Chibnall also uncovers the mystery of missing scenes that, if restored, would give Brighton Rock a significantly different emphasis, and he reveals new information about the films' controversial ending.