Get Carter and Beyond: The Cinema of Mike Hodges

by Steven Paul Davies

The premiere biography and reference work on Mike Hodges takes the reader on an in-depth journey through this influential director's career. It explores decades of life in Hollywood and British filmmaking. Included a brief view of Hodges' childhood, education, and television work; the making of Get Carter , his first impressions of the novel, writing the screenplay, and casting and shooting in Newcastle; a look at Pulp , and the glamorization of gangsters; the cult '70s sci-fi classic, The Terminal Man ; Flash Gordon and Morons From Outer Space , Hodges' big-budget blockbusters; the controversial A Prayer for the Dying ; the award-winning Black Rainbow and Croupier ; and much more. Here, too, are never-before-published pictures from Hodges' own collection and an introduction by Michael Caine.

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2003

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A more personal and in-depth bio is worthy of Hodges and his mammoth struggles in the film industry, especially a man who's had projects hijacked and cut to pieces in only a 9-film career. The book is over much too fast and reads like a magazine profile. Still, the best material lies in the director's own words. His pitfalls dealing with American studios, especially regarding his "A Prayer for the Dying", are disgraceful, and it is nice to see him vindicated later with 1999's excellent "Croupier" and to see his "comeback" follow. Any bio of Hodges is valuable in drawing attention to his other movies, and his TV work. Lots of cynical wisdom and humor, much like Hodges himself.