Fade to Black: Get Carter - Part 1 of 8: MP4 file of Get Carter (1 of 8) Opening titles, Jack arrives in Newcastle, meets Doreen, prepares for funeral
Pay particular attention to how Carter's death is foretold in the first few minutes. We see him from outside the home of his boss, Gerald Fletcher, and what we hear is the sound of waves, the wind and the minimal keyboard theme which is also heard in the very last shots of the film as Carter lies dead on the shoreline.
Note how the slides shown by Sid Fletcher to the guests are of an amateur pornographic nature. How might this relate to the death of Jack's brother? Is there anything to link the Fletcher's to the murder?
See how the director, Mike Hodges, positions certain characters to the side of the frame, filling the other half with a blurred image of someone else, or an ornament of some kind. Why has he done this? Is it something to do with things being kept from Jack? That he is not seeing the full picture, regarding the Fletchers? This happens at various stages in the first half of the narrative, including when Jack goes to visit Cyril Kinnear when he is playing poker with some local businessmen. Kinnear might know something about Frank's murder, but he is framed in such a way to suggest he is also hiding some information. As Jack puts together the pieces of the puzzle as to who killed his brother, and why, Hodges dispenses with this motif and we see characters more clearly, particularly those involved or connected to Frank's death.
How is Gerald's wife, Anna, represented in this sequence? Is it as 'trophy' of Gerald's perhaps? Note how Hodges edits the looks between her and Jack? What relevance might there be for this?
What is the meaning behind Gerald's comment of "I smell trouble, boy", when Jack insists that he will go up north to Newcastle to find out who killed Frank.
More analytical questions to follow for these important opening sequences...
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