Get Carter (1971)
Having made his name with affable turns in Alfie and The Italian Job, Michael Caine's casting as a ruthless, vengeance-obsessed gangster in Mike Hodges' bleak first feature made a huge impact upon the film's release. Hodges' confident, technically accomplished handling of the material cemented this portrait of Newcastle's criminal underworld as one of the most highly regarded British crime dramas of all time.