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The Harder They Come - 30th Anniversary Edition

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This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

Jamaica's first feature film is also the most famous. The film made reggae music popular in the US, influnced people to vout out the conservative government in Jamaica, and brought singer Jimmy Cliff to international stardom.

The film is about a young man aspired to become a famous singer. He performs for a record company, but is offered only $20 for the song. He thinks it is worth more but finally agrees on the $20. He later gets in trouble with the law and becomes even more famous as an outlaw.

I strongly recommend that you watch the film with subtitles, as many of the characters speak in a thick Patois accent.

The film has a R rating for profanity, violence, sexual content, and nudity.

The soundtrack to the film remains a big hit even today and it is said that even Bob Marley would be an unknown if it weren't for this film.

The criterion DVD has an exclusive interview with Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records.

There are also biographies and discographies of several musicians who helped witht he film's music. It also has full-length audio commentary by actor Jimmy Cliff and Perry Henzell, who wrote and directed the film.

This film is a must see for reggae music lovers!

I was extremely disappointed, on buying this DVD, to discover that the new, restored version is not an anamorphic transfer. It blows my mind that in this day and age, a historic film like this would be restored, remastered and released without using the best possible format.

More's the pity, as it appears that the actual transfer is an improvement over the earlier Criterion version. Nonetheless, this is an expensive "Deluxe" release, and those with widescreen TVs will undoubtedly want to wait until there is an anamorphic version (I should note that if you watch this on a widescreen TV, and zoom in so the picture fills the screen, you will not be able to read all the subtitles!). Those without fancy home-theater equipment are probably better off looking for a used copy of one of the previous releases.

It's truly sad that so much work was apparently put into the restoration of the actual film, and then a second-rate DVD was produced from it. I honestly can't recommend this DVD for anyone, especially given the list price, and would recommend that people wait for (and demand) a definitive anamorphic release of this all-time classic.

The Harder They Come is raw power. Filmed in Kingston, Jamaica, the film stars Jimmy Cliff as Ivan, a country-boy who comes to the big city to make a better life for himself. Ivan wants his life desperately to matter for something; he wants to be somebody. This movie is about that journey---a journey to be somebody; to matter.

Ivan's dream is to be a singer and to make records, but he soon finds himself a pawn in the ganja (marijuana) trade. In his journey, Ivan bears witness to the record industry, the church, the police, and the drug traders. And within them all he sees institutional corruption and oppression of the poor. Ultimately, Ivan becomes an outlaw hero with gun in hand.

The movie infuses drama and music to great effect. Reggae, of course, is the music of The Harder They Come. In addition to Jimmy Cliff, Toots and the Maytalls are featured as musicians within the movie. "The Harder They Come" is not only the name of the movie, but it is also the name of hero Ivan's hit record within the movie. The making of that record (when Ivan dons the gold-star shirt) is one of my favorite music-in-movie scenes. It is just plain real; Real music, real vibe...and real darn good.

The DVD features a commentary by the director Perry Henzell and star Jimmy Cliff. They are recorded separately and offer up some fascinating details about not only the film, but life in Jamaica in general. They also touch on The Harder They Come's impact on Jamaica's being a cultural and artistic force in the world today. The director's struggle to keep the production as unprofessional (and hence, "real") is both admirable and nearly comical. He actually winces at the performance of one of the few professional actor's in the production (Lucia White, who plays Ivan's mother). The DVD also features an interview with Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. The ten-minute-or-so interview mainly touches on the film's importance in sharing with the world Jamaica as a cultural exporter.

The picture quality is very good but shows considerable grain in some spots. The grain works for this movie. The picture, unfortunately, is not anamorphic. The sound is mono and at times betrays the movies' indie-film roots. That all said, this DVD is vastly superior to all previous releases.

One small quibble: The one subtitle track is for the deaf and hearing impaired. While the native language of Jamaica is English, the English spoken in the film is very difficult to understand to my American ears. Watching this movie without the subtitles on is not an option (at least on first viewing). However, the descriptive elements for the hearing-impaired subtitles (such as "FIRE CRACKLING" or "TIRES SCREECHING") are distracting for those simply seeking subtitled English. Two subtitle track would have been appreciated.

While it is obvious that I love The Harder They Come, it is not a perfect movie. For instance, more could have been done to establish Ivan as a musician early on. By the time the movie moves Ivan into the studio to record his record, his music is so fully realized and mature that I can't help but think that it is less Ivan in the studio than Jimmy Cliff himself. The second half of the movie takes on a wee-bit too much and the (thankfully short) chases aren't very effective. However, I cannot stress enough my love of this movie. It is flawed, but perfectly so. The Harder They Come, along with the Leone/Eastwood "Man With No Name" trilogy, ranks at the very top of outlaw hero movies.

1973's The Harder They Come is something of the Jamaican version of Bonnie & Clyde or Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, but with a singular lead character instead of duo. Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff stars as Ivan Martin, who at the start of the film arrives in Kingston from the country with dreams of stardom as a singer. After struggling to find work, he is taken in by a preacher (Basil Keane) and falls in love with the preacher's ward, Elsa (Janet Barkley). After using the church to practice his song, the preacher kicks both Ivan and Elsa out of the house. Ivan eventually gets a chance to record his song, the movie's title track, but the producer, Hilton, does not offer him riches, only $20.00. Ivan decides not to sign the contract releasing the song to Hilton and tries to sell the record himself. What he finds out is that Hilton controls not only the recording studio, but the radio stations, record stores and club DJ's as well. Ivan goes back to Hilton and accepts the $20.00. With basically no money to support Elsa and himself, he is taken in by Jose (Carl Bradshaw) who is the local ganja dealer. Jose teams Ivan up with Pedro (Ras Daniel Hartman) to push drugs. The drug trafficking is like everything else that Ivan runs across in Kingston, rife with corruption, being run by the local police. Ivan doesn't like the pay out he is getting from Jose, feeling he is doing all the work and getting none of the reward. Jose thinks Ivan has become nothing but trouble, so he tells the cops to arrest him. When Ivan is being pulled over by a cop, he shoots and kills him instead of surrendering. He gets caught in another showdown with the police, killing several more cops. Hilton decides to release Ivan's single and it becomes a smash hit, making Ivan a folk hero (much the same as Bonnie & Clyde and Butch & Sundance). Ivan enjoys his hero status and plays it to the hilt until a final showdown with the military on a beach. Director Perry Hanzell uses the Kingston landscape with its alternating tropical beauty and urban slums as a perfect juxtaposition between the paradise people believe Jamaica to be and the harsh reality of its cities. The camerawork is gritty and the acting is rough, but authentic. In fact the Jamaican accents are so thick in places, that subtitles are employed. Mr. Cliff, in his acting debut, gives a convincing and credible performance, but it is the reggae music that is the star of the film. The movie helped introduce reggae to an American audience and the songs like the title track, "You Can Get It If You Really Want It", "Johnny Too Bad" and especially the angelic "Many Rivers To Cross" (covered by artists like Cher, Joe Cocker, UB40, Harry Nilsson and most notably Linda Ronstadt) have become reggae classics.

"The Harder They Come" is an apt portrayal of the limited realistic aspirations available to the poor in contemporary Jamaica.

Ivan, the main character, moves from the "country" to Kingston chasing the dream of becoming a reggae star. In Ivan's case the dream is not unrealistic. He has considerable talent. Although he cuts a record destined to become a hit, the producer buys it from him for a mere $20.00, knowing that Ivan will only get similar exploitive offers from other producers on the island.

Ivan then turns to the only viable lucrative trade for the poor in Jamaica: running ganja. Although this increases his financial status considerably by relative standards, Ivan soon learns that the lion share of the profit taking goes to the Americans who distribute the ganja in the USA. Ivan wants Jamaicans to start taking a bigger cut. This, of course, gets him into trouble with the ganja syndicate who try to have him arrested and later murdered by the police who are in cahoots with the ganja syndicate.

Ivan then goes on a rampage, targeting members of the syndicate who permit the massive capital flight of the ganja trade to go to foreign interests. At this point, the movie becomes a metaphor for how the Jamaican government permits the massive capital flight by the exploitation of its domestic resources by foreign investors either through direct profit taking or by satisfying the extreme indebtedness the Jamaican government has to foreign banks (approximately 80% of Jamaica's budget goes to servicing its debt).

In a society where personal success is most likely achieved through drug dealing, anyone who stands up to the forces that permit most of the profit taking to occur outside of Jamaica is seen as hero in Jamaican society. The outlaw becomes a rebel hero in a society beset by poverty and official corruption, and the powers that be, official and criminal, cooperate to stop the rebel because he becomes an example of noncompliance to the people.

This is just great. The story is a very traditional one, that of a country boy Ivan (played by Jimmy Cliff) who comes to the city and gradually gets wise to the ways of the world. Through his eyes we see all the sophistications of Jamaican life, the music industry, the ganja trade, the police, religious life and girls.

Ivan tries to make money in the city...

The soundtrack is populated with reggae classics from the likes of The Melodians, Desmond Dekker and Jimmy Cliff himself, and it's just as well the title song is a classic as it's played about four or five times!

This film is essential for anyone wanting to see the real Jamaica, away from the tourist spots and the dance-halls. You can almost smell the shanty towns, illustrated best by the sign saying 'please don't pass urine, people live here'. Even if you don't pay attention to the action, enjoy it for the songs.

The Harder They Come is, on many levels, an extremely important film.

Besides its reputation of being THE film that birthed Jamaican cinema and aside from its dynamic and internationally beloved soundtrack, The Harder They Come is an extremely necessary visual document of Jamaica's eternal class struggle. It contains footage of the Jamaica that existed in the 70s- the boisterousness of the Rialto, the serenity of the country and the desperation of the Dungle.

The film stars Jimmy Cliff (one of Jamaica's most well known singers of all times), Ras Daniel Hartman (a world renowned artist and prominent member of the Rastafarian community) and Carl Bradshaw (one of the most instrumental figures in the Jamaican film community). The movie's basic plotline is drawn from the true life story of the gunman/rude bwoy, Rhygin, who captured the hearts of the entire nation during the late 50s before being gunned down by irate Kingston lawmen.

The Harder They Come is the direct predecessor of later Jamaican film classics such as Rockers and Dancehall Queen. It is crucial viewing not only for all fans of reggae and students of Caribbean cinema, but for those who wish to learn a bit more about the development of modern Jamaica.

My father wrote, produced and directed this movie. It would have played longer than the eight years that it did in the Orsen Wells cinema if it did not burn down. It is definately considered a cult classic and should be offered for sale via amazon.com Rastafari - Jason Henzell <jakes@cwjamaica.com>

... Most obviously, a triumph of ethnographic portrayal of a "third" world-view, and a cinematographic triumph of capturing Caribbean squalor as a form of visual beauty. Also a triumph of acting by reggae singer Jimmy Cliff in the role of Ivan, the simple country boy who comes to the city to "get his share of what's his." It's such a feat of natural acting that no one who doesn't know Cliff personally will ever be able to imagine him other than as Ivan.

When I first saw this film, in 1974 I think, I accepted it as a Triumph of Defiance. Defiance of a corruption of authority and society that seemed endemic. Ivan was not a Robin Hood; he didn't rob from the rich to give to the poor. He operated entirely on libertarian self-interest, though unfortunately he wasn't exceptionally clear about where his better interests lay. He was a martyr, and perhaps we were meant to understand that being a martyr in such a world was triumph enough. The 1970s were the decade of outlaw heroes in films -- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Bonnie and Clyde, and many more -- all of whom seemed to perish in a blaze of defiant glory.

Most of those '70s films now appear as dated and shallow as "our" hopes for a more enlightened world through LSD and cannabis. Not so with "The Harder They Come"! This was a great film then and it's still a film with power. My interpretation of the Triumph would be chastened by experience with the utter failure of the libertarian outlaw world-view to usher in any millennial joys, but that's the mark of great literature, that it can be re-understood. The Harder They Come is great literature.

Poor country boy Ivan tries to make good in the city. Gets robbed a few times in a few different ways, falls in love with preacher's daughter, turns to violence. Gets killed. Ends up immortalized in Clash song lyric, but that's not in the movie, of course. Great soundtrack.