Synopsis
Reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff is Ivan, a rural Jamaican musician who journeys to the city of Kingston in search of fame and fortune. Pushed to desperate circumstances by shady record producers and corrupt cops, he finally achieves notoriety—as a murderous outlaw. Boasting some of the greatest music ever produced in Jamaica, The Harder They Come brought the catchy and subversive rhythms of the Rastas to the U.S. in the early 1970s.
Cast
| Ivan | Jimmy Cliff |
| Elsa | Janet Bartley |
| Jose | Carl Bradshaw |
| Pedro | Ras Daniel Hartman |
| Preacher | Basil Keane |
| Hilton | Robert Charlton |
| Detective | Winston Stona |
Credits
| Director | Perry Henzell |
| Producer | Perry Henzell |
| Screenplay | Perry Henzell and Trevor D. Rohne |
| Art director | Sally Henzell |
| Assistant director | Robert Rusell and Tony Straw |
| Production manager | Yvonne Jones |
| Editing | John Victor Smith, Reicland Anderson and Richard White |
| Sound | Bob Povey and Winston Rodney |
| Cameramen | David MacDonald, Peter Jessop and Franklin St. Juste |
Disc Features
- Widescreen digital transfer, supervised by writer-director Perry Henzell
- Audio commentary by Perry Henzell and star Jimmy Cliff
- Exclusive video interview with Island Records founder Chris Blackwell
- Illustrated bio-discographies on the film’s contributing musicians
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
From the Current
The Harder They Come
by Oct 30, 2000The Beatles had already done “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” Paul Simon had already sung “Mother and Child Reunion,” The Rolling Stones and Jefferson Airplane had both recorded in Kingston, but it was The Harder They Come that really put reggae on the map. Its new and insinuating . . .
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