The Harder They Come Film Still

The Harder They Come

Perry Henzell

United States

1973

103 minutes

Color

1.66:1

English

83

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

IvanJimmy Cliff
ElsaJanet Bartley
JoseCarl Bradshaw
PedroRas Daniel Hartman
PreacherBasil Keane
HiltonRobert Charlton
DetectiveWinston Stona

Credits

DirectorPerry Henzell
ProducerPerry Henzell
ScreenplayPerry Henzell and Trevor D. Rohne
Art directorSally Henzell
Assistant directorRobert Rusell and Tony Straw
Production managerYvonne Jones
EditingJohn Victor Smith, Reicland Anderson and Richard White
SoundBob Povey and Winston Rodney
CameramenDavid 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 Michael Dare Oct 30, 2000

The 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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Available Editions

The Harder They Come Criterion DVD Out of Print

DVD

1 Disc

SRP: $39.95