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The Harder They Come | Year: 1972 Directed: - Perry Henzell Actors/Actresses: - Jimmy Cliff a film that inspired may things 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! Hero...Outlaw...Musician----Raw Power 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 earl Cross This River 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 an epulsive extrava Buy The Harder They Come at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Harder They Come Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Harder They Come This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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