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Summary: this movie should be watched by people visiting jamaica
Review: 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>
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Summary: Hero...Outlaw...Musician----Raw Power
Review: 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.
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Summary: The Harder They come puts the cult in cult classic:
Review: The Harder They Come is the longest running cult classic in film history. Criterion did good to restore this old classic to Hi definition glory. It looks almost as good as when I first saw it many years ago- and i'll say that's pretty good. This is a movie about struggle, triumph and dreams. It so well illustrates the daily struggle of ghetto youth and the trials that they face each day. And it also shows the music industry and how young musicians are exploited on a daily basis. Previous reviewers did well to explain the movie in depth so I wont delve much into the plot. I'll just like to reaffirm that this movie is a good watch. If you ever wanted to see what true poverty is like and what it really is like living in a third world country like Jamaica, I suggest that you see The Harder They Come. Then if you like the Harder they Come see movies like DanceHall Queen and Third World Cop (though those movies don't compare in the least). The soundtrack is indeed infectious by the way. Even if you aren't a reggae fan. I've seen people turn reggae fans just by watching this movie. The seemless intermingling of music and film is done perfectly in this movie. The soundtrack is one of it's highest points and it does well to amplify the emotion and hardship our protagonist (Ivan)endures. Criterion always releases good movies and this is definately one of them. I give it a solid 4 out of 5 stars.
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Summary: Roots of Modern Reggae
Review: 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.
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Summary: OUTSTANDIN
Review: THE MOVIE IS GREAT AND SHOWS THE COUNTRY OF JAMAICA, NOT TO MENTION THE MUSIC AND THE VOICES YOU CANT BUT LOVE THIS MOVIE.
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Summary: Singing was the best
Review: The movie that I saw was about a black guy named Jimmy Cliff. He was so poor that he needed money and he started to sale drugs. The movie is about stealing and drugs. He was a fames guy because all the police wanted to get him and he was fames too because he sing a song that eveybody like it. The thing that I like about this movie is the songs. Another thing is that they put the real thing about poor people. I think that this movie you should rent it because is good and intresting. In my opinion I think that little kids sould not see this movie because it about bad guys stealing things and saling drugs.
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Summary: the harder they com
Review: The thing that I didn't like abut the movie was that how the people talk and the jobs they had selling drugs and also where they live.
The thing that I like about the movie was the music they have and how Jamaica is.
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Summary: Don't hate the player
Review: The thing that I like about the movie is that I like the music that jimmy Cliff. The other thing that I like of the movie is that Jimmy began to do drugs and he began to sell the drugs to get money.
The thing that I didn't like about the movie was that it didn't have a lot of action. It didn't have good girls in the movie.
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Summary: were is all the bud
Review: The things we didn't like about this movie are; the acting was bad, also the actors were not that good at all. Another thing were the gangsters, because they used to fight a lot.
The things we liked about the movie are; They show weed. Another thing they showed guns, cars, and towns.
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Summary: Exuberantly-paced "adventure" of reggae star vs. Babylon...
Review: This film has become a cult classic and concerns the rite-of-passage adventure of an idealistic, Jamaican country boy named Ivan (Jimmy Cliff) into a legendary reggae-rocker and "Bogart bad" gunman. The mythology of the Ras Tafarians is somewhat glibly presented but one gets the point: One cannot get to Zion with a carnal mind... Babylon represents the latter... and The Western influence represents Babylon. The pacing of the film allows little subtlety. But scenes of the young and impressionable "getting down" (and "dusted")at a Kingston theater watching movies glorifying gangsters and gun slinging cowboys in a kind of anti-Baptism into vicarious violence is now more powerful by its unintended understatement. Viewers who are intriqued by the film might check-out the superb novelization of the story by Jamaican author and scholar, Michael Thelwell. His tale of the corruption and bedazzlement of innocence is sad, elegant and moving with literary grace and impact that the movie by Perry Henzell and Trevor Rhone can only hint at. But it is a worthy effort and if the film prods one to read THE HARDER THEY COME...then it is definitely a "boss movie to raas!"
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