Catering directly to my interests, the Criterion Channel’s January lineup boasts two of my favorite things: James Gray and cats. In the former case it’s his first five features (itself a terrible reminder he only released five movies in 20 years); the latter shows felines the respect they deserve, from Kuroneko to The Long Goodbye, Tourneur’s Cat People and Mick Garris’ Sleepwalkers. Meanwhile, Ava Gardner, Bertrand Tavernier, Isabel Sandoval, Ken Russell, Juleen Compton, George Harrison’s HandMade Films, and the Sundance Film Festival get retrospectives.
Restorations of Soviet sci-fi trip Ikarie Xb 1, The Unknown, and The Music of Regret stream, as does the recent Plan 75. January’s Criterion Editions are Inside Llewyn Davis, Farewell Amor, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and (most intriguingly) the long-out-of-print The Man Who Fell to Earth, Blu-rays of which go for hundreds of dollars.
See the lineup below and learn more here.
Back By Popular Demand
The Graduate,...
Restorations of Soviet sci-fi trip Ikarie Xb 1, The Unknown, and The Music of Regret stream, as does the recent Plan 75. January’s Criterion Editions are Inside Llewyn Davis, Farewell Amor, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and (most intriguingly) the long-out-of-print The Man Who Fell to Earth, Blu-rays of which go for hundreds of dollars.
See the lineup below and learn more here.
Back By Popular Demand
The Graduate,...
- 12/12/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
In 1972, director Perry Henzell set a gritty crime thriller in Jamaica's exploding, politically charged music scene, and came up with The Harder They Come—the cult-movie spark that started reggae music's slow burn around the world.Host Rico Gagliano tells the story of a film and a soundtrack that inspired rebels and rockers from the Clash to Willie Nelson. Guests include Henzell's daughter Justine, UK music writer Lloyd Bradley, and Paul Douglas—drummer and bandleader of reggae legends The Maytals.The third season of the Mubi Podcast, titled “Needle on the Record,” dives into the unifying power of movie music and tells the stories behind some of cinema’s most renowned “needle drops”—moments where filmmakers deployed pre-existing music instead of an original score. Each episode explores an iconic marriage of song and image that’s become part of pop culture. It’s a six-part mixtape for film lovers.Listen...
- 4/12/2023
- MUBI
In 1972, director-writer Perry Henzell released his Jamaican crime flick “The Harder They Come” with singer-songwriter Jimmy Cliff — then, a burgeoning reggae star — as its anti-hero lead actor. For his menacing cinematic debut, Cliff provided the lion’s share of the film’s riveting soundtrack, with lilting songs such as “You Can Get It If You Really Want” and the movie’s title tune.
Both the soundtrack and film (the latter released in the United States in 1973) became sensations. “The Harder They Come” brought island culture to the world beyond the Caribbean, and helped popularize reggae in the Americas. Along with his anthemic title song becoming an instant classic, Cliff’s “Many Rivers to Cross” was subsequently covered by Linda Ronstadt, John Lennon and Annie Lennox, among other artists. Along with being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, the Library of Congress deemed Cliff’s “The Harder They Come...
Both the soundtrack and film (the latter released in the United States in 1973) became sensations. “The Harder They Come” brought island culture to the world beyond the Caribbean, and helped popularize reggae in the Americas. Along with his anthemic title song becoming an instant classic, Cliff’s “Many Rivers to Cross” was subsequently covered by Linda Ronstadt, John Lennon and Annie Lennox, among other artists. Along with being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, the Library of Congress deemed Cliff’s “The Harder They Come...
- 3/20/2023
- by A.D. Amorosi
- Variety Film + TV
Good news for those who wish to know what their Twitter feed’s jacking off to: the Criterion Channel are launching an erotic thriller series that includes De Palma’s Dressed to Kill and Body Double, the Wachowskis’ Bound, and so many other movies to stir up that ceaseless, fruitless “why do movies have sex scenes?” discourse. (Better or worse than middle-age film critics implying they have a hard-on? I’m so indignant at being forced to choose.) Similarly lurid, if not a bit more frightening, is a David Lynch retro that includes the Criterion editions of Lost Highway and Inland Empire (about which I spoke to Lynch last year), a series of shorts, and a one-month-only engagement for Dune, a film that should be there in perpetuity.
Retrospectives of Harold Lloyd, Rohmer’s Tales of the Four Seasons, and shorts by Fanta Régina Nacro round out the big debuts,...
Retrospectives of Harold Lloyd, Rohmer’s Tales of the Four Seasons, and shorts by Fanta Régina Nacro round out the big debuts,...
- 3/20/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
The musical impact of The Harder They Come, Perry Henzell’s 1972 film about an aspiring reggae singer who becomes an outlaw and anti-hero, can’t be understated. At the time, few outside of Jamaica had ever heard of the likes of Bob Marley, but The Harder They Come — starring Jimmy Cliff — introduced a global audience to the rhythms of the country. In 2020, it was included in the Library of Congress’ National Registry, and its Cliff-dominated soundtrack, an essential reggae collection in and of itself, was ranked 174 on Rs’ Top 500 Albums of All Time.
- 12/14/2022
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
In 1970, Jimmy Cliff found himself at a crossroads. At the age of 26, the Jamaican singer-songwriter was already one of the pioneers and rising stars of reggae, having enjoyed top 10 hits in the UK with his joyous hymn to unity “Wonderful World, Beautiful People” and a spine-tingling cover of Cat Stevens’ “Wild World”. He was in London, preparing for an extensive tour, when he received an offer to star in a low-budget movie back home. “I said, ‘You know, I’m really glad to be here in Europe’,” recalls Cliff, now 78, his voice still rich and mellifluous as it sings down the line from his home in Miami. “It’s not wise to run all over the place and do something like that.”
Perry Henzell, the writer-director who wanted the musician for his film, flew to Britain to change Cliff’s mind. “He said one sentence to me that stopped me in my tracks,...
Perry Henzell, the writer-director who wanted the musician for his film, flew to Britain to change Cliff’s mind. “He said one sentence to me that stopped me in my tracks,...
- 9/10/2022
- by Kevin E G Perry
- The Independent - Music
Fifty years on, this crime drama of a headstrong singer shooting for his chance of success is as raw and energetic as its reggae soundtrack
Perry Henzell’s visceral 1972 Jamaican crime drama exists between the two moods of its two most famous tracks: the aspirational lesson of You Can Get It If You Really Want and the disillusioned downfall-premonition of the title song. The desperado here really wants it, really gets it, comes hard and falls hard. It’s a movie with Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde in its DNA, as well as Sergio Corbucci’s spaghetti western Django, which in one scene is shown getting a rowdy screening at a Kingston cinema.
Singer Jimmy Cliff plays Ivan, a gawky country boy who comes to the Jamaican capital Kingston yearning to be a famous reggae star, having lived with his grandmother who has just died; he is virtually penniless...
Perry Henzell’s visceral 1972 Jamaican crime drama exists between the two moods of its two most famous tracks: the aspirational lesson of You Can Get It If You Really Want and the disillusioned downfall-premonition of the title song. The desperado here really wants it, really gets it, comes hard and falls hard. It’s a movie with Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde in its DNA, as well as Sergio Corbucci’s spaghetti western Django, which in one scene is shown getting a rowdy screening at a Kingston cinema.
Singer Jimmy Cliff plays Ivan, a gawky country boy who comes to the Jamaican capital Kingston yearning to be a famous reggae star, having lived with his grandmother who has just died; he is virtually penniless...
- 8/3/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The Criterion Channel’s February Lineup Includes Melvin Van Peebles, Douglas Sirk, Laura Dern & More
Another month, another Criterion Channel lineup. In accordance with Black History Month their selections are especially refreshing: seven by Melvin Van Peebles, five from Kevin Jerome Everson, and Criterion editions of The Harder They Come and The Learning Tree.
Regarding individual features I’m quite happy to see Abderrahmane Sissako’s fantastic Bamako, last year’s big Sundance winner (and Kosovo’s Oscar entry) Hive, and the remarkably beautiful Portuguese feature The Metamorphosis of Birds. Add a three-film Laura Dern collection (including the recently canonized Smooth Talk) and Pasolini’s rarely shown documentary Love Meetings to make this a fine smorgasboard.
See the full list of February titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.
Alan & Naomi, Sterling Van Wagenen, 1992
All That Heaven Allows, Douglas Sirk, 1955
The Angel Levine, Ján Kadár, 1970
Babylon, Franco Rosso, 1980
Babymother, Julian Henriques, 1998
Bamako, Abderrahmane Sissako, 2006
Beat Street, Stan Lathan, 1984
Blacks Britannica, David Koff, 1978
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution,...
Regarding individual features I’m quite happy to see Abderrahmane Sissako’s fantastic Bamako, last year’s big Sundance winner (and Kosovo’s Oscar entry) Hive, and the remarkably beautiful Portuguese feature The Metamorphosis of Birds. Add a three-film Laura Dern collection (including the recently canonized Smooth Talk) and Pasolini’s rarely shown documentary Love Meetings to make this a fine smorgasboard.
See the full list of February titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.
Alan & Naomi, Sterling Van Wagenen, 1992
All That Heaven Allows, Douglas Sirk, 1955
The Angel Levine, Ján Kadár, 1970
Babylon, Franco Rosso, 1980
Babymother, Julian Henriques, 1998
Bamako, Abderrahmane Sissako, 2006
Beat Street, Stan Lathan, 1984
Blacks Britannica, David Koff, 1978
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution,...
- 1/24/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Black Film Archive
Created by Maya Cade, the newly-launched Black Film Archive is an essential resource featuring every Black film made between 1915 and 1979 that is currently available stream. With over 200 films indexed, if you’re looking for a place to start, check out Cade’s curator picks, ranging from Ousmane Sembène’s Black Girl to Perry Henzell’s The Harder They Come to Madeline Anderson’s I Am Somebody. Also, if you’re able to help the evolving, self-funded project, consider supporting their PayPal, Cash App, or their monthly Substack here.
Where to Stream: Black Film Archive
The Courier (Dominic Cooke)
Early on in The Courier, directed by Dominic Cooke, British salesman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) realizes he’s sitting at a...
Black Film Archive
Created by Maya Cade, the newly-launched Black Film Archive is an essential resource featuring every Black film made between 1915 and 1979 that is currently available stream. With over 200 films indexed, if you’re looking for a place to start, check out Cade’s curator picks, ranging from Ousmane Sembène’s Black Girl to Perry Henzell’s The Harder They Come to Madeline Anderson’s I Am Somebody. Also, if you’re able to help the evolving, self-funded project, consider supporting their PayPal, Cash App, or their monthly Substack here.
Where to Stream: Black Film Archive
The Courier (Dominic Cooke)
Early on in The Courier, directed by Dominic Cooke, British salesman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) realizes he’s sitting at a...
- 8/27/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Way back in pre-pandemic 2015, Jimmy Cliff was on tour in Japan and missing his family. After one show, he sat down at a piano backstage and quickly wrote a song, “Human Touch,” about longing for personal connections: “I like the way I can keep in touch when you’re far away … There’s nothing like your smiling face and your warm embrace.”
Cut to six years later, and Cliff, finishing up his first album in nearly a decade, realized that in the Covid-19 era, the message of “Human Touch” took on a new meaning.
Cut to six years later, and Cliff, finishing up his first album in nearly a decade, realized that in the Covid-19 era, the message of “Human Touch” took on a new meaning.
- 8/6/2021
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Melvin Van Peebles and Perry Henzell made seminal 70s films – now their kids have recovered their fathers’ would-be classics
Justine Henzell and Mario Van Peebles both know what it’s like to grow up on movie sets as the child of a groundbreaking director. Henzell was six in 1972 when her father, Perry, finished The Harder They Come, Jamaica’s first full-length feature, starring the reggae legend Jimmy Cliff as a fugitive whose musical success coincides with his criminal notoriety. Van Peebles even starred in his father Melvin’s third film, the 1971 underground hit Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, which is credited with inspiring the Blaxploitation genre.
As adults, each of them has now had a hand in rescuing and restoring great movies by their fathers that might otherwise have been lost or neglected: Henzell’s more ruminative second feature No Place Like Home, which was lost for more than 20 years, and Van Peebles’s stylish,...
Justine Henzell and Mario Van Peebles both know what it’s like to grow up on movie sets as the child of a groundbreaking director. Henzell was six in 1972 when her father, Perry, finished The Harder They Come, Jamaica’s first full-length feature, starring the reggae legend Jimmy Cliff as a fugitive whose musical success coincides with his criminal notoriety. Van Peebles even starred in his father Melvin’s third film, the 1971 underground hit Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, which is credited with inspiring the Blaxploitation genre.
As adults, each of them has now had a hand in rescuing and restoring great movies by their fathers that might otherwise have been lost or neglected: Henzell’s more ruminative second feature No Place Like Home, which was lost for more than 20 years, and Van Peebles’s stylish,...
- 7/29/2021
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
Nadean Rawlins is participating in the Lab with a project called ‘Traytown’.
Nadean Rawlins is the first Jamaican producer to participate in the Rotterdam Lab as the Jamaican industry aims to establish international partnerships and create a sustainable film sector.
She took part in the Lab with her project Traytown. “It is a very character-driven, female-led film,” says the award-winning actress, theatre producer and talent manager. “It shows a strong female lead in a male-dominated world.”
A short film version of Traytown, scripted by Letay Williams, premiered at the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival last September. Rawlins co-directed the film as...
Nadean Rawlins is the first Jamaican producer to participate in the Rotterdam Lab as the Jamaican industry aims to establish international partnerships and create a sustainable film sector.
She took part in the Lab with her project Traytown. “It is a very character-driven, female-led film,” says the award-winning actress, theatre producer and talent manager. “It shows a strong female lead in a male-dominated world.”
A short film version of Traytown, scripted by Letay Williams, premiered at the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival last September. Rawlins co-directed the film as...
- 2/8/2021
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The Harder They Come, the film that thrust both Jamaican cinema and reggae music into the global spotlight, arrives today on Blu-ray for the first time. To celebrate the rerelease, Rolling Stone spoke to the film’s star, reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, about shooting The Harder They Come, his future plans and his five all-time favorite reggae albums.
Nearly 50 years after the release of The Harder They Come, Cliff reflects on the film’s lasting impact, both as a document of early Seventies reggae and its “rude boy” story.
“[It] was...
Nearly 50 years after the release of The Harder They Come, Cliff reflects on the film’s lasting impact, both as a document of early Seventies reggae and its “rude boy” story.
“[It] was...
- 8/20/2019
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor) is relocating his revered Recorded Picture Company and HanWay Films labels from Soho to a new west London home.
The Hanway Street office has served as the HQ for Rpc and HanWay for more than 25 years, during which time Thomas has produced movies including Crash, Sexy Beast, The Dreamers and Dogman and HanWay has sold films such as Match Point, Shame, Brooklyn, Carol and Colette.
Staff will relocate next week from the iconic building to a new home in Basing Street, Notting Hill (pictured above), right next to the former Island Records recording studios which played host to a who’s who of music industry greats from Bob Marley to Queen, The Rolling Stones to The Eagles and Paul McCartney to Madonna. Queen recorded songs there including We Are The Champions and part of Bohemian Rhapsody. The studios were built in a former church,...
The Hanway Street office has served as the HQ for Rpc and HanWay for more than 25 years, during which time Thomas has produced movies including Crash, Sexy Beast, The Dreamers and Dogman and HanWay has sold films such as Match Point, Shame, Brooklyn, Carol and Colette.
Staff will relocate next week from the iconic building to a new home in Basing Street, Notting Hill (pictured above), right next to the former Island Records recording studios which played host to a who’s who of music industry greats from Bob Marley to Queen, The Rolling Stones to The Eagles and Paul McCartney to Madonna. Queen recorded songs there including We Are The Champions and part of Bohemian Rhapsody. The studios were built in a former church,...
- 3/26/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
There can’t be many pairs of hands as safe as Don Letts’s when it comes to music knowledge. A cultural polymath who has been front-and-centre of the music scene for over 40 years – as a musician, DJ, radio presenter, Grammy Award-winning music video and film director. Letts was one of the key figures in the introduction of reggae to the punk movement, working particularly closely with The Clash.
He’s returned to reggae, celebrating his first love with a series of podcasts for Turtle Bay, and in his latest Reggae45 podcast, he has zeroed in on reggae’s place in Jamaican cinema. “With this episode Don takes the term soundtrack from a literal point of view, delving deep into the world of film and how the sound has a parallel connection with the story on the screen.”
The Citizen Kane of Jamaican cinema is Perry Henzell’s 1972 crime thriller...
He’s returned to reggae, celebrating his first love with a series of podcasts for Turtle Bay, and in his latest Reggae45 podcast, he has zeroed in on reggae’s place in Jamaican cinema. “With this episode Don takes the term soundtrack from a literal point of view, delving deep into the world of film and how the sound has a parallel connection with the story on the screen.”
The Citizen Kane of Jamaican cinema is Perry Henzell’s 1972 crime thriller...
- 11/26/2018
- by Cai Ross
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) has unveiled its first selections for this year’s edition of the Festival with the announcement that ten classic Caribbean films will form part of the 2015 lineup.
These ten films will screen in a special sidebar to the main program in honor of the ttff’s tenth anniversary. The Festival takes place from September 15–29.
“Many people are unaware that there has been a Caribbean film industry for quite some time, or that almost every country in the region has produced feature films,” said Bruce Paddington, ttff Founder and Festival Director. “We are therefore very proud to present ten of the very best classic films from the Caribbean that will help one to appreciate and enjoy the rich diversity of the region.”
Comprising films from nine different countries, the sidebar ranges across the English, Spanish, French and Dutch-speaking sections of the region.
The lineup includes the Jamaican classic, "The Harder They Come," and "Bim," from T&T.
"Memories of Underdevelopment," the oldest film in the lineup, is from 1968, while the most recent, "Strawberry and Chocolate," was released in 1993. Both of those films hail from Cuba.
The full slate of films is as follows:
-"Memories of Underdevelopment" (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Cuba, 1968)
-"The Harder They Come (Perry Henzell," Jamaica, 1972)
-"Bim" (Hugh A. Robertson, Trinidad and Tobago, 1974)
-"One People" (Pim de la Parra, Suriname, 1976)
-"Man By the Shore" (Raoul Peck, Haiti, 1983)
-"Sugar Cane Alley" (Euzhan Palcy, Martinique, 1983)
-"One Way Ticket" (Agliberto Menéndez, Dominican Republic, 1988)
-"What Happened to Santiago" (Jacobo Morales, Puerto Rico, 1989)
-"Ava and Gabriel: A Love Story" (Felix de Rooy, Curaçao, 1990)
-"Strawberry and Chocolate" (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío, Cuba, 1993)
In addition to screening in honor of the Festival’s tenth anniversary, the classics also screen in recognition of the launch of the Caribbean Film Database, an online resource which, in the first instance, will present information on over 600 independent feature-length films made in and about the Caribbean. The database is co-financed by the Acp Cultures+ Program, funded by the European Union and implemented by the Acp Group of States.
The rest of the lineup for the ttff/15 will be unveiled over the upcoming months. For more information about the Festival, visit http://ttfilmfestival.com.
These ten films will screen in a special sidebar to the main program in honor of the ttff’s tenth anniversary. The Festival takes place from September 15–29.
“Many people are unaware that there has been a Caribbean film industry for quite some time, or that almost every country in the region has produced feature films,” said Bruce Paddington, ttff Founder and Festival Director. “We are therefore very proud to present ten of the very best classic films from the Caribbean that will help one to appreciate and enjoy the rich diversity of the region.”
Comprising films from nine different countries, the sidebar ranges across the English, Spanish, French and Dutch-speaking sections of the region.
The lineup includes the Jamaican classic, "The Harder They Come," and "Bim," from T&T.
"Memories of Underdevelopment," the oldest film in the lineup, is from 1968, while the most recent, "Strawberry and Chocolate," was released in 1993. Both of those films hail from Cuba.
The full slate of films is as follows:
-"Memories of Underdevelopment" (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Cuba, 1968)
-"The Harder They Come (Perry Henzell," Jamaica, 1972)
-"Bim" (Hugh A. Robertson, Trinidad and Tobago, 1974)
-"One People" (Pim de la Parra, Suriname, 1976)
-"Man By the Shore" (Raoul Peck, Haiti, 1983)
-"Sugar Cane Alley" (Euzhan Palcy, Martinique, 1983)
-"One Way Ticket" (Agliberto Menéndez, Dominican Republic, 1988)
-"What Happened to Santiago" (Jacobo Morales, Puerto Rico, 1989)
-"Ava and Gabriel: A Love Story" (Felix de Rooy, Curaçao, 1990)
-"Strawberry and Chocolate" (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío, Cuba, 1993)
In addition to screening in honor of the Festival’s tenth anniversary, the classics also screen in recognition of the launch of the Caribbean Film Database, an online resource which, in the first instance, will present information on over 600 independent feature-length films made in and about the Caribbean. The database is co-financed by the Acp Cultures+ Program, funded by the European Union and implemented by the Acp Group of States.
The rest of the lineup for the ttff/15 will be unveiled over the upcoming months. For more information about the Festival, visit http://ttfilmfestival.com.
- 7/11/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
By Alex Simon
2015 will most likely go down as the year that the once-taboo became respectable, with both gay marriage and marijuana finding legal and public acceptance nationwide. While the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal in all fifty states, the marijuana initiative is having an appropriately slower, but steady climb into legality. That said, we thought we’d take a look at some of cinema’s greatest proponents of the stoner lifestyle, before it all becomes downright conventional.
10. Jeff Spicoli—Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
Sean Penn not only became a star with his turn as surfer/stoner Jeff Spicoli in the 1980s’ most iconic teen movie, he established how the stoners of the ‘80s differed from their predecessors: while the rebels of the ‘60s and ‘70s viewed their use of cannabis as a symbol of rebellion, and preferred it to alcohol and the other symbols of their parents’ generation and its decadence,...
2015 will most likely go down as the year that the once-taboo became respectable, with both gay marriage and marijuana finding legal and public acceptance nationwide. While the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal in all fifty states, the marijuana initiative is having an appropriately slower, but steady climb into legality. That said, we thought we’d take a look at some of cinema’s greatest proponents of the stoner lifestyle, before it all becomes downright conventional.
10. Jeff Spicoli—Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
Sean Penn not only became a star with his turn as surfer/stoner Jeff Spicoli in the 1980s’ most iconic teen movie, he established how the stoners of the ‘80s differed from their predecessors: while the rebels of the ‘60s and ‘70s viewed their use of cannabis as a symbol of rebellion, and preferred it to alcohol and the other symbols of their parents’ generation and its decadence,...
- 7/9/2015
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Top brass at the 2015 trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) said on Monday they have selected ten classic Caribbean films in the first programming wave of this year’s edition.
The films will screen in a sidebar at the ttff’s tenth anniversary outing, set to run from September 15–29.
“Many people are unaware that there has been a Caribbean film industry for quite some time, or that almost every country in the region has produced feature films,” said ttff founder and festival director Bruce Paddington.
“We are therefore very proud to present ten of the very best classic films from the Caribbean that will help one to appreciate and enjoy the rich diversity of the region.”
The sidebar covers multiple languages spoken across the region and features:
Memories Of Underdevelopment (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Cuba, 1968);
The Harder They Come (pictured, Perry Henzell, Jamaica, 1972);
Bim (Hugh A Robertson, Trinidad and Tobago, 1974);
One People (Pim de la Parra, Suriname, 1976);
Man...
The films will screen in a sidebar at the ttff’s tenth anniversary outing, set to run from September 15–29.
“Many people are unaware that there has been a Caribbean film industry for quite some time, or that almost every country in the region has produced feature films,” said ttff founder and festival director Bruce Paddington.
“We are therefore very proud to present ten of the very best classic films from the Caribbean that will help one to appreciate and enjoy the rich diversity of the region.”
The sidebar covers multiple languages spoken across the region and features:
Memories Of Underdevelopment (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Cuba, 1968);
The Harder They Come (pictured, Perry Henzell, Jamaica, 1972);
Bim (Hugh A Robertson, Trinidad and Tobago, 1974);
One People (Pim de la Parra, Suriname, 1976);
Man...
- 7/6/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
This week is Ben Barenholtz' birthday.
We'd like to celebrate by running 2 pieces on his amazing wonderful life.
This is his public bio, which in itself, tells of a rich wonderful career in film.
In the next days we'll publish his amazing memoir of his European childhood when he narrowly escaped from the hands of Jew killers during the War.
I personally owe Ben a lot. When I was producing some years back Ben was working for Almi and bought an indie film I produced 'Home Free All' by Director Stewart Bird for that company. The money from that deal paid our investors and took us out of a deep financial hole. I am always grateful to Ben for his vision and belief in us then.
Now for his professional bio -
Biography for Ben Barenholtz
Birth Name Benjamin Barenholtz
Mini Biography
As an exhibitor, distributor, and producer, Ben Barenholtz has been a key presence in the independent film scene since the late 1960s, when he opened the Elgin Cinema in New York City.
Barenholtz secured his first job in the film business when he became assistant manager of the Rko Bushwick Theater in Brooklyn in 1958. From 1966-68 he managed and lived in the Village Theater, which ultimately became the Filmore East. At the Village Theater Barenholtz provided a home for the counterculture, with appearances by Timothy Leary, Stokley Carmichael, Rap Brown, and Paul Krasner. Some of the first meetings of the anti-Vietnam War movement, including the Poets Against Vietnam, were held at the Village Theater. It was also a major music venue, with performances by The Who, Cream, Leonard Cohen, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Nina Simone and many others.
In 1968 he opened the Elgin Cinema. The theater became the world's most innovative specialty and revival house, relaunching the films of Buster Keaton and D.W. Griffith, running a variety of independent films by young American directors, and screening cult, underground, and experimental films for the emerging countercultural audience. The films of Stan Brakhage, Jack Smith, Maya Deren, Kenneth Anger, Jonas Mekas, and Andy Warhol, as well as early works by Jonathan Demme and Martin Scorsese, all played at the Elgin.
Barenholtz also developed new ways of screening movies. He started screening dance and opera films on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He created the "All Night Show" - movies started at midnight and ended at dawn. Most notably, Barenholtz originated the "Midnight Movie" in 1970 with Alexander Jodorowsky's El Topo, which ran for 6 months, 7 days a week, to sold out audiences.
The film was eventually bought by John Lennon. El Topo was followed at midnight by John Waters' Pink Flamingoes and Perry Henzell's The Harder They Come. Barenholtz formed the specialty distributor Libra Films in 1972.
The first film Libra distributed was a revival of Jean-Pierre Melville's Les Enfants Terrible, followed by Claude Chabrol's Just Before Nightfall, and Jean-Charles Tacchella's Cousin, Cousine, which became one of the largest grossing foreign films in the Us and was nominated for 3 Academy Awards.
Libra also launched and distributed, among others, George Romero's Martin, John Sayles' first feature Return of the Secaucus Seven, David Lynch's first feature Eraserhead, Karen Arthur's first feature Legacy, Earl Mack's first feature Children of Theater Street, and Peter Gothar's first feature Time Stands Still.
Barenholtz sold Libra Films to the Almi Group in 1982, but stayed with the company to become the President of Libra-Cinema 5 Films. In 1984 he left Almi and joined with Ted and Jim Pedas to form Circle Releasing. Among the films released by Circle were Yoshimitsu Morita's The Family Game, Guy Maddin's first feature Tales From the Gimli Hospital, Vincent Ward's The Navigator, John Woo's The Killer, Catherine Breillat's 36 Fillette, DeWitt Sage's first feature Pavarotti In China, Alain Cavalier's Therese, and Blood Simple, the first film by Joel and Ethan Coen.
His involvement in film production began with Wynn Chamberlain's Brand X and George Romero's Martin. He continued working with the Coens on the production of Raising Arizona, and as executive producer of Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, as well as awards for Best Director and Best Actor. This was the first and last time the three top honors have all gone to the same film at Cannes.
Barenholtz went on to produce George Romero's Bruiser, J Todd Anderson's The Naked Man, Adek Drabinski's Cheat, executive-produced Gregory Hines' directorial debut Bleeding Hearts and Ulu Grossbard's Georgia, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Mare Winningham. He served as co-executive producer of Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, which earned Ellen Burstyn an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 2000.
Barenholtz appeared in the documentary The Hicks in Hollywood, had a bit role in Liquid Sky, and appeared as a zombie in Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead. He was the main subject of Stuart Samuels' 2005 documentary Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream.
Barenholtz directed his first feature, Music Inn, a documentary about the famed jazz venue.
Barenholtz was the producer of Jamie Greenberg's feature film Stags.
In 2012, Barenholtz produced Suzuya Bobo's first feature Family Games.
Barenholtz has recently completed directing and post production on Wakaliwood the Documentary, which was shot entirely in Kampala, Uganda. The film will be released in 2013.
He is now developing two feature fiction films which begin production in 2013.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Ben Barenholtz...
We'd like to celebrate by running 2 pieces on his amazing wonderful life.
This is his public bio, which in itself, tells of a rich wonderful career in film.
In the next days we'll publish his amazing memoir of his European childhood when he narrowly escaped from the hands of Jew killers during the War.
I personally owe Ben a lot. When I was producing some years back Ben was working for Almi and bought an indie film I produced 'Home Free All' by Director Stewart Bird for that company. The money from that deal paid our investors and took us out of a deep financial hole. I am always grateful to Ben for his vision and belief in us then.
Now for his professional bio -
Biography for Ben Barenholtz
Birth Name Benjamin Barenholtz
Mini Biography
As an exhibitor, distributor, and producer, Ben Barenholtz has been a key presence in the independent film scene since the late 1960s, when he opened the Elgin Cinema in New York City.
Barenholtz secured his first job in the film business when he became assistant manager of the Rko Bushwick Theater in Brooklyn in 1958. From 1966-68 he managed and lived in the Village Theater, which ultimately became the Filmore East. At the Village Theater Barenholtz provided a home for the counterculture, with appearances by Timothy Leary, Stokley Carmichael, Rap Brown, and Paul Krasner. Some of the first meetings of the anti-Vietnam War movement, including the Poets Against Vietnam, were held at the Village Theater. It was also a major music venue, with performances by The Who, Cream, Leonard Cohen, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Nina Simone and many others.
In 1968 he opened the Elgin Cinema. The theater became the world's most innovative specialty and revival house, relaunching the films of Buster Keaton and D.W. Griffith, running a variety of independent films by young American directors, and screening cult, underground, and experimental films for the emerging countercultural audience. The films of Stan Brakhage, Jack Smith, Maya Deren, Kenneth Anger, Jonas Mekas, and Andy Warhol, as well as early works by Jonathan Demme and Martin Scorsese, all played at the Elgin.
Barenholtz also developed new ways of screening movies. He started screening dance and opera films on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He created the "All Night Show" - movies started at midnight and ended at dawn. Most notably, Barenholtz originated the "Midnight Movie" in 1970 with Alexander Jodorowsky's El Topo, which ran for 6 months, 7 days a week, to sold out audiences.
The film was eventually bought by John Lennon. El Topo was followed at midnight by John Waters' Pink Flamingoes and Perry Henzell's The Harder They Come. Barenholtz formed the specialty distributor Libra Films in 1972.
The first film Libra distributed was a revival of Jean-Pierre Melville's Les Enfants Terrible, followed by Claude Chabrol's Just Before Nightfall, and Jean-Charles Tacchella's Cousin, Cousine, which became one of the largest grossing foreign films in the Us and was nominated for 3 Academy Awards.
Libra also launched and distributed, among others, George Romero's Martin, John Sayles' first feature Return of the Secaucus Seven, David Lynch's first feature Eraserhead, Karen Arthur's first feature Legacy, Earl Mack's first feature Children of Theater Street, and Peter Gothar's first feature Time Stands Still.
Barenholtz sold Libra Films to the Almi Group in 1982, but stayed with the company to become the President of Libra-Cinema 5 Films. In 1984 he left Almi and joined with Ted and Jim Pedas to form Circle Releasing. Among the films released by Circle were Yoshimitsu Morita's The Family Game, Guy Maddin's first feature Tales From the Gimli Hospital, Vincent Ward's The Navigator, John Woo's The Killer, Catherine Breillat's 36 Fillette, DeWitt Sage's first feature Pavarotti In China, Alain Cavalier's Therese, and Blood Simple, the first film by Joel and Ethan Coen.
His involvement in film production began with Wynn Chamberlain's Brand X and George Romero's Martin. He continued working with the Coens on the production of Raising Arizona, and as executive producer of Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, as well as awards for Best Director and Best Actor. This was the first and last time the three top honors have all gone to the same film at Cannes.
Barenholtz went on to produce George Romero's Bruiser, J Todd Anderson's The Naked Man, Adek Drabinski's Cheat, executive-produced Gregory Hines' directorial debut Bleeding Hearts and Ulu Grossbard's Georgia, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Mare Winningham. He served as co-executive producer of Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, which earned Ellen Burstyn an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 2000.
Barenholtz appeared in the documentary The Hicks in Hollywood, had a bit role in Liquid Sky, and appeared as a zombie in Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead. He was the main subject of Stuart Samuels' 2005 documentary Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream.
Barenholtz directed his first feature, Music Inn, a documentary about the famed jazz venue.
Barenholtz was the producer of Jamie Greenberg's feature film Stags.
In 2012, Barenholtz produced Suzuya Bobo's first feature Family Games.
Barenholtz has recently completed directing and post production on Wakaliwood the Documentary, which was shot entirely in Kampala, Uganda. The film will be released in 2013.
He is now developing two feature fiction films which begin production in 2013.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Ben Barenholtz...
- 10/8/2013
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
A lot of films like to claim that they’re a “cult classic”. But, in reality, only a few can rightly claim that crown, and one of them is The Harder They Come.The Jamaican-made film was the only film directed by Perry Henzell, a white Jamaican whose family ran sugar plantation for weathy owners in Antigua and Jamaica, and was released in the U.S. to practically no notice in 1973.However, as time went on, it became more popular through midnight screenings, achieving its cult status, and making the film’s legendary soundtrack a huge bestseller, introducing reggae music for the first time to millions.Starring Jimmy Cliff, and Inspired by the real life story of a notorious Jamaican...
- 8/24/2013
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
Today's Indie Beat comes in the form of the North American release date for Ghett'a Life, which just so happens to be Jamaica's highest grossing box office hit.
Here at Cinelinx we like to talk about all aspects of filmmaking and movie news. To that end, we now have Indie Beat where we'll highlight some of the latest news, trailers, and PR releases from the indie filmmaker scene. So if you're an independent filmmaker and want some coverage on our site, be sure to drop us a line at jordan@cinelinx.com. Now, let's get onto the news!
Jamaica’s highest grossing box office hit Ghett'a Life which enjoyed a 26 screen UK theatrical release in 2012 will be released on DVD and VOD in North America in 2013.
World sales agent Jinga Films has struck a deal with Mvd to release the physical DVD on February 19th with Gravitas Ventures exploiting digital rights soon after.
Here at Cinelinx we like to talk about all aspects of filmmaking and movie news. To that end, we now have Indie Beat where we'll highlight some of the latest news, trailers, and PR releases from the indie filmmaker scene. So if you're an independent filmmaker and want some coverage on our site, be sure to drop us a line at jordan@cinelinx.com. Now, let's get onto the news!
Jamaica’s highest grossing box office hit Ghett'a Life which enjoyed a 26 screen UK theatrical release in 2012 will be released on DVD and VOD in North America in 2013.
World sales agent Jinga Films has struck a deal with Mvd to release the physical DVD on February 19th with Gravitas Ventures exploiting digital rights soon after.
- 1/4/2013
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Jordan Maison)
- Cinelinx
'The director wanted everything to seem real: we spoke patois – and the ganja was real, too'
Jimmy Cliff, songwriter and actor
I was in the studio recording You Can Get It If You Really Want when the director Perry Henzell came in and asked if I could write some music for a film he was about to make. The next thing I knew, he was sending me the script and asking me to play the lead. I think he was taken aback by my self-confidence. I'd never acted before, and I was doing well as a singer, but I jumped at the opportunity.
My character, Ivanhoe Martin, was based on a 1940s Jamaican gangster, Rhyging, whose name struck terror into everybody. To play him, I drew on my experiences of living in Kingston and people I knew. And I loved the bad guys in the movies, which helped, too.
The...
Jimmy Cliff, songwriter and actor
I was in the studio recording You Can Get It If You Really Want when the director Perry Henzell came in and asked if I could write some music for a film he was about to make. The next thing I knew, he was sending me the script and asking me to play the lead. I think he was taken aback by my self-confidence. I'd never acted before, and I was doing well as a singer, but I jumped at the opportunity.
My character, Ivanhoe Martin, was based on a 1940s Jamaican gangster, Rhyging, whose name struck terror into everybody. To play him, I drew on my experiences of living in Kingston and people I knew. And I loved the bad guys in the movies, which helped, too.
The...
- 8/20/2012
- by Dave Simpson
- The Guardian - Film News
From Kingston to Lewisham, here are five other must-see reggae movies
The Harder They Come (Dir. Perry Henzell, Jamaica, 1972)
Jamaica's first feature, and the one against which others are measured. The plot – poor country boy seeks fortune in city – is archetypal, but Henzell cleverly turns our admiration for hero Ivan (Jimmy Cliff in incendiary form) into revulsion, as the film shifts through melodrama, comedy and musical into tragedy. Immortal movie moments – "You think the hero can be dead before the last reel?" scoffs Ivan at one point – and a stunning soundtrack led by Cliff's title song make this a five-star classic.
Rockers (Dir. Ted Bafaloukos, Jamaica, 1979)
A "Dreadsploitation" flick that's now a vibrant time capsule of reggae's halcyon days. Drummer Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace plays a hapless muso caught up in Kingston's music wars. The plot's paper thin, but there's a gallery of great cameo appearances – Jacob Miller and Gregory Isaacs...
The Harder They Come (Dir. Perry Henzell, Jamaica, 1972)
Jamaica's first feature, and the one against which others are measured. The plot – poor country boy seeks fortune in city – is archetypal, but Henzell cleverly turns our admiration for hero Ivan (Jimmy Cliff in incendiary form) into revulsion, as the film shifts through melodrama, comedy and musical into tragedy. Immortal movie moments – "You think the hero can be dead before the last reel?" scoffs Ivan at one point – and a stunning soundtrack led by Cliff's title song make this a five-star classic.
Rockers (Dir. Ted Bafaloukos, Jamaica, 1979)
A "Dreadsploitation" flick that's now a vibrant time capsule of reggae's halcyon days. Drummer Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace plays a hapless muso caught up in Kingston's music wars. The plot's paper thin, but there's a gallery of great cameo appearances – Jacob Miller and Gregory Isaacs...
- 4/23/2012
- by Neil Spencer
- The Guardian - Film News
While it’s not all that rare for a classic film to find itself as fodder for a possible remake, it is rather rare for the said film to be a part of the storied library of The Criterion Collection.
However, one film that does, or did rather, call the Collection home, the now out of print Perry Henzell-directed and Jimmy Cliff-starring classic, The Harder They Come (spine #83), is just that.
Variety is reporting that the reggae classic is now set to get a remake, thanks to Third World Cop scribe, and Bob Marley biographer, Chris Salewicz. Salewicz is writing the new film, which will now take place in London and Jamaica, and has been called a “re-imagining that will move to contemporary reggae and reggae-influenced grooves.”
The film is looking to begin being sold after a script is completed by this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Now,...
However, one film that does, or did rather, call the Collection home, the now out of print Perry Henzell-directed and Jimmy Cliff-starring classic, The Harder They Come (spine #83), is just that.
Variety is reporting that the reggae classic is now set to get a remake, thanks to Third World Cop scribe, and Bob Marley biographer, Chris Salewicz. Salewicz is writing the new film, which will now take place in London and Jamaica, and has been called a “re-imagining that will move to contemporary reggae and reggae-influenced grooves.”
The film is looking to begin being sold after a script is completed by this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Now,...
- 4/13/2011
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
It's been nearly forty years since audiences were first wowed and fascinated by Perry Henzell's The Harder They Come, but despite still holding up remarkably well, the film never quite caught on with subsequent generations. Even many highly informed young people are only vaguely aware of its existence. Because of that, it's really no surprise many have started clamoring for a remake, but it is a bit curious whose push finally pushed the potential project over the edge. Justine Henzell, the original filmmaker's daughter, has joined two production companies to make the film happen. Chris Salewicz, a Bob Marley biographer and former NME writer, has been hired to put together a new script, which all hope to have completed in time to show off at Cannes. If it's well received, the remake will begin casting for principal photography to start early next year. The Harder They Come follows a...
- 4/12/2011
- cinemablend.com
Variety is reporting the 1972 Jamaican classic “The Harder They Come” will be remade the production companies of United Kingdom-base Xingu Films, Canada-based Conquering Lion and with producer Justine Henzell (“Ghett’a Life,” “No Place Like Home”). The original film was written and directed by Henzells father Perry Henzell. Conquering Lion’s producer Damon D’Oliveira described the remake as “a re-imagining that will move to contemporary reggae and reggae-influenced grooves. “Next year is the 50th anniversary of Jamaica and the 40th anniversary of the original film, so the timing is perfect,” said D’Oliveira to Variety. “’The Harder They Come’ was the first film to bring the real Jamaica to the world, and that spirit informs this new version.” The original film starred Jimmy Cliff, Janet Bartley and Carl Bradshaw. Its plot involved a Reggae singer pushing his singing career in the city, but finds it harder than he thought.
- 4/12/2011
- LRMonline.com
According to reports, a remake of the 1972 crime feature "The Harder They Come", is being developed by Justine Henzell, daughter of the original film's writer/director Perry Henzell, who will will produce the remake with Xingu Films' Trudie Style, Alex Francis and Conquering Lion's Damon D'Oliveira and Clement Virgo.
The original film followed 'Ivanhoe Martin' (Jimmy Cliff), a poor Jamaican man in search of a job, before finally getting one as a reggae singer. Upon the verge of a hit record, he discovers he has to sign away all his rights. Looking for an income, 'Jose', one of the the first people Ivanhoe met after he moved to Kingston, offers him an opportunity to deal marijuana, leading to a life of crime and violence.
Production on the new film will start in 2012.
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Harder They Come"...
The original film followed 'Ivanhoe Martin' (Jimmy Cliff), a poor Jamaican man in search of a job, before finally getting one as a reggae singer. Upon the verge of a hit record, he discovers he has to sign away all his rights. Looking for an income, 'Jose', one of the the first people Ivanhoe met after he moved to Kingston, offers him an opportunity to deal marijuana, leading to a life of crime and violence.
Production on the new film will start in 2012.
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Harder They Come"...
- 4/12/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
The Harder They Come, is set to get a remake from UK production company Film Xingu Films, Canada's Conquering Lion and Jamaican producer Justine Henzell. The 1972 Jamaican classic starred reggae legend Jimmy Cliff as an aspiring musician lured into crime. The film is being produced by Henzell, Xingu's Trudie Styler and Alex Francis and Lion's Damon D'Oliveira and Clement Virgo and is the first film co-produced by the three countries.
The original was written and directed by Perry Henzell (Henzell's father who died in 2006). D'Oliveira described the new version as "a re-imagining that will move to contemporary reggae and reggae-influenced grooves." The film will be set in Jamaica and London, and written by New Musical Express scribe Chris Salewicz, co-writer of Third World Cop (the most financially successful Caribbean pic) and books including "Bob Marley: The Untold Story." A draft of the script is plannned to be completed to attract...
The original was written and directed by Perry Henzell (Henzell's father who died in 2006). D'Oliveira described the new version as "a re-imagining that will move to contemporary reggae and reggae-influenced grooves." The film will be set in Jamaica and London, and written by New Musical Express scribe Chris Salewicz, co-writer of Third World Cop (the most financially successful Caribbean pic) and books including "Bob Marley: The Untold Story." A draft of the script is plannned to be completed to attract...
- 4/12/2011
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
In the pantheon of great music-related movies, Perry Henzell's The Harder They Come stands tall. The Jamaica-set film stars reggae star Jimmy Cliff as an aspiring songwriter who arrives in Kingston, Jamaica only to be drawn into crime, and is set to one of the all-time great soundtracks. That soundtrack, in fact, was instrumental in bringing reggae to global attention. Even those who emerged from college with a total disdain for reggae thanks to over-exposure to the same ten party songs could probably find something to love by discovering this soundtrack in context with the film. So The Harder They Come is a pretty daunting remake prospect. It has stymied some would-be producers in the past, but now Sting's wife Trudi Styler and a Bob Marley scholar are working together to remake or, re-invent the film. Variety [1] says that Nmw editor, Third World Cop scripter and Bob Marley biographer...
- 4/12/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
Everett Collection
“The Harder They Come” may be getting a remake.
The 1972 film, which starred Jamaican singer Jimmy Cliff, is credited with helping to introduce the world to reggae. The film came out around the same time that Bob Marley was also bringing Jamaican rhythms to the global masses. Cliff was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year.
Filming on the new “The Harder They Come” is scheduled to start later this year in Jamaica and...
“The Harder They Come” may be getting a remake.
The 1972 film, which starred Jamaican singer Jimmy Cliff, is credited with helping to introduce the world to reggae. The film came out around the same time that Bob Marley was also bringing Jamaican rhythms to the global masses. Cliff was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year.
Filming on the new “The Harder They Come” is scheduled to start later this year in Jamaica and...
- 4/11/2011
- by WSJ Staff
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Jamaican filmmaker Perry Henzell‘s 1972 classic The Harder They Come was a groundbreaking film for a number of reasons. A tale of an aspiring reggae star named Ivanhoe Martin (played by Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff) who gets caught up in a life of public crime that only helps popularize his record, it was the very first feature-length film to come out of the then decade old country. When it eventually made its way to America in 1973, it became a massive hit with midnight movie audiences.
But The Harder They Come‘s greatest influence was on music, not film. Its soundtrack, made up of singles released in Jamaica between 1967 and 1972 from Jimmy Cliff, The Maytals, Desmond Dekker, and more, gave international audiences their first real taste of that style of reggae music. Besides having a heavy influence on English punk rockers, this record is what paved the way for Bob Marley to break overseas.
But The Harder They Come‘s greatest influence was on music, not film. Its soundtrack, made up of singles released in Jamaica between 1967 and 1972 from Jimmy Cliff, The Maytals, Desmond Dekker, and more, gave international audiences their first real taste of that style of reggae music. Besides having a heavy influence on English punk rockers, this record is what paved the way for Bob Marley to break overseas.
- 4/11/2011
- by James Battaglia
- The Film Stage
Trudie Styler and original director Perry Henzell's daughter are to produce an update of the 1972 cult Jamaican thriller
After numerous failed attempts, the cult Jamaican thriller The Harder They Come may at last be set for a remake. Producer-actor Trudie Styler has joined forces with, among others, Justine Henzell – daughter of the original's director Perry Henzell (who died in 2006) – who now owns the rights.
The first Harder They Come, made in 1972, starred Jimmy Cliff as a naive country boy who turns up in the Jamaican capital Kingston hoping to make it big as a musician. It is generally credited with popularising reggae in Europe and the Us, and boasted a bestselling soundtrack including contributions from Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker and Cliff himself, who recorded the title track for the film.
Styler, who successfully graduated from acting to producing, with credits including Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,...
After numerous failed attempts, the cult Jamaican thriller The Harder They Come may at last be set for a remake. Producer-actor Trudie Styler has joined forces with, among others, Justine Henzell – daughter of the original's director Perry Henzell (who died in 2006) – who now owns the rights.
The first Harder They Come, made in 1972, starred Jimmy Cliff as a naive country boy who turns up in the Jamaican capital Kingston hoping to make it big as a musician. It is generally credited with popularising reggae in Europe and the Us, and boasted a bestselling soundtrack including contributions from Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker and Cliff himself, who recorded the title track for the film.
Styler, who successfully graduated from acting to producing, with credits including Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,...
- 4/11/2011
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
And the remake gravy train continues to chug along…
U.K. production company Xingu Films (Trudie Styler’s company – she’s Sting’s wife), Canada’s Conquering Lion (Jamaican-born Canadian Clement Virgo’s company), and Jamaican producer Justine Henzell are uniting to remake the 1972 Jamaican crime drama classic, The Harder They Come, which starred reggae legend Jimmy Cliff as an aspiring musician lured into a life of crime.
It’s worth noting that the original film, was written and directed by producer Justine Henzell’s father Perry Henzell, who died in 2006.
They are describing the remake as “a re-imagining that will move to contemporary reggae and reggae-influenced grooves,” says Variety.
A draft of the screenplay is expected to complete in time for the 2011 Cannes market, where I suppose they plan to shop the project around for financing and distribution, with principal photography scheduled for 2012 (the 40th anniversary of the original...
U.K. production company Xingu Films (Trudie Styler’s company – she’s Sting’s wife), Canada’s Conquering Lion (Jamaican-born Canadian Clement Virgo’s company), and Jamaican producer Justine Henzell are uniting to remake the 1972 Jamaican crime drama classic, The Harder They Come, which starred reggae legend Jimmy Cliff as an aspiring musician lured into a life of crime.
It’s worth noting that the original film, was written and directed by producer Justine Henzell’s father Perry Henzell, who died in 2006.
They are describing the remake as “a re-imagining that will move to contemporary reggae and reggae-influenced grooves,” says Variety.
A draft of the screenplay is expected to complete in time for the 2011 Cannes market, where I suppose they plan to shop the project around for financing and distribution, with principal photography scheduled for 2012 (the 40th anniversary of the original...
- 4/11/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
Some films are inextricably tied to their soundtracks. It's hard to think of, say, "The Graduate," without Simon & Garfunkel coming to mind, or "Harold & Maude" without Cat Stevens. Fan-favorite directors from Quentin Tarantino to Wes Anderson are known as much for their skills at compiling mixtapes as they are for their filmmaking. But few soundtracks have had such gigantic impact as the one to the 1972 Jamaican crime movie "The Harder They Come," written and directed by Perry Henzell. The film, which starred reggae legend Jimmy Cliff as Ivanhoe Martin, a would-be songwriter thrust into a world of…...
- 4/11/2011
- The Playlist
A remake of The Harder They Come is in the works, Variety is reporting. The original film, released in 1972, featured musician Jimmy Cliff in the lead role. Produced and set in Jamaica, the film became a midnight classic when it hit the United States the following year, distributed by Roger Corman. The crime actioner boasts a reggae soundtrack with tracks by Cliff himself. Justine Henzell, the daughter of the original film's writer/director Perry Henzell, will produce the remake alongside Xingu Films' Trudie Style and Alex Francis and Conquering Lion's Damon D'Oliveira and Clement Virgo. The new version is said to focus on modern reggae and will be written by Third World Cop 's Chris Salewicz. Production is currently targeted to begin sometime in 2012.
- 4/11/2011
- Comingsoon.net
Poor country boy Ivan Martin (Jimmy Cliff) leaves the countryside and heads to the city (Kingston) in search of fame and fortune. Ivan finds the promise that the streets of the big city are laden with opportunity a myth but refuses to give up on his dream and, although having recorded a hit record, he finds himself drawn into the ganja trade and the rude boy lifestyle.
A lot of films get given the tag’s “Cult Classic”, “Independent film Classic” and similar, and while to varying degree’s they may or may not deserve the titles, “The Harder They Come” is almost the definition of both. Working on commercials and for the BBC in Jamaica, director Perry Henzell always dreamed of making a feature film, and not just any feature film, but one with its roots firmly in his homeland of Jamaica. Perry had told people he not only...
A lot of films get given the tag’s “Cult Classic”, “Independent film Classic” and similar, and while to varying degree’s they may or may not deserve the titles, “The Harder They Come” is almost the definition of both. Working on commercials and for the BBC in Jamaica, director Perry Henzell always dreamed of making a feature film, and not just any feature film, but one with its roots firmly in his homeland of Jamaica. Perry had told people he not only...
- 8/30/2008
- by Leigh
- Latemag.com/film
Even on the dreariest January nights, the Midnight lines at L.A.'s Nuart Theatre during the '70s stretched down Santa Monica Boulevard, past the liquor store and nearly to the police station.
The costumed potheaded cognoscenti of dubious taste gathered in tribal squalor for their midnight rite of passage, the raucous screening of such film phenom as "Pink Flamingos", "Eraserhead" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".
During the '70s, and not just at the Nuart, but at countercultural venues across the country, such as the Orson Welles and the Elgin, six low-budget, aberrant films chalked up some of the longest runs in exhibition history. They didn't have much in common except the mania of their creators to push boundaries. They also included such mutant cinematic species as "El Topo", "Night of the Living Dead" and "The Harder They Come".
In this affectionate glimpse into those countercultural times, filmmaker Stuart Samuels has compiled an engaging distillation of those nocturnal filmic emissions. Each captured the backside of the zeitgeist. They were a great Rorchacht test for first dates: Is it art, or is it filth? As one cheeky fan expounded in a long-running promo for "Pink Flamingos": "I think John Waters has got his finger on America; he's got it totally up America's ass."
Interspersed with perspective commentary from such '60s-reared aficionados as Lou Adler and Roger Ebert, "Midnight Movies" is a an engaging and perceptive glimpse not only into a raucous time of personal rebellion but an historical essay on how these fringe Midnighters have influenced today's mainstream directors. What was "shocking and out-there" at Midnight in the '70s has warped into today's neo-modern mainstream where, it seems, nothing is shocking.
Begging the question, what is the new Midnight Madness?
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream
Starz Entertainment Group
A Stuart Samuels Film
Producer-Screenwriter-Director: Stuart Samuels; Cinematographer: Richard Fox; Music: Eric Cadesky, Nick Dyer; Editors:Kevin Rollins, Lorenzo Massa, Mike Bembenek, Rob Coleman.Cast: John Waters, David Lynch, George Romero, A. Jodorowsky, Perry Henzell, Richard O'Brien, Lou Adler
No MPAA rating -- running time 88 minutes...
The costumed potheaded cognoscenti of dubious taste gathered in tribal squalor for their midnight rite of passage, the raucous screening of such film phenom as "Pink Flamingos", "Eraserhead" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".
During the '70s, and not just at the Nuart, but at countercultural venues across the country, such as the Orson Welles and the Elgin, six low-budget, aberrant films chalked up some of the longest runs in exhibition history. They didn't have much in common except the mania of their creators to push boundaries. They also included such mutant cinematic species as "El Topo", "Night of the Living Dead" and "The Harder They Come".
In this affectionate glimpse into those countercultural times, filmmaker Stuart Samuels has compiled an engaging distillation of those nocturnal filmic emissions. Each captured the backside of the zeitgeist. They were a great Rorchacht test for first dates: Is it art, or is it filth? As one cheeky fan expounded in a long-running promo for "Pink Flamingos": "I think John Waters has got his finger on America; he's got it totally up America's ass."
Interspersed with perspective commentary from such '60s-reared aficionados as Lou Adler and Roger Ebert, "Midnight Movies" is a an engaging and perceptive glimpse not only into a raucous time of personal rebellion but an historical essay on how these fringe Midnighters have influenced today's mainstream directors. What was "shocking and out-there" at Midnight in the '70s has warped into today's neo-modern mainstream where, it seems, nothing is shocking.
Begging the question, what is the new Midnight Madness?
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream
Starz Entertainment Group
A Stuart Samuels Film
Producer-Screenwriter-Director: Stuart Samuels; Cinematographer: Richard Fox; Music: Eric Cadesky, Nick Dyer; Editors:Kevin Rollins, Lorenzo Massa, Mike Bembenek, Rob Coleman.Cast: John Waters, David Lynch, George Romero, A. Jodorowsky, Perry Henzell, Richard O'Brien, Lou Adler
No MPAA rating -- running time 88 minutes...
- 5/17/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Propelled by a blistering reggae and dancehall soundtrack produced by Sly & Robbie, this shot-on-video Jamaican import is a routine genre item most notable for lead Paul Campbell's sometimes-riveting performance as a hardhearted "Third World Cop" facing off with gunrunning bad guys in Kingston.
The Palm Pictures release opened Friday in New York and looks to be a tough sell across the board. While the music and Jamaican setting will attract a few urban hipsters, the subtitling of many scenes because of the actors' thick accents and use of slang effectively makes "Third World Cop" a foreign film, but one with little to recommend it to curious cineastes.
Making his feature debut, director and co-screenwriter Chris Browne is the nephew of Perry Henzell, director of the 1971 hit "The Harder They Come" starring Jimmy Cliff. Many of the "Third World" production crew and cast also were involved with the 1997 Jamaican film "Dancehall Queen".
A crime-stopping crusader who gets the job done with bullets and brains, Capone (Campbell) in the film's opening sequence makes love with a lady friend and then makes war on some bad guys in a messy shootout. His boss, citing his "effective but not always right" methods, reassigns him to his hometown of Kingston, where there's apparently a need for him to police a notorious slum.
In a new department, where his reputation is immediately questioned by another lives-to-kill-the-bad-guys roughneck dubbed Not Nice (Lenford Salmon), Capone gets an amiable partner (Winston Bell) who is more cautious, and the movie appears headed into "Lethal Weapon" territory. But director Chris Browne and co-writers Suzanne Fenn and Chris Salewicz only flirt with that angle and opt instead for a John Woo-like scenario, with Capone forced to confront childhood friend Ratty (Mark Danvers) about his involvement with the local godfather Oney (Carl Bradshaw).
"Third World Cop" never comes together in a compelling way and finally resorts to many cop-movie cliches for a predictably bloody windup.
THIRD WORLD COP
Palm Pictures in association with Hawk's Nest Prods.
Director: Chris Browne
Screenwriters: Suzanne Fenn, Chris Browne, Chris Salewicz
Producer: Carolyn Pfeiffer Bradshaw
Executive producers: Chris Blackwell, Dan Genetti
Director of photography: Richard Lannaman
Production designer: Richard Lannaman
Editor: Suzanne Fenn
Costume designer: Michelle Haynes
Music: Wally Badarou, Sly & Robbie
Casting: Sheila Lowe Graham, Suzanne Fenn, Sharon Burke
Color/stereo
Cast:
Capone: Paul Campbell
Ratty: Mark Danvers
Oney: Carl Bradshaw
Rita: Audrey Reid
Floyd: Winston Bell
Not Nice: Lenford Salmon
Deportee: Desmond Ballentine (a k a Ninjaman)
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
The Palm Pictures release opened Friday in New York and looks to be a tough sell across the board. While the music and Jamaican setting will attract a few urban hipsters, the subtitling of many scenes because of the actors' thick accents and use of slang effectively makes "Third World Cop" a foreign film, but one with little to recommend it to curious cineastes.
Making his feature debut, director and co-screenwriter Chris Browne is the nephew of Perry Henzell, director of the 1971 hit "The Harder They Come" starring Jimmy Cliff. Many of the "Third World" production crew and cast also were involved with the 1997 Jamaican film "Dancehall Queen".
A crime-stopping crusader who gets the job done with bullets and brains, Capone (Campbell) in the film's opening sequence makes love with a lady friend and then makes war on some bad guys in a messy shootout. His boss, citing his "effective but not always right" methods, reassigns him to his hometown of Kingston, where there's apparently a need for him to police a notorious slum.
In a new department, where his reputation is immediately questioned by another lives-to-kill-the-bad-guys roughneck dubbed Not Nice (Lenford Salmon), Capone gets an amiable partner (Winston Bell) who is more cautious, and the movie appears headed into "Lethal Weapon" territory. But director Chris Browne and co-writers Suzanne Fenn and Chris Salewicz only flirt with that angle and opt instead for a John Woo-like scenario, with Capone forced to confront childhood friend Ratty (Mark Danvers) about his involvement with the local godfather Oney (Carl Bradshaw).
"Third World Cop" never comes together in a compelling way and finally resorts to many cop-movie cliches for a predictably bloody windup.
THIRD WORLD COP
Palm Pictures in association with Hawk's Nest Prods.
Director: Chris Browne
Screenwriters: Suzanne Fenn, Chris Browne, Chris Salewicz
Producer: Carolyn Pfeiffer Bradshaw
Executive producers: Chris Blackwell, Dan Genetti
Director of photography: Richard Lannaman
Production designer: Richard Lannaman
Editor: Suzanne Fenn
Costume designer: Michelle Haynes
Music: Wally Badarou, Sly & Robbie
Casting: Sheila Lowe Graham, Suzanne Fenn, Sharon Burke
Color/stereo
Cast:
Capone: Paul Campbell
Ratty: Mark Danvers
Oney: Carl Bradshaw
Rita: Audrey Reid
Floyd: Winston Bell
Not Nice: Lenford Salmon
Deportee: Desmond Ballentine (a k a Ninjaman)
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 4/19/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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