The Harder They Come (1972)

Wishing to become a successful Reggae singer, a young Jamaican man finds himself tied to corrupt record producers and drug pushers.

Director:

Perry Henzell

Writers:

Perry Henzell, Trevor D. Rhone

Stars:

Jimmy Cliff, Janet Bartley, Carl Bradshaw

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jimmy Cliff	...	Ivanhoe "Ivan" Martin
Janet Bartley	...	Elsa
Carl Bradshaw	...	Jose Smith
Ras Daniel Hartman	...	Pedro
Basil Keane	...	Preacher
Bob Charlton	...	Hilton
Winston Stona	...	Detective Ray Jones
Lucia White	...	Mother
Volair Johnson	...	Pushcart Boy
Beverly Anderson	...	Housewife
Clover Lewis	...	Market Woman
Elijah Chambers	...	Longa
Prince Buster	...	DJ at Dance
Ed 'Bim' Lewis	...	Photographer
Bobby Loban	...	Fitz

Storyline

With dreams of becoming a successful Reggae singer, a young Jamaican man finds corruption from his record producers and the drug pushers they're connected to. Rather than fail his dreams Ivan lets nothing stand in his way, not even the law.

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Plot Keywords:

reggae | jamaica | jamaican patois | west indies | west indian | 

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Taglines:

With a Piece in His Hand He Takes on the Man!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Jamaica

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 August 1977 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

The Harder They Come

Filming Locations:

Jamaica

Company Credits

Production Co:

International Films, Xenon Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 103 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie is in Jamaican Patois, a creole language which can be understood to some extent by English speakers. There are subtitles in English for much of the movie on the original theatrical print.

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Quotes

DJ at Dance: Sit tight and listen keenly while I play for you another brand-new musical biscuit from the Hilton's empire. This a brand-new song they call "The Harder They Fall" by the man called Ivan!

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Alternate Versions

The 25th Anniversary re-release cuts out the following scenes:

• The dinner with the Minister.
• Fixing the Bicycle.
• Part of the movie theater scene where Ivan sees Jimmy Cagney stand off cops with empty guns.

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Connections

Features Django (1966)

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Soundtracks

Sitting Here In Limbo
Performed by Jimmy Cliff
Composed by Jimmy Cliff

User Reviews

Real, raw and a part of my life forever.

This film is a perfect example of the Jamican city struggle, this film is a real depiction of Jamaican people. Technically it is poorly shot and edited, but if you can look past these issues you will have a greater understanding of Jamaican people, the struggles faced and a realization of how the ghettos developed. I lived in Kingston Jamaica in the 80s as a youth, through innocents I loved every part of Jamaica the music, food, people, beaches and weather but not the history or politics which a later learned more about. Jamaica has developed a society through mislead innocents of the youth, selfish politicians who cared for money and power created what Jamaica is today. Imagine coming in from the country as so many did in the 60's & 70's and learning the only work you could find was selling drugs or robbing, Oh no you wouldn't do that? but when a human being begins to starve they will do almost anything to survive it is instinct. This movie is about exactly that survivalist instinct and tendencies.