The Harder They Come

Jimmy Cliff stars as a young Jamaican who comes to the big city of Kingston with dreams of making it big in this 1972 first homegrown Jamaican feature film. Reggae legend Cliff brings an energy and anger to the role of Ivan Martin, an aspiring singer who, after being ripped off by a music producer, turns to crime and ends up an outlaw hero hunted by the police and celebrated by the population. Directed, produced, and co-written by Perry Henzell, a commercial producer who made the film specifically for Jamaican audiences, The Harder They Come is a simple film shot on a shoestring, one that is rough and sometimes ragged but also vital, explosive, and filled with a superb reggae soundtrack. Henzell shoots on the streets and in the slums of Kingston, bringing a documentary authenticity to the culture of poverty, crime, and corruption in which the gangster fantasy plays out. The film was a sensation in Jamaica and a cult hit in the U.S. and around the world, and the soundtrack features classics such as "You Can Get It If You Really Want," "Many Rivers to Cross," and "Sitting in Limbo." A landmark of international independent cinema that helped popularize reggae around the world, The Harder They Come is presented here in a three-disc collector's edition, featuring a new restoration of the film. Extras include the home video debut of Henzell's follow-up film No Place Like Home (2006), the documentary Perry Henzell: A Filmmaker's Odyssey (2015), audio commentary by Cliff biographer David Katz, new and archival interviews and featurettes, and a music video. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)