The Harder They Come

1972

Action / Crime / Drama / Music

9
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 90% · 42 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 82% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.9/10 10 6989 7K

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Plot summary

Ivanhoe Martin arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, "The Harder They Come," but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton, soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills. He deals marijuana, kills some abusive cops and earns local folk hero status. Meanwhile, his record is topping the charts.


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Movie Reviews

Reviewed by MartinHafer 4 / 10

Stick it to the man!

Apparently, when this film was shown in American theaters, it was shown with open captions because much of the Jamaican dialog is very difficult to follow. However, oddly, when the film has come on TV (such as on Turner Classic Movies) it had no captioning of any type and I just gave up watching it in frustration. Fortunately, the Criterion version does have captions....but you must choose them from a pulldown menu. PLEASE remember to activate the captions unless you are fluent in Jamaican Creole.

The story is apparently based, to some degree, on a real Jamaican bandit who became a folk hero of sorts. For the movie, they changed a lot of his life, updated the story to the 1970s and made him a singer/drug dealer...a definate anti-hero.

Technically speaking, "The Harder They Come" isn't much of a film. The cinematography is sketchy and the acting just fair...but it also was a HUGE hit when it debuted...earning back far more than the film cost to make. Much of this is because the movie became a fan favorite at late night theaters here in the States. When you look at this film today, it all seems very hard to understand why the film gained such traction. But as the expression goes, 'it's all in the timing'....and in 1972 the film was timed just right. After all, the combination of civit unrest in Jamaica, rebellion being on the rise in the industrilized world and the increased use of drugs all served to create a demand for this sort of story.

The first portion of the film shows Ivan (Jimmy Cliff) trying to make a go of it in life. But again and again, he finds people standing in his way, trying to keep him down. The Preacher is a hypocritical jerk, the record producers are simply thieves and the cops, well, they work forever pays them the most! And, eventually, Ivan has had enough and resorts to a life of crime...killing several people in the process. And, soon, the combination of one of his songs taking off on the radio and his anti-authoritarian crusade serve to make Ivan a local anti-hero...and soon he finds he has fans who offer to help hide him from the man. What's to eventually come of all this violence and lawlessness?

The best thing about this film is the music. While very repetitive, it's also very catchy and Cliff's singing is enjoyable. As for his acting, it's decent considering he really isn't a professional actor here. But the story itself is cheap...cheaply made and just okay. While the film was adored back in the 70s, it hasn't aged so well...it was just a different time and place and now that time and place has passed...making the film less enjoyable for newer audiences.

Reviewed by boblipton 7 / 10

You Can See It If You Really Want

Jimmy Cliff comes to the city with dreams of becoming a recording star. It's a tough racket and he sells the rights to his first record for $20 -- Jamaican dollars. He falls into the ganja trade. When the authorities, at the urging of the United States, bears down, and Cliff withholds the protection money he's been paying. When the higher-ups bear down, he goes on a spree, and the notoriety puts his record on the hit parade.

It's a very good movie, except for a lot of ancillary issues. It was the first movie for Cliff, for the director, and for a Jamaican movie in the patois. It also has a fine musical score, including some hits by Cliff and his band, including the title song and "You Can Get It If You Really Want." It played internationally, and did very well; its view of Jamaica and Jamaicans remains unique to this day.

Reviewed by lee_eisenberg 10 / 10

Jamaica's Robin Hood

Previously, Jamaica had appeared on screen as the setting of "Dr. No". But it was in Perry Henzel's reggae-themed film "The Harder They Come" that the Caribbean island really made a splash. The movie is based on the life of Ivanhoe "Rhyging" Martin, a man who moved to Kingston in the 1940s and became a hero to Jamaica's masses through his fights against the police, and eventually got shot dead. Jimmy Cliff brings the role to the screen perfectly, capturing every aspect of day-to-day life on the island, and how Ivan has to turn to illegal activities just to survive. But the best part is without a doubt the music. This celebration of reggae is everything that any Rastafarian could want. "The Harder They Come" is one great movie, mahn! Jimmy Cliff later co-starred in Harold Ramis's innocuously silly "Club Paradise", about an ex-firefighter (Robin Williams) who establishes a resort on a Caribbean island.

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