- The Harder They Come
Infobox_Film
name = The Harder They Come
director =Perry Henzell
writer = Perry HenzellTrevor D. Rhone
starring =Jimmy Cliff
producer =
distributor =
released = flagicon|Italy 1972 (premiere atVenice Film Festival )
flagicon|USAFebruary 8 ,1973
runtime = 120 min.
language = English
budget =
amg_id = 1:21564
imdb_id = 0070155"The Harder They Come" is a 1972 Jamaican
crime film directed byPerry Henzell .It stars
reggae singerJimmy Cliff , who plays Ivanhoe Martin, a character based onRhyging , a real-life Jamaican criminal who achieved fame in the 1940s. Martin is 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 the only way he can get a hit record is by signing away the rights. Eventually, Jose (played byCarl Bradshaw ), one of the first people he met after he moved to Kingston, offers him an opportunity dealing marijuana. He turns to a life of crime and violence. There are two versions of the film — one with subtitles and one without — and each has a different ending.Other major roles in the film were played by
Janet Bartley as Elsa,Basil Keane as Preacher, the lateRas Daniel Hartman as Pedro,Beverly Anderson (who eventually marriedMichael Manley who became the Prime Minister of Jamaica) as the Upper St. Andrew Housewife, the lateBob Charlton as HiltonJamaican actorVolair Johnson as Pushcart Boy, and well known Jamaican comediansEd 'Bim' Lewis as Photographer, andAston 'Bam' Winter as the drunken husband."The Harder They Come" was released in February 1973 in
New York City byRoger Corman 'sNew World Pictures to little attention. It became more popular when it was played to midnight audiences nationwide the following April. The film is referenced in the "Clash" songs "Guns of Brixton " and "Safe European Home". In 2005, it was developed into a stage musical by theTheatre Royal Stratford East and UK Arts Productions in London. Adapted by Henzell, it opened on25 March 2006 . The soundtrack to the film is considered a breakthrough for reggae in the United States.ee also
*"
The Harder They Come (soundtrack) "
*"Rockers"
*"Countryman"
*"Dancehall Queen "
*"Third World Cop "
*"Shottas "
*Midnight movies External links
*imdb title|id=0070155|title=The Harder They Come
* [http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=83&eid=134§ion=essay Criterion Collection essay by Michael Dare]
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