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The Harder They Come

6.6R

MovieCrime, Drama19721h 43m

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

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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The Harder They Come poster

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.

Directed by
Perry Henzell
Written by
Trevor D. Rhone, Perry Henzell
Genres
Crime, Drama, Music
Released
August 1, 1972
Runtime
1h 43m
Status
Released
Language
English
Countries
Jamaica
Studios
International Films
  • Jimmy CliffIvanhoe "Ivan" Martin
  • JJanet BartleyElsa
  • CCarl BradshawJose
  • RRas Daniel HartmanPedro
  • BBasil KeanePreacher
  • BBob CharltonHilton
  • Winston StonaDetective Ray Jones
  • LLucia WhiteMother
  • VVolair JohnsonPushcart Boy
  • BBeverly AndersonHousewife
  • CClover LewisMarket Woman
  • EElijah ChambersLonga
  • PPrince BusterDJ at Dance
  • EEd 'Bim' LewisPhotographer
  • BBobby LobanFitz
  • JJoanne DunnBarmaid
  • DDon ToppingDJ
  • KKarl LeslieFreddie
  • SSandra RedwoodGirl
  • UUla FraserElsa Friend

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Availability for your region. Streaming data provided by JustWatch.

  • CinemaSerf★ 6September 3, 2022
    Firstly, a quick shout out for the new Garden Cinema in Holborn, London where I saw this recently. A small cinema, but it's great to see a new venue opening so give it a go if you are nearby. To the film, well that sees Jimmy Cliff as "Ivan" - a would-be reggae singer who manages to get himself a record deal with a fairly unscrupulous local producer. The song does OK, but he gets a pretty measly share. Frustrated - a…Read more

    Firstly, a quick shout out for the new Garden Cinema in Holborn, London where I saw this recently. A small cinema, but it's great to see a new venue opening so give it a go if you are nearby. To the film, well that sees Jimmy Cliff as "Ivan" - a would-be reggae singer who manages to get himself a record deal with a fairly unscrupulous local producer. The song does OK, but he gets a pretty measly share. Frustrated - and broke - he takes to dealing dope and soon falls foul of the law. Pretty soon he is almost in the Robin Hood sphere of infamy. Despite the persistent efforts of the police - who, admittedly, couldn't hit a barn door with an howitzer - he manages to evade captivity and he quickly becomes Jamaica's most wanted. This has a great soundtrack - "You Can Get It if You Really Want It" features a little too repetitively, but "Many Rivers to Cross" and the eponymous title track along with an edgy and engaging characterisation from Cliff keep it entertaining enough. Technically, the film itself is pretty poorly hung together with some very basic production, editing and the dialogue - authentically using a patois that could maybe have been subtitled? - is pretty difficult to make out as the audio mix is not the best. It ends as history tells us it does, and though I didn't hate it - I think it is more remarkable for it's place in cinema history being the first feature made locally than it will ever be as a notable film.

  • r96sk★ 8August 19, 2025
    <em>'The Harder They Come'</em> is entertaining crime flick fare. Jimmy Cliff brings a solid lead performance and some excellent music, which is certainly this film's strongest element; the eponymous track and "Sweet And Dandy" being my personal picks. The other cast members play their respective parts well. I've not got much more to note. Good music, enjoyable plot and sturdy messaging. What else is needed? 8/10,…Read more

<em>'The Harder They Come'</em> is entertaining crime flick fare. Jimmy Cliff brings a solid lead performance and some excellent music, which is certainly this film's strongest element; the eponymous track and "Sweet And Dandy" being my personal picks. The other cast members play their respective parts well. I've not got much more to note. Good music, enjoyable plot and sturdy messaging. What else is needed? 8/10, for me.

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