The Harder They Come (1973)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The Harder They Come is a seminal gangster film from Jamaica. It is not a very good film, being low budget with amateurish acting. Even some of the songs are recycled throughout the film.Ska legend Jimmy Cliff plays Ivan Martin, a young singer from the country who comes to Kingston to make a name for himself. In his first day in town he is robbed, he loses his bike and he realises to survive he better toughen up fast.He gets his bike back, he is punished by the police and he takes on the unscrupulous music mogul who exploits the artists he signs up (rather common in Jamaica at the time.)Before long Ivan becomes an outlaw and his record becomes a big hit but the police are on to him.The story is banal in places but the film has an infectious energy, it has attracted a cult following and is regarded for popularising reggae music to the world.Look out for a cameo by another Ska legend Prince Buster who plays a club DJ. Ironically both Prince Buster and Jimmy Cliff became Muslim converts.

In September 1948, outlaw Ivanhoe 'Rhygin' Martin, entered Jamaican folklore after dying in a hail of bullets during a shootout with police in Lime Cay. 25 years later, reggae star Jimmy Cliff appropriated the rude boy's name and legend for his lead role in Jamaica's first feature film, a rough 'n' ready expose of homegrown corruption, class war and poverty. And homegrown. (Had this film been rendered in smellovision they'd have had to stretcher out entire audiences in stunned but happy droves.) A much-loved cult item since release, it also boasts one of the greatest soundtracks in the business, featuring the Maytals, Desmond Decker and, naturally, Jimmy Cliff.

Make no mistake about it, this movie has one of the best soundtracks ever committed to film. Jimmy Cliff, the Melodians, Toots & the Maytals, the Slickers, and Desmond Dekker comprise the sole reason to see this film: an incredible array of reggae that remains unequaled in quality to this day.I wish I could say the same about the movie itself.I guess there was just something about selling weed in the ganja trade in the slums of Jamaica that doesn't carry the same humor and interest today that it did in 1971. The story is basically just excuse for Jimmy Cliff to sing, which, I suppose, is decent reason.Conclusion: Get the soundtrack. Only die-hards actually need to see the movie.

Back in the day it seemed that everybody had the soundtrack to this film but very few had seen it. As years went on, THTC begin to gain a cult status and became more readily available. It is probably one of the few movies with spoken English that is sub-titled. The patois which was created by the Rastafarians to replace Jamaican English (considered the language of slaves) is very difficult to understand, so the sub-titled version is recommended.The film stars the dynamic Jimmy Cliff as the "rude boy" Ivan who gets on the wrong side of a record producer who only wants to pay him a pittance for the song he has recorded. Things go from bad to worse and Ivan kills a cop, among others. Then the song becomes a hit and Ivan becomes a folk hero, running from the police. The ending is a little bit of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" as Ivan faces down his many pursuers for one last shoot out.This is not the Jamaica that we see in travel brochures but the real thing......poverty stricken and unlovely; however it has a terrible beauty of its own. Of course, the music is something you dream about, if you are a lover of reggae, ska and rocksteady. Nobody does it like Jimmy Cliff. He is simply phenomenal. Don't miss it!!!