Fritz L
THE BEST MUSIC FILM OF ALL TIME OTHER THAN HARD DAY'S NIGHT. This contains what was new then, that is now the canon of Reggae music. A simple fable story of a country boy comes to the big city, Kingston, Jamacia and learns its evil ways. All shot on location with many of the real people, Toot's and The Maytals, Leslie Kong of the famous Studio 1 recording facility, all play themselves in this flick. All in English but the patois is so thick sometimes that it has subtitles. This movie, in his debut , made Jimmy Cliff an international star. If you like Reggae music at all this is the $HIT!!! Absolute must see for a music fan.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/13/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The more they fall the harder they come Starring an all Jamaican cast directed by Perry Henzell It stars Jimmy Cliff as Ivanhoe Martin After his grandmother passes away he arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer He manages to record his first song, but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton (Bob Charlton), soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills Jimmy deals marijuana, kills some abusive cops and earns local folk hero status Meanwhile, his record is topping the charts This is the first post colonial movie of its generation to bring reggae music to the masses Cliff laid the foundations for similar artists of Caribbean descent to boom While it’s hard to undervalue the impact of his music on its own, his popularity in the early 70s can be widely attributed to his efforts in cinema It not only made him a star for non-white audiences but also its landmark status pertaining to its representational elements, internationalizing the appeal of Jamaican cinema Think of this like Jamaican spaghetti western meets the exploitation of recording artists and link between crime and music in its themes The movie has a big feeling of authenticity allowing to act as a window into another culture, with one of the most euphoric soundtracks to boot Ivan himself is a vocal dreamer, rebelling against the power of prayer throughout the film that insists that heavenly rewards await all believers in the afterlife After all making only $20 for his music he's pretty much swindled out of any royalties he's pushed to the edge of becoming a criminal He was an aspiring reggae singer who becomes an outlaw and anti-hero Ivan sees the injustices done to the world and though Ivan does bad things, you have sympathy for the motivation behind it You’re rooting for him to get his due… To a certain degree he achieves his ambitions — everyone knows about him — but he went about it in a way that was not right There were consequences So it’s also a cautionary tale overall Also its storyline championed themes upheld by America’s rampant counterculture movement (sticking it to the man) as well as the hip-hop movement emerging in the same era, affirming music as a method to free one’s self from a life of poverty This touches on many themes that resonate today even like economic disparity, police and music-biz corruption, and the fame that accompanies notoriety We are told we can make it in the big city, the rich still treat the poor as poor individuals, there are still so many limitations despite all the advances we've made, the less advantaged people are told to behave and do things by the book, and when they don’t, the hammer comes down hard, the rich man can be bad and do whatever he pleases, and doesn’t seem like he has to pay for it As of 2020 this movie was included in the Library of Congress’ National Registry, and its Cliff-dominated soundtrack, an essential reggae collection in and of itself, was ranked 174 on RS’ Top 500 Albums of All Time A movie that has a story of tenacity and resilience, of a young man coming to the big city and wanting to be a recording star or make a record And he got to make one He does win in the end because the hero never dies
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/12/23
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Devon B
This movie wasn't exactly what I had in mind. The pacing isn't that good and sometimes things aren't really explained; but other than that it's not that bad of a film. I guess it could do well for some one but not as much for me.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
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Audience Member
The music is sensational and how cool to see a Jamaican movie with Jamaicans.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/20/23
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Audience Member
An entertaining crime drama set in the heart of Kingston, it's very goofy at times and has some head-scratching editing, but the music is fantastic, and it's ultimately a very profound character study of a man corrupted by his pursuit of fame as well as an establishment equally as corrupted.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/19/23
Full Review
William L
When the 1948 Visconti film La Terra Trema was released in its country of production, it had to be subtitled in Italian for domestic audiences because the Sicilian dialect was too distinct to be understood by most of the country's citizens; lesser-known is the similar treatment required to the international distribution of Jamaica's first feature film, The Harder They Come. Though it made most of its rounds on the midnight-movie circuit upon release, this film delivered the same problem to an American audience as its Sicilian predecessor had to a larger Italian following. The Jamaican accents are heavy and require help to follow, but it was that authenticity that made The Harder They Come a massive hit in its own country as one of the first depictions of everyday people with any degree of sincerity, the introduction of Jamaican cinema (and to an extent, general culture) to the world, and the most significant blaxploitation film to originate outside of the United States.
While not a blaxploitation film in the conventional sense, it is similar in many ways (the technical simplicity and protagonist in particular) but substitutes the more typical focus on race with class conflict and corruption. While the poor boy-turned-renegade narrative is straightforward and predictable and the production quality ensured that it would likely not rise beyond cult status, the film shines on its willingness to embrace Jamaican culture and in particular its prevalent use of music, to the extent that the film is a borderline musical; songs are often played for long durations rather than simply sampled. The film isn't just intended to cater to a domestic audience by refusing to compromise on the authenticity of its actors or sets, but has a solid theme coursing through the runtime, highlighting the interlinked and near-unstoppable nature of corruption and the power of imagery in the rise of Cliff's Ivan from stepping stone to folk hero.
While the language barrier is definitely real, this classic has strength beyond its historic influence alone. (3.5/5)
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
09/30/21
Full Review
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