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The Harder They Come

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02:12

The Harder They Come

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Summary

Crime drama starring Jimmy Cliff. Ivan, a young Jamaican, leaves his country home for Kingston to break into the music business. However he finds himself drawn into a world of violence and corruption.

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IMDB

Review

A star rating of 3 out of 5.

David Parkinson

Jamaica's first indigenous feature became something of a cult hit and made a huge star of Jimmy Cliff, whose own experiences, to a degree, inform the plot of this crime drama. After a hard-hitting opening, however - in which keenly observed documentary detail captures both the exotic and ugly sides of Kingston - this reggae reworking of the old rags-to-riches story disappointingly descends into banal blaxploitation. The struggle to make it in the music business is convincingly depicted, but director Perry Henzell loses his way when Cliff resorts to cop killing to boost his record sales. Whatever the film's shortcomings, though, the music is superb.

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6.8/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameIvanhoe "Ivan" MartinJimmy CliffJoséCarl BradshawPreacherBasil KeaneElsaJanet BartleyPolice detectiveWinston StonaRecord company managerBobby CharltonPedroRas Daniel HartmanNewspaper editorAdrian RobinsonHousewifeBeverly ManleyRupertMan-i-Hartman

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Crew

rolenameDirectorPerry Henzell

Details

Theatrical distributor

Lagoon Assoc Prods

Languages

English

Guidance

Contains violence, swearing, drug abuse and nudity.

Available on

video, DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

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