Starring: - Janet Barkley
- Carl Bradshaw
- Bobby Charlton
Description:
Reggae music serves as both soundtrack and plot element in this film starring music legend Jimmy Cliff. Such hits as "You Can Get It If You Really Want," "Many Rivers to Cross," and "Sitting in Limbo," punctuate the film's action, introducing reggae and its Jamaican roots to a worldwide audience. Here, Cliff plays Ivan Martin, a poor country boy who goes to the city to make money, and becomes a street rebel and a pop idol overnight. In Kingston, Ivan finds nothing but corruption. The record company offers him a mere $20 to release his single, "The Harder They Come." Ivan takes to the streets, where he is ensnared by crime. After brutally knifing a man, he serves a prison sentence. Once free, he supports himself by selling marijuana, protecting himself from legal persecution by giving the cops a cut. But that doesn't keep him from getting mixed up in a police raid. Ivan quickly develops a reputation as a Kingston criminal, and when his single "The Harder They Come" is finally released, it fuels his bad-boy notoriety. In the film's tragic conclusion, Ivan is killed in a shoot-out before his musical talent is fully recognized. This popular 1973 film directed by Perry Henzel has become a cult classic and was an important factor in bringing reggae music to the fore. The movie served as a device for promoting Cliff's album and bringing him visibility as a primary Jamaican artist, on par with Bob Marley.
1. You Can Get It If You Really Want - Jimmy Cliff
2. Draw Your Breaks - Scotty
3. Rivers Of Babylon - The Melodians
4. Many Rivers To Cross - Jimmy Cliff
5. Sweet And Dandy - The Maytals
6. Harder They Come, The - Jimmy Cliff
7. Johnny Too Bad - The Slickers
8. 007 (Shanty Town) - Desmond Dekker
9. Pressure Drop - The Maytals
10. Sitting In Limbo - Jimmy Cliff
11. You Can Get It If You Really Want - Jimmy Cliff
12. Harder They Come, The - Jimmy Cliff
Harder They Come
