The Harder They Come (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

Reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff stars as Ivan, a rural Jamaican musician who journeys to the city of Kingston in search of fame and fortune. Pushed to desperate circumstances by shady record producers and corrupt cops, he finally achieves notoriety as a murderous outlaw. Boasting some of the greatest music ever produced in Jamaica, The Harder They Come brought the catchy and subversive rhythms of the rastas to the U.S. in the early '70s. Criterion is proud to present this underground classic in a new Director Approved special edition.

Director-producer Perry Henzel's all-Jamaican-made 1973 classic, one of the most beloved and longest-running of all international cult favorites, fiercely expresses the live-wire Jamaican spirit - an impoverished Africa tuned to American radio. The film also incorporates an archetypal passion for "outlaw" justice common to American Westerns, which were a staple of the Caribbean theater circuit at the time. Released just 12 years after Jamaica achieved independence, The Harder They Come reflects the disenchantment that soon followed a massive post-independence exodus from the island's country hamlets to the tropical ghettos of Kingston, where a more grinding urban poverty awaited.

Brilliantly shot, directed, written, and acted, especially by singer Jimmy Cliff in the leading role and Carl Bradshaw as his archenemy, the film tells an anthemic Jamaican story to seductive rhythms of a soundtrack that became a reggae bestseller. Ivan, a country boy who dreams of fame as a singer, rides into Kingston on a rickety country bus in the opening scenes, only to meet with disaster heaped on disaster, always at the hands of those masked as friends. In a breathless defining climax, Ivan finally breaks from his passivity and begins to wreak his revenge. Soon Kingston's music Mafia and the equally corrupt authorities are after him, but like the real-life people's hero (a man named Rhygin) on whom this character is partially based, Ivan leads them on a maddening chase - much to the delight of the people - eluding capture until the movie's shocking final moments.

If you are used to seeing The Harder They Come on video, or even in the theater, the clarity of the DVD's digital transfer will blow you away. And the classic soundtrack that helped to popularize reggae never sounded better. The commentary track by director Perry Henzell and star Jimmy Cliff (recorded in 1999-2000 exclusively for the Criterion Collection) nicely complements the film, providing rich substance to the story. Henzell discusses Jamaican politics, social issues, and culture, explaining how he incorporates these elements into the film scene by scene. In an exclusive 10-minute interview, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell discusses his support, involvement, and admiration for the film. The dialogue in The Harder They Come is such an authentic representation of the Jamaica vernacular it is often difficult to understand what is being said, so it's a shame a subtitle option was not included. However, this drawback is minor considering the richness of the DVD transfer.

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