The Harder They Come

"With a Piece in His Hand He Takes on the Man!"

1972 1h 43m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 131

CrimeDramaMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Ivanhoe Martin arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, "The Harder They Come," but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton, soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills. He deals marijuana, kills some abusive cops and earns local folk hero status. Meanwhile, his record is topping the charts.

“With a Piece in His Hand He Takes on the Man!”

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Cast

Jimmy Cliff
Ivanhoe "Ivan" Martin
Janet Bartley
Elsa
Carl Bradshaw
Jose
Ras Daniel Hartman
Pedro
Basil Keane
Preacher
Bob Charlton
Hilton
Winston Stona
Detective Ray Jones
Lucia White
Mother

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Perry Henzell
Writers: Perry Henzell, Trevor D. Rhone
Languages: English
Countries: Jamaica

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 5

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 5

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Reicland Anderson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 5

CAST

Did you know

Jimmy Cliff and Janet Bartley and Carl Bradshaw carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 5

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "With a Piece in His Hand He Takes on the Man!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 5

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0070155 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Perry Henzell directs. Reicland Anderson cuts. Produced in Jamaica. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

154 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Editor Reicland Anderson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
3Jimmy Cliff and Janet Bartley and Carl Bradshaw carry the top of the cast.
4Marketing tagline: "With a Piece in His Hand He Takes on the Man!".
5IMDB entry: tt0070155 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
6Classified under 13 themes, including "cinema on cinema", "gangster", "disc jockey", "jamaica".

The technical file

Editing: Reicland Anderson
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Harder They Come (1972)

Also by

Perry Henzell

No Place Like Home
2006 · ★ 5.6

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-09-03
★ 6/10
Firstly, a quick shout out for the new Garden Cinema in Holborn, London where I saw this recently. A small cinema, but it's great to see a new venue opening so give it a go if you are nearby. To the film, well that sees Jimmy Cliff as "Ivan" - a would-be reggae singer who manages to get himself a record deal with a fairly unscrupulous local producer. The song does OK, but he gets a pretty measly share. Frustrated - and broke - he takes to dealing dope and soon falls foul of the law. Pretty soon he is almost in the Robin Hood sphere of infamy. Despite the persistent efforts of the police - who, admittedly, couldn't hit a barn door with an howitzer - he manages to evade captivity and he quickly becomes Jamaica's most wanted. This has a great soundtrack - "You Can Get It if You Really Want It" features a little too repetitively, but "Many Rivers to Cross" and the eponymous title track along with an edgy and engaging characterisation from Cliff keep it entertaining enough. Technically, the film itself is pretty poorly hung together with some very basic production, editing and the dialogue - authentically using a patois that could maybe have been subtitled? - is pretty difficult to make out as the audio mix is not the best. It ends as history tells us it does, and though I didn't hate it - I think it is more remarkable for it's place in cinema history being the first feature made locally than it will ever be as a notable film.
r96sk2025-08-19
★ 8/10
<em>'The Harder They Come'</em> is entertaining crime flick fare. Jimmy Cliff brings a solid lead performance and some excellent music, which is certainly this film's strongest element; the eponymous track and "Sweet And Dandy" being my personal picks. The other cast members play their respective parts well. I've not got much more to note. Good music, enjoyable plot and sturdy messaging. What else is needed? 8/10, for me.