Tout, tout de suite

I have always listened very much to all kind of Reggae(also ska and rocksteady) and the record "The harder they come" is one of the best record's ever. So I had really looked forward to see this film. First off all I must say that the songs are fantastic in this film with songs like for example: "Rivers of babylon", "Many rivers to cross", "Sitting here in limbo" and of course the title song.

Jimmy Cliff stars as Ivan, a country boy who comes to the big city looking for fame through music but is forced to become a "rude boy" and it will have big consequences. The film maybe is not a masterpiece but the music is and I thought it was so very funny to watch a film from Jamaica.

This is also one of the biggest cult classics ever and it is very entertaining. The ending is pretty amazing. The acting by the great singer Jimmy Cliff is actually good, and the rest of the unknown cast is also good. This film is a MUST-SEE! My rating would be a 8 or a 9/10

Though the low budget of this film is obvious, it is an amazing story, nonetheless so because it's based on a true one! It's also sometimes quite beautifully filmed.

What seems like it will be a simple country-boy-makes-good-in-the-city fairytale turns into a darker story of ego, searing poverty, class warfare, and a lust for fame. At first we're drawn to the Ivan, then gradually repulsed.

The compelling plot is built on a fantastic set of characters that weave a chillingly accurate portrayal of Jamaica in the late 60's -- a tapestry of desperately poor but infinitely resilient people.

To those IMDb reviewers who thought the story immoral - would you say the same thing about Bonnie & Clyde, Scarface, or Cagney's Public Enemy? This movie examines the effect of despair, desperation, and ambition. It's not a fairytale -- grow up.

Ivan is a country boy in Jamaica who comes to see his Grandmother and `make it big' by recording a record. However when he finds himself exploited by a record producer he turns to drug running to make money. When he kills a cop who is in on the trade he goes on the run and finds fame as an outlaw standing up against `the man'.

I first saw this in a cinema in 1995 and it was fully subtitled, I watched it again last night and it had no subtitles. It was slightly hard to follow some of the very thick dialogue so I suggest if you have the choice that you go for the subtitles unless patwa is a very familiar dialect to you.

The plot takes swipes at the exploitative music business but also the nature of celebrity and the problems of drugs. However at it's heart it's a reggae gangster movie that is gritty and enjoyable. The story is involving but really it's the detail of the setting that carries the film. The camera allows a great sense of place and really captures the mood and place well, using crowd shots and wandering shots to music. Really the best scenes are all natural as music plays in the fore ground.

The music is one of the strongest aspects to the film – where the gangster element is sprawling and relaxed, the music allows us to accept this whole chilled out vibe as just part of the film. The cast also helps greatly by being very realistic without much effort, not trying to make the accent easier is a brave move if you want to sell the film! Cliff is easily believable and very watchable, likewise almost all the cast are great – many not being actors.

Overall the plot may wander in the way only a Jamaican can! But the music and the vibe more than make this a cult film that is well worth watching whether with subtitles or not!

Jimmy Cliff comes to the city with dreams of becoming a recording star. It's a tough racket and he sells the rights to his first record for $20 -- Jamaican dollars. He falls into the ganja trade. When the authorities, at the urging of the United States, bears down, and Cliff withholds the protection money he's been paying. When the higher-ups bear down, he goes on a spree, and the notoriety puts his record on the hit parade.

It's a very good movie, except for a lot of ancillary issues. It was the first movie for Cliff, for the director, and for a Jamaican movie in the patois. It also has a fine musical score, including some hits by Cliff and his band, including the title song and "You Can Get It If You Really Want." It played internationally, and did very well; its view of Jamaica and Jamaicans remains unique to this day.

It has been said of many films, but this one was indeed "ahead of its time". It is a love story, social commentary, political manifesto and comedy all rolled-in-one. You can't help but like Jimmy Cliff's character. He's trying to cut a record, romance a preacher's daughter, and "get what's his" all at the same time.

This film is especially important in the history of Black film, I would say, since the character of Ivan is clearly portrayed as a complex character. Even the cinematography conveys the idea that "black is beautiful" (remember the (semi-)nude scene in the lake? Can't say enough good things about it. See it, you won't be sorry!