Balada Sangrenta

the harder they come, a jamaican experience in watching this film. A partially true story of a infamous gunman (rygin) being chased all the the way to the sandy shores and cut down in a hail of bullets. Shows also the corrupt side of the music industry. I remember when this movie was at the theaters but was too young to see it then. Score 7 out of 10 as being the first shoot him up movie from jamaica. dialect might be hard to understand if you are not jamaican or aquainted with caribbean accent.

I had heard about this film long before I ever saw it. I had heard that it was banned in it's home country of Jamaica due to it's possibility of inciting youths to "hooliganism". I had also heard it had great music and so I picked up the movie soundtrack on LP and enjoyed every song on it. It took video for me to finally see this movie years later and I enjoyed it very much. The movie puts you right in the middle of unfamiliar territory from the start, a busload of Jamaican country people coming into town, with their heavy accents, this is one of the few English movies to have been given english subtitles. From this setting you are taken into the life and ambitions of Ivan Martin, a man willing to stop at nothing to achieve success as a reggae star. He makes it, but there is a high cost. Great music, great performances, including a rare look at Prince Buster DJing a party. If you are a reggae fan, particularly early ska, rocksteady and pre-Bob Marley, this is a movie for you.

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.

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

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!