The Harder They ComeThe Harder They Come

Ivanhoe Martin (Jimmy Cliff) 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 (Bob Charlton), 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, all while his record is topping the charts.. "The definitive postcolonial cult-movie musical." - Melissa Anderson, Village Voice. "THE HARDER THEY COME is always exuberant, and sometimes strong, as casually surprising and effortlessly sinister as the blade sliding out of a gravity knife." - Jay Cocks, TIME Magazine