The Harder They Come
Spotlight on Black Cinema
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1h 42m
Directed by Perry Henzell | 102 mins | 1972
Star Jimmy Cliff holds down both the screen and the soundtrack in this rude-boy cult classic, Jamaica’s first feature film, which draws on the legend of folk hero prison escapee Ivanhoe “Rhygin” Martin. Cliff plays Ivan, a bumpkin naif freshly arrived in Kingston with dreams of making it as a singer who soon enough acquires a new skintight wardrobe, the nickname “Pretty Boy,” and a hit single—though none of the profits, thanks to a corrupt record exec.
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