The Harder They Come

Jimmy Cliff plays Ivanhoe Martin, the original gun-toting, drug-dealing, revenge-extracting, desperately destructive -- and self destructive -- musician/gangster (or gangster/musician). The Harder They Come is a tragic opera, a story of crime and street life in 70s' Kingston, Jamaica. The template for every wannabe -- and otherwise -- gangster/musician (or gangster/musician) since.

While the musical soundtrack is excellent, the audio restoration leaves something to be desired. The ADR is laughably sloppy in places, and the foley & other re-created sounds should have been left alone. Certainly the film didn't have a high budget, but there's so much nostalgia in all the blips, pops, crackles, and electrical hum that make up the rich aural tapestry of the source tape. Damn you, Criterion Collection. Damn you.

Things to watch for: Cliff with perpetually bloodshot eyes, and a couple other things. I'm not a spoiler.

Links:

The Harder They Come [imdb.com]
The Harder They Come (audio CD) [Toronto Public Library]
The Harder They Come (DVD) [Toronto Public Library]

Also:
Midnight Movies - From the Margin to the Mainstream [Wikipedia]