The Harder They Come

Buoyed by an infectious soundtrack featuring the music of the Maytals, the Slickers, Desmond Dekker, and Jimmy Cliff—who stars as Ivanhoe (Ivan) Martin, an aspiring musician who moves from the country to the city after the death of his grandmother—The Harder They Come introduced reggae to an international audience. Ivan, compelled to become an outlaw after a local music producer refuses to play his record, achieves such notoriety while on the run from the police that eventually the producer can’t resist airing his music. Shot on location around Kingston, this neo-noir is vibrant and alive with local color.