Becoming aware of the title after reading Red-Barracuda's IMDb review of the title,I was intrigued to recently learn that the BFI were releasing a new print edition of the film.
Taking a look at what was going to be screened at the local cinema, I was thrilled to discover that this movie was going to be shown, leading to me discovering how hard they come.
View on the film:
From the opening notes, Jimmy Cliff plays a excellent, toe-tapping blissful Reggae soundtrack, with the beat expressing Cliff's excitement over making the first ever feature film from Jamaica,and the other, non-Cliff numbers by Desmond Dekker and Toots and the Maytals, which heighten Ivan's passion in taking on the underworld.
Revealing how hard they fall, co-writer (with Trevor D. Rhone) / director Perry Henzell hits a wonderful Neo- Realist note, with rough edge hand-held camera moves and stylish, long panning shots circling Ivan, (played with an awesome enthusiasm by Jimmy Cliff) searching round every corner of his town, in the hope of finding a job.
Leaving from seeing Django at the cinema loving what he had seen, Henzell expertly blends Neo- Realist styling, with wish- fulfillment, stylish slow-motion close-ups on Ivan taking on the police, spinning to glamour wide tracking shots of Ivan driving round in his new car, as his tune tops the charts.
Getting screwed over by the record producer paying him just $20 for his hit song, the screenplay by Rhone & Henzell examines the corruption that has a vice grip on Ivan and the town, where any attempt to break out of the crushing low pay cycle, is crushed by those who are getting rewarded by the merciless exploitation, which Ivan arises from to take down, as Ivan reveals how hard they fall.
Taking a look at what was going to be screened at the local cinema, I was thrilled to discover that this movie was going to be shown, leading to me discovering how hard they come.
View on the film:
From the opening notes, Jimmy Cliff plays a excellent, toe-tapping blissful Reggae soundtrack, with the beat expressing Cliff's excitement over making the first ever feature film from Jamaica,and the other, non-Cliff numbers by Desmond Dekker and Toots and the Maytals, which heighten Ivan's passion in taking on the underworld.
Revealing how hard they fall, co-writer (with Trevor D. Rhone) / director Perry Henzell hits a wonderful Neo- Realist note, with rough edge hand-held camera moves and stylish, long panning shots circling Ivan, (played with an awesome enthusiasm by Jimmy Cliff) searching round every corner of his town, in the hope of finding a job.
Leaving from seeing Django at the cinema loving what he had seen, Henzell expertly blends Neo- Realist styling, with wish- fulfillment, stylish slow-motion close-ups on Ivan taking on the police, spinning to glamour wide tracking shots of Ivan driving round in his new car, as his tune tops the charts.
Getting screwed over by the record producer paying him just $20 for his hit song, the screenplay by Rhone & Henzell examines the corruption that has a vice grip on Ivan and the town, where any attempt to break out of the crushing low pay cycle, is crushed by those who are getting rewarded by the merciless exploitation, which Ivan arises from to take down, as Ivan reveals how hard they fall.