The Harder They Come 1972

Jay Cocks, TIME Magazine: 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. Read more

A.H. Weiler, New York Times: Jimmy Cliff, a noted exponent of the native rocklike Reggae music, is natural and energetic in his movie debut as the ill-starred singer-gunman. Read more

Don Druker, Chicago Reader: With this 1972 cult hit, Jamaican filmmaker Perry Henzell produced a proud, forthright indictment of national and personal corruption. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The characters aren't consistent, and Cliff eventually becomes so unbelievable that we just stop caring. The movie's ending is an exercise in plot; its beginning and its music deserve better than that. Read more

Tony Rayns, Time Out: The action is as gutsy as the well-integrated score, which makes the movie's Hollywood-style gloss a little anomalous, but the basic humour and toughness emerge unscathed. Read more

Stephen Garrett, Time Out: Atrocious acting, amateurish camerawork and a hackneyed story line all make for one painful slog. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety: Perry Henzell emerges a director with a solid visual flair who can mix action and inchoate rage sans excess to give the film a taut pacing and use the local color and a basically predictable tale with a few new twists. Read more

Melissa Anderson, Village Voice: The definitive postcolonial cult-movie musical. Read more