The soundtrack for The Harder They Come is a staple for most people who listened to “alternative” music in the 80s and 90s. Jimmy Cliff was an established reggae star at the time the film was made and it was only natural the soundtrack would feature much of his music heavily. Heck, he did star in it.
In many ways the soundtrack for The Harder They Come is a sort of primer for many people’s entry into reggae beyond Bob Marley. I am one of those people. Early(ish) in my musical discovery a friend had the soundtrack and we listened to it quite a bit. From that soundtrack I got more Jimmy Cliff music, and them more reggae music.
I still listen to that soundtrack. No, not as regularly as I used to, but it is still in rotation.
Only I had never seen the movie.
Until last week.
The El Rey Network broadcast the film a few times this past month so I recorded it on my DVR and watched it a couple of nights ago. Well, it was something like 3 in the morning, but you get the idea. I was eager to watch the film as I had heard the soundtrack so often for so many years.
Did the film live up to the soundtrack?
The short answer is no. The story is interesting but the pacing is so slow. There’s a good 45 minutes or so that could have been trimmed in order to tighten up the the pace. This isn’t dealing with the thick Jamaican accent that required subtitles. I actually liked that.
While I am glad I finally saw the film I have no interest in ever watching The Harder They Come ever again. Do I recommend it? Only if you’re interested in it. The soundtrack, however, is fantastic. There was a recent rerelease of the soundtrack in a “deluxe” 2 disc edition. Don’t be fooled, that second disc is just a bunch of cool reggae songs from the period, but not more songs from the film. I’m not saying it’s not worth picking up, just don’t think you’re getting more songs from the film.