Jimmy Cliff is Ivanhoe ‘Ivan’ Martin, a country boy who leaves home for Kingston, hoping to find fame and fortune. Trying but struggling to get any legitimate employment he follows his dream of becoming a singer. He cuts a record but immediately encounters the corruption and exploitation within the local music business. Turning to crime, Ivan is initially successful supporting himself and girlfriend Elsa (Janet Bartley) selling marijuana, but soon finds himself on the run from local drug gangs and police corruption.

The Harder They Come is universally credited with introducing reggae and the roots movement to the world as a serious cultural proposition. The soundtrack became an all-time classic album: the title track, recorded by Jimmy Cliff specifically for the film, sits alongside three of Cliff’s earlier songs, You Can Get It If You Really Want, Many Rivers to Cross and Sitting in Limbo. Other featured artists include reggae/rocksteady legends Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals and The Melodians.

Perry Henzell’s unfiltered portrait of Jamaica’s music industry, the emerging Rasta faith and how so many Jamaicans lived, both in the town and the country, redefined a genre of music, giving it context and weight. Five decades on, that excitement and sense of discovery remain undimmed.