Direcetor of "Harder They Come": Perry Henzell (1936-2006)

Philadelphia Weekly
Week of December 13-19 2006
Mike McKee

One day before the Jamaican premiere of his new film, director Perry Henzell stepped out of the world following a prolonged fight with cancer. Henzell’s legacy represents an indelible mark on the face of cinema, pop music and culture.

Although he enjoyed some success as an author and filmmaker, Henzell will most likely be remembered for introducing reggae to America and the U.K. with 1972’s The Harder They Come. A cautionary tale of pop-star ambition and rude-boy culture, the film boasts a watershed soundtrack packed with legendary songs from reggae greats Desmond Dekker, the Melodians, Toots & the Maytals and leading man Jimmy Cliff.

On opening night riots broke out in Kingston, Jamaica, lending an explosive air to a cultural first. Wholly unprecedented, The Harder They Come depicted ’70s Jamaica in bold, swaggering realism, capturing everything from poverty (both urban and rural) and crime to Rastafarianism, guns, ganja and the island’s still fresh political independence.

With “funky Kingston” as ground zero, the aftershocks carried by the groundbreaking soundtrack resonate to this day. Take, for instance, the Clash’s unabashed homage to the film’s charismatic antihero in “Guns of Brixton” or their impassioned rendition of Toots & the Maytals’ “Pressure Drop.” Fellow British punks Chelsea echoed the sentiment (along with the myriad other cues they echoed from Strummer and co.) by covering Cliff’s “Many Rivers to Cross.”

Jersey boy Ted Leo finally smoothed over the damage with his own version on a 2003 compilation benefiting Vietnam vets. Joe Jackson, meanwhile, tipped his fedora to Cliff by recording a version of the title track. Keith Richards completely missed the point with his version, soon outdone by America’s reigning punks Poison Idea, whose hearts—however strained—were in the right place

If there is an afterlife, we can only hope Henzell has retired to its better side. For while there’s ample toil “between the day you’re born and when you die,” the drama and deceptive upbeat melodies of The Harder They Come serve as a crucial reminder to get your share of what’s yours.