March 7 - Perry Henzell

Happy Birthday, Perry Henzell! Born today in 1936, this Jamaican film director made the first feature of that country and the film for which he is best known for co-writing, producing and directing. This was the 1972 Jamaican drama/crime film 'The Harder They Come'. 

  

The film follows Ivanhoe Martin (Jimmy Cliff), of whom arrives in Kingston, Jamaica looking for work. After some initial struggles, he lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. Martin then records his first song, "The Harder They Come".  

However, after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton (Bob Charlton), Martin soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills. He deals marijuana, kills some abusive cops and earns local folk hero status. Meanwhile, his record is topping the charts. 

The film is most famous for its reggae soundtrack that is said to have "brought reggae to the world". 

Enormously successful in Jamaica, the film also reached the international market and has been described as "possibly the most influential of Jamaican films and one of the most important films from the Caribbean". 

Henzell had been active from 1972–2006. 

  

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