The Harder They Come15

Directed by Perry Henzell | Jamaica | 1972 | 1h 43m | Starring Jimmy Cliff, Janet Bartley, Carl Bradshaw, Ras Daniel Hartman

Reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff plays a wannabe singer who leaves his village to go to Jamaica’s capital Kingston in pursuit of stardom. Pushed to desperation by shady record producers and corrupt cops, he finally achieves notoriety—as an outlaw. A gritty crime drama with plenty of social commentary and a soundtrack every bit as famous as the film itself (said to have “brought reggae to the world”).

Reviews

‘Fifty years on, this crime drama of a headstrong singer shooting for his chance of success is as raw and energetic as its reggae soundtrack’
★★★★★
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

‘While it was ultimately the songs—You Can Get It If You Really Want, Many Rivers To Cross, Pressure Drop, and the title track, among other classics—that carried the day, The Harder They Come remains a powerful testament to their meaning.’
★★★★
Scott Tobias, The AV Club

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed The Harder They Come between September 18, 2022 and September 19, 2022.

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What else is on?

Today (Friday 9th June)

15:30

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18:00

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1h 20m | Arabic w/ English subtitles
Lebanese artist and filmmaker Ali Cherri’s quietly political first feature is an enigmatic and allegorical drama about Sudanese bricklayer who wanders into the desert to work on a mysterious construction.

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20:00

Beau Is Afraid 15
2h 58m
Academy Award winner Joaquin Phoenix stars as a man in meltdown in this brilliantly baffling psychological epic from the director of modern horror classics Hereditary and Midsommer.

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Tomorrow (Saturday 10th June)

15:00

The Dam Cert-TBC
1h 20m | Arabic w/ English subtitles
Lebanese artist and filmmaker Ali Cherri’s quietly political first feature is an enigmatic and allegorical drama about Sudanese bricklayer who wanders into the desert to work on a mysterious construction.

Book here

17:00

Beau Is Afraid 15
2h 58m
Academy Award winner Joaquin Phoenix stars as a man in meltdown in this brilliantly baffling psychological epic from the director of modern horror classics Hereditary and Midsommer.

Book here

20:30

Master Gardener 15
1h 51m
Legendary filmmaker Paul Schrader continues his late-career resurgence with this potent tale of a man tormented by the ghosts of history and a country reckoning with its own troubled past. 

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Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road. We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so don't be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!