The Harder They Come Hits With 6 Hours Of Bonus Features In August

Disc Announcements, News

The upcoming The Harder They Come: Collector’s Edition has quickly become a celebration of Jamaican cinema. The movie is already a classic with action and an essential soundtrack. The bonus features are elevating the release. Along with so much about the original production, we’re getting the recently found No Place Like Home from the director Perry Henzell. Jimmy Cliff became an international sensation with this story about a singer who gets robbed of his hit and must turn to crime to survive. Here’s the press release from Shout! Factory with the abundance of bonus features:


EXTENSIVE NEW BONUS FEATURES
ANNOUNCED FOR
THE HARDER THEY COME [COLLECTOR’S EDITION]

Los Angeles, CA – This summer’s must-have for collector’s, the 3-disc set The Harder They Come [Collector’s Edition], will include 6 hours of new bonus features when it is released August 20th from Shout! Factory (full list below). Filmed in Jamaica earlier this year, the intimate, knowing, and candid conversations, along with illuminating featurettes included, provide an authentic insiders perspective of what it was like to make The Harder They Come, starring reggae icon Jimmy Cliff, as well as Perry Henzell’s second remarkable film, No Place Like Home.

Henzell’s second feature No Place Like Home (filmed between 1973 – 1980) went unseen as the negative was thought lost for over 25 years. Found and restored, this Shout! Factory release, as part of The Harder They Come [Collector’s Edition], is a true cinema event. This beautiful film about a woman escaping her comfort zone, finding beauty, and rediscovering herself in an unfamiliar place can now be seen – with an incredible soundtrack handpicked by Henzell. It features songs performed by Bob Marley, Etta James, Carly Simon, Toots & The Maytals, Marcia Griffiths, Desmond Dekker & The Aces, The Sensations, The Three Degree, Ernest Ranglin, The Heptones, Nasio Fontaine, Lobo, Lord Messam & His Calypsonians, and a song recorded by P.J. Soles.

Highlights of the extras include a fascinating new interview with Sir Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Alien), interviews with actors PJ Soles (No Place Like Home, Carrie, Stripes), Carl Bradshaw (The Harder They Come, No Place Like Home), and Winston Stona (The Harder They Come, No Place Like Home), interviews with Perry Henzell’s wife and children, cinematographer Franklyn “Chappy” St. Juste, composer Steven Soles, and more.

Also included is a new featurette entitled Duppies In The Control Room – Dynamic Sounds Studios Then and Now, which has new footage of the long-shuttered historic studio intercut with footage from The Harder They Come and Jimmy Cliff recording sessions. An existing interview with the late Perry Henzell by producer/director Arthur Gorson (Cronos, Night Watch, No Place Like Home), whom had first met Henzell in 1973, is included on the release as well, along with other previously existing extras.

The previously unreleased documentary short A Filmmakers Odyssey, produced and directed by Arthur Gorson and David Garonzik, and included in The Harder They Come [Collector’s Edition], captures the inspiring tale of how “No Place Like Home” was found, completed, and put through the hurdle of clearing music rights. The new featurette Rise Up from the Cutting Room Floor looks at the restoration of the film, highlighting the extensive restoration work.

The Harder They Come [Collector’s Edition] is the ultimate tribute to these two films, now available for the first time on Blu-ray™ in the U.S. Along with the treasure trove of new material. The Harder They Come looks better than ever thanks to a new transfer, and Perry Henzell’s legacy continues.

THE HARDER THEY COME – COLLECTOR’S EDITION

Disc 1: THE HARDER THEY COME
NEW 4K scan from the original 16mm negative
NEW Audio Commentary with author David Katz (Jimmy Cliff: An Unauthorized Biography)
One and All: The Phenomenon of THE HARDER THEY COME
Hard Road to Travel: The Making of THE HARDER THEY COME – directed by Chris Browne
Vintage interviews with Jimmy Cliff, Arthur Gorson and director Perry Henzell
Vintage interview with a director of photography David MacDonald
Vintage interview with line producer Yvonne Brewster
THE HARDER THEY COME music video

Disc 2: NO PLACE LIKE HOME
NEW NO PLACE LIKE HOME – restoration from the original 16mm film elements
NEW audio commentary with Sally Henzell, David Garonzik, Cookie Kinkead and Arthur Gorson
NEW Perry Henzell: A Filmmaker’s Odyssey – A short film on the long path to completing “NO PLACE LIKE HOME”
NEW Rise Up from the Cutting Room Floor – the restoration of “NO PLACE LIKE HOME”
NEW Audio Bonus Feature – P.J. Soles original vocal track and original acoustic guitar demo by Steven Soles for the title song “World Full of Beauty”
NEW Theatrical Trailer

Disc 3: BONUS DISC – THE LEGACY OF PERRY HENZELL: A STORY OF JAMAICAN CINEMA
(Produced and directed by Arthur Gorson and David Garonzik, Executive Producer Justine Henzell)

NEW Filmin’ in the Gully – Anatomy of Three Scenes – with “The Harder They Come” cinematographer Franklyn “Chappy” St. Juste
NEW Duppies in the Control Room – Dynamic Sounds Studios Then and Now
NEW 10A – Jamaica’s Film Yard – The story of Perry Henzell’s Kingston home and production center – featuring Sally Henzell, Jason Henzell, Maxine Walters, Justine Henzell and more
NEW A Conversation with Sir Ridley Scott
NEW Live From the Reggae Awards: Red Carpet interviews with stars of the Jamaican music industry – conducted at Kingston’s most recent annual music awards show
NEW Out of Many One Filmmaker – The Disciples of Perry Henzell: featuring interviews with directors Storm Saulter, Rass Kassa, Chris Browne and producer Maxine Walters.
NEW Everyone A Star: The Original Cast – including actors P.J. Soles, Carl Bradshaw and Winston Stona
NEW Big Heap of Help: The Original Support Team – interviews with Perry’s first personal assistant Beverley Manley, Assistant Director Bobby Russell, and more
NEW Roots: The Family Henzell – including interviews with Sally Henzell, Justine Henzell and Jason Henzell
NEW How Perry Rocked the World – interviews with “Native” Wayne Jobson, historian Chris Salewicz, and composer Steven Soles.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.