Director: Perry Henzell
Country of origin: Jamaica
Year of release: 1972
Running time: 103'
Language: English, Jamaican creole
In The Harder They Come reggae star Jimmy Cliff plays Ivan O. Martin, a Jamaican country boy who heads for Kingston in search of fame and fortune as a singer. Faced with the harsh reality of city life, Ivan ends up taking work with a local preacher, and is later jailed for participating in a knife fight.
Upon his release, Ivan finally gets to record his song “The Harder They Come”, but is then exploited by a dishonest record company executive. Ivan turns his back on the establishment, and slides into crime and the drug trade. He keeps the police at arm's length by offering them a slice of the action, but ultimately finds himself in the middle of a bloody raid. Ivan kills several cops and escapes, whereupon "The Harder They Come" is released, elevating the fugitive to the status of folk hero.
Adopting a take-no-prisoners approach to its material and presenting an unadorned view of Jamaican ghetto life, The Harder They Come is the first true classic of Caribbean cinema, packing an emotional impact that is undeniable. And it features one of the all-time great music soundtracks, including unforgettable songs from Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, and of course Jimmy Cliff himself.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Screening for Monday 19th October: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Country of origin: Spain
Year of release: 1987
Running time: 90'
Language: Spanish, with English subtitles
Pedro Almodóvar’s international breakthrough, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a farce built upon coincidences of mounting improbability, which bring the film’s various characters into unlikely but hilarious collision with one another. Pepa, an actress, is desperate to save her relationship with serial womaniser Iván. Tracing his movements, she stumbles upon another of his lovers, the deranged Lucia, with whom she discovers Iván has a grown up son, Carlos.
Carlos meanwhile is hoping to rent an apartment with his formidable girlfriend Marisa, in which context they turn up at Pepa's penthouse, unaware of Carlos’ connection with its owner. Meanwhile Pepa's friend Candela has troubles of her own: she's on the run from the police and is in hiding at the apartment. Chaos, masterfully orchestrated, ensues.
A film that is both hugely theatrical and richly cinematic, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown revels in the glossy, larger than life potential of cinema to be the purveyor of magic and dreams, not to mention nightmares. For sheer delerious entertainment value, it is perhaps the director’s most enjoyable film to date, full of sparkling wit and invention, relentless style and panache.
Country of origin: Spain
Year of release: 1987
Running time: 90'
Language: Spanish, with English subtitles
Pedro Almodóvar’s international breakthrough, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a farce built upon coincidences of mounting improbability, which bring the film’s various characters into unlikely but hilarious collision with one another. Pepa, an actress, is desperate to save her relationship with serial womaniser Iván. Tracing his movements, she stumbles upon another of his lovers, the deranged Lucia, with whom she discovers Iván has a grown up son, Carlos.
Carlos meanwhile is hoping to rent an apartment with his formidable girlfriend Marisa, in which context they turn up at Pepa's penthouse, unaware of Carlos’ connection with its owner. Meanwhile Pepa's friend Candela has troubles of her own: she's on the run from the police and is in hiding at the apartment. Chaos, masterfully orchestrated, ensues.
A film that is both hugely theatrical and richly cinematic, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown revels in the glossy, larger than life potential of cinema to be the purveyor of magic and dreams, not to mention nightmares. For sheer delerious entertainment value, it is perhaps the director’s most enjoyable film to date, full of sparkling wit and invention, relentless style and panache.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Screening for Monday 12th October: Bicycle Thieves
Director: Vittorio de Sica
Country of origin: Italy
Year of release: 1948
Running time: 93'
Language: Italian, with English subtitles
The Academy-Award winning Bicycle Thieves has been hailed as one of the greatest films ever made, and one of the most influential. Set in early post-World War II Rome, Bicycle Thieves centres around Antonio, a man who has been out of work for nearly two years and finally gets a job putting up movie posters, work that requires a bicycle.
Not in possession of a bicycle, Antonio pawns the family’s bed linen to get one, only to have it stolen. With the help of his young son, Bruno, Antonio begins a desperate search through the city to recover the bicycle—if he does not, he will lose his precious job and the only means of support for his family.
Bicycle Thieves, with its emotional clarity, social righteousness, and brutal honesty came to define the Italian Neorealist style of filmmaking, and served as a catalyst for new movements in filmmaking around the world. Yet it is the film’s simple, universal story, of the struggle for a dignified life in the face of overwhelming adversity, that continues to resonate with viewers everywhere.
Country of origin: Italy
Year of release: 1948
Running time: 93'
Language: Italian, with English subtitles
The Academy-Award winning Bicycle Thieves has been hailed as one of the greatest films ever made, and one of the most influential. Set in early post-World War II Rome, Bicycle Thieves centres around Antonio, a man who has been out of work for nearly two years and finally gets a job putting up movie posters, work that requires a bicycle.
Not in possession of a bicycle, Antonio pawns the family’s bed linen to get one, only to have it stolen. With the help of his young son, Bruno, Antonio begins a desperate search through the city to recover the bicycle—if he does not, he will lose his precious job and the only means of support for his family.
Bicycle Thieves, with its emotional clarity, social righteousness, and brutal honesty came to define the Italian Neorealist style of filmmaking, and served as a catalyst for new movements in filmmaking around the world. Yet it is the film’s simple, universal story, of the struggle for a dignified life in the face of overwhelming adversity, that continues to resonate with viewers everywhere.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Apologies
Campus Film Classics apologises for the cancellation of today's screening of The Harder They Come. We hope to reschedule the screening for a date to be decided. The schedule for the film screenings continues as planned.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Screening for Monday 5th October: The Harder They Come
Director: Perry Henzell
Country of origin: Jamaica
Year of release: 1972
Running time: 103'
Language: English, Jamaican creole
In The Harder They Come reggae star Jimmy Cliff plays Ivan O. Martin, a Jamaican country boy who heads for Kingston in search of fame and fortune as a singer. Faced with the harsh reality of city life, Ivan ends up taking work with a local preacher, and is later jailed for participating in a knife fight.
Upon his release, Ivan finally gets to record his song “The Harder They Come”, but is then exploited by a dishonest record company executive. Ivan turns his back on the establishment, and slides into crime and the drug trade. He keeps the police at arm's length by offering them a slice of the action, but ultimately finds himself in the middle of a bloody raid. Ivan kills several cops and escapes, whereupon "The Harder They Come" is released, elevating the fugitive to the status of folk hero.
Adopting a take-no-prisoners approach to its material and presenting an unadorned view of Jamaican ghetto life, The Harder They Come is the first true classic of Caribbean cinema, packing an emotional impact that is undeniable. And it features one of the all-time great music soundtracks, including unforgettable songs from Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, and of course Jimmy Cliff himself.
Country of origin: Jamaica
Year of release: 1972
Running time: 103'
Language: English, Jamaican creole
In The Harder They Come reggae star Jimmy Cliff plays Ivan O. Martin, a Jamaican country boy who heads for Kingston in search of fame and fortune as a singer. Faced with the harsh reality of city life, Ivan ends up taking work with a local preacher, and is later jailed for participating in a knife fight.
Upon his release, Ivan finally gets to record his song “The Harder They Come”, but is then exploited by a dishonest record company executive. Ivan turns his back on the establishment, and slides into crime and the drug trade. He keeps the police at arm's length by offering them a slice of the action, but ultimately finds himself in the middle of a bloody raid. Ivan kills several cops and escapes, whereupon "The Harder They Come" is released, elevating the fugitive to the status of folk hero.
Adopting a take-no-prisoners approach to its material and presenting an unadorned view of Jamaican ghetto life, The Harder They Come is the first true classic of Caribbean cinema, packing an emotional impact that is undeniable. And it features one of the all-time great music soundtracks, including unforgettable songs from Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, and of course Jimmy Cliff himself.
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