Unlock with PatreonBAMF Classic Film Reviews – ROCKERS (1978)
directed by Ted Bafaloukos; starring Leroy “Horseface” Wallace
Perry Henzell’s 1972 film The Harder They Come will always be the quintessential reggae movie, forever tied to the music and culture of Jamaica. But if The Harder They Come introduced reggae on the big screen, giving it a cinematic identity, then Ted Bafaloukos’ Rockers gave it heart and soul.
There’s not much plot in Rockers, but then again, story is never that important in music driven films of this nature. Indeed, more often than not, the measure of quality for films like this is usually the soundtrack. And with tracks from the golden era of reggae that includes Burning Spear, Inner Circle, Gregory Isaacs and more, Rockers is an unparalleled classic. What little plot there is borrows from a wide variety of influences, including The Bicycle Thief and Robin Hood. In a role inspired by his real life as a popular drummer, Leroy Wallace stars as Horsemouth, a session musician who scrapes together enough money to buy a motorcycle as part of his record distribution business. Horsemouth’s bike gets stolen one night at a party, leading to a confrontation between him and his gang of rockers (reggae musicians) and some local gangsters. Just when it seems like the gangsters have gotten the best of our heroes, the rockers pull a few surprises. And that’s pretty much all there is to it.
Like Charlie Ahearn’s seminal hip-hop film Wild Style that would come along a few years later, Rockers is a gritty slice-of-life glimpse into the world of Jamaican rockers and Rastafarians. Bafaloukos, who started as a still photographer and brings his keen eye to the film’s direction, mixes raw authenticity with quirky charm, creating a documentary-like feel. Much of the time it doesn’t even seem like anyone is acting, so much as Bafaloukos and his crew just happen to capture people on film during their day-to-day routines.
BAMF Classic Film Reviews – NIGHT AND THE CITY (1950)
directed by Jules Dassin; starring Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Francis L. Sullivan, Googie Withers, Herbert Lom
Of all the luckless losers to inhabit the dark, morally corrupt world of film noir, few have been less likable than Harry Fabian, the antihero of director Jules Dassin’s classic Night and the City. Richard Widmark stars as Harry, a two-bit American hustler living in post World War II London. Harry has a mind that races a mile a minute, always thinking of the next get-rich-quick scheme. But the problem is that Harry’s imagination far exceeds his resources or his intelligence. As one character describes Harry, he is “an artist without an art,” an all-too-true indictment on a con artist with no real con to call his own. But then Harry hatches a plan that involves Gregorius the Great (Stanislaus Zbysko), a former wrestler disgusted by the fact that his son is promoting sideshow professional wrestling, as opposed the classic grappling that relies on athleticism over flamboyant theatrics. The problem is that Harry has only thought about the end result of his scam – the part where he gets rich – without every really thinking about all the things that could go wrong. And wrong they go, leaving Harry in a position where he must flee for his life.
Night and the City is an interesting entry in the film noir genre in that the central character has no redeeming qualities. Other noir anti-heroes, no matter how morally off-center they may be, always have some shred of redeemable attributes. But such qualities never really surface in Harry, who comes across as a hyperactive, spoiled child prone to fits of pouting. Widmark’s portrayal of Harry as someone you can’t stand makes for an interesting cinematic experience, as you begin to sympathize with those out to get him, and want to see him fail. When Harry is set up by his employer (Francis L. Sullivan), a sadistic nightclub owner jealous that his wife (Googie Withers) is carrying on with Fabian, there’s no denying the feeling that he’s got what’s coming to him.
Based on Gerald Kersh’s novel, with a beautifully written script by Jo Eisinger, Night and the City is a tightly woven tale of deception and betrayal. Directed by Dassin after he was blacklisted and left America during Hollywood’s notorious “red scare,” the film has a metaphorical tone, as Harry grows increasingly desperate while trying to survive in a world out to destroy him. Whether or not is was Dassin’s intention to make a noir thriller that offered a veiled examination of McCarthyism is uncertain, but time has added that to the film’s milieu.
FEELING MESSED UP
Missing Reel, Episode 2 (of 8) – Black in the Saddle
This is the second episode of Missing Reel — the first episode I was brought in to work on, but not the first episode to be posted.
Character Designs…
I’ve been working on character designs for a new series of DISCOMBOBULATED comics that I plan on drawing. The problem is that drawing is very difficult for me. Also…drawing on a tablet is not one of my strengths. But I’m determined to draw a comic that I’ve written.
A Beginner’s Guide to Creative Well-Being
New Monthly Subscription is Here!!!
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BadAzz MoFo Classic Reviews – THE HARDER THEY COME
THE HARDER THEY COME – 1972 director: Perry Henzell; starring Jimmy Cliff
Reggae was just beginning to become a recognizable sound on the global music scene, and blaxploitation was already in full swing in 1972 when this little film from Jamaica landed in theatres. Few people ever refer to it as a blaxploitation flick, but Perry Henzell’s cult classic contains all the trappings of the blaxploitation genre—sex, drugs, violence, anti-establishment message—and it came out during the height of the blaxploitation era. Well, if it looks like a duck, and walks like duck, then it must be a duck (even if it speaks in Jamaican patois).
Singer Jimmy Cliff stars as Ivan, a young man from the country who ventures into the rough-and-tumble streets of Jamaica looking to make a name for himself. Just a few minutes off the bus and the naïve Ivan already falls victim to a big city rip-off, losing all of his possessions. But rather than get out while the getting is good, he bums around looking for a way to make ends meet, eventually seeking refuge at a church. But when Ivan develops a boner for a young woman, and she gets a bit moist between the legs for him, things go bad (it seems the church’s preacher has his eye set on popping the cherry of Miss Thang). Ivan decides to pursue his dream of being a singer, but winds up getting screwed over by an unscrupulous producer. Just when it looks like things can’t get worse for our hero, he lands a job as a small-time ganga peddler. Now I know that for some of you a career in dope dealing…oh, excuse, marijuana is an herb…may seem like a good job; but for Ivan, who seems to have been born under an unlucky star, his new job simply leads to more problems, including him shooting a cop. Quicker that you can say, “It was I who shot the sheriff,” Ivan is on the run from the law. Soon, with his song blasting from every radio and the cops looking everywhere for him, Ivan becomes a folk hero.
THE HARDER THEY COME developed a cult following practically the moment it was released, and ran in some theatres for as long as six years. It’s considered a seminal favorite among the art house/foreign film crowd, which is fine, because it deserves that status. But at the same time it should be recognized as a classic blaxploitation film. Jimmy Cliff’s Ivan is the quintessential blaxploitation hero, cut from the same cloth as characters like Melvin Van Peebles’ Sweetback, who exist at the very bottom of society’s ladder. Ivan embodies the ultimate rebel, a poor man who seeks to better his life, only to be betrayed by the church, exploited by the wealthy, and persecuted by corrupt law enforcement. His rise to fame is not through his creative genius or his hard work, but through the criminal activity that comes as a result of his being pushed too far. He is a character that the disaffected and disenfranchised audiences of the time could rally around, and that was part of what led to the film’s success.
The other factor in the success of THE HARDER THEY COME was the classic soundtrack. Regarded by many as one of the greatest reggae albums of all time (no argument there), it is also, because of the nature of the film, a great blaxploitation album. Many of Cliff’s greatest songs appear on this album, which serves the film as a Greek chorus in much the same way Curtis Mayfield’s soundtrack fueled SUPER FLY.
Jimmy Cliff…
…so much incredible music, the classic film THE HARDER THEY COME, and cherished memories of musical moments shared with family and friends. R.I.P