Best movies like The Harder They Come

With a Piece in His Hand He Takes on the Man!

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like The Harder They Come Starring Jimmy Cliff, Janet Bartley, Carl Bradshaw, Ras Daniel Hartman, and more. If you liked The Harder They Come then you may also like: New Jack City, New Jersey Drive, Notorious, Across 110th Street, Babylon and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

Ivanhoe Martin arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, "The Harder They Come," but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton, 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.

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New Jack City

A gangster, Nino, is in the Cash Money Brothers, making a million dollars every week selling crack. A cop, Scotty, discovers that the only way to infiltrate the gang is to become a dealer himself.

New Jersey Drive

New Jersey Drive is a 1995 film about black youths in Newark, New Jersey, the unofficial "car theft capital of the world". Their favorite pastime is that of everybody in their neighborhood: stealing cars and joyriding. The trouble starts when they steal a police car and the cops launch a violent offensive that involves beating and even shooting suspects.

Notorious

"Notorious" is the story of Christopher Wallace. Through raw talent and sheer determination, Wallace transforms himself from Brooklyn street hustler (once selling crack to pregnant women) to one of the greatest rappers of all time: The Notorious B.I.G. Follow his meteoric rise to fame and his refusal to succumb to expectations - redefining our notion of "The American Dream."

Across 110th Street

In a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Capt. Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police?

Babylon

Drama telling the story of Blue, a young man of Jamaican descent living in Brixton in 1980, as he hangs out with his friends, fronts a dub sound system, loses his job, struggles with family problems and has his friendships tested by racism.

5.9 / 10 1998 Crime Drama
suggested by: user274gctrnx6f

Belly

Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?

Black Caesar

Tommy Gibbs is a tough kid, raised in the ghetto, who aspires to be a kingpin criminal. As a young boy, his leg is broken by a bad cop on the take, during a payoff gone bad. Nursing his vengeance, he rises to power in Harlem, New York. Angry at the racist society around him, both criminal and straight, he sees the acquisition of power as the solution to his rage.

Marked for Death

Just retired from the Drug Enforcement Agency, John Hatcher returns to his hometown and quickly discovers that drugs have infiltrated his old neighborhood. Determined to drive the dealers out, Hatcher crosses paths with a ferocious Jamaican drug lord who vows that Hatcher and his family are now marked for death.

Thursday

A former Los Angeles drug dealer moves far away to Texas, making a new life for himself as a married architect in the suburbs. His old crime partner unexpectedly shows up with heroin and gangster business, attracting a slew of violent unsavory characters.

The Sicilian

Egocentric bandit Salvatore Giuliano fights the Church, the Mafia, and the landed gentry while leading a populist movement for Sicilian independence.

Get Rich or Die Tryin'

A tale of an inner city drug dealer who turns away from crime to pursue his passion, rap music.

Manson: Music From an Unsound Mind

The untold story of Charles Manson's obsession to become a rock star, his rise in the LA music scene, the celebrities who championed his music, his tragic friendship with The Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson and his descent into violence and chaos once his dreams fell apart.

Rockers

Horsemouth, a drummer living in a ghetto of Kingston, plans to make money selling records. After his prized motorcycle is stolen, his plans fall through and he's forced to adapt.

Disco 9000

Fass Black, an accomplished black man in Los Angeles, is bullied to play another record labels music at his disco club, but continually refuses because it ain't groovy enough.

6.0 / 10 2018 Crime
suggested by: softwaredev

Yardie

Jamaica, 1973. When a young boy witnesses his brother’s assassination, a powerful Don gives him a home. But 10 years later, when he’s sent to London, his past catches up to him.

Hammer

Hotheaded laborer B.J. Hammer can't go long without ending up in a fight, and, after he comes out on top in a particularly impressive workplace scuffle, word of his brawling skills makes its way to Davis, a top boxing manager. Hammer is hired by Davis and begins a lucrative career in the ring, only to find out that his new employer wants him to throw a fight and take part in other illicit activities. Hammer reacts to this news violently, and the feud is on.

Cop Killers

Two hippies on their way to a cocaine deal get stopped by the police at a roadblock, resulting in a shootout where they kill the cops. They then go on a crime spree of robbery and murder.

Super Fly

Priest, a suave top-rung New York City drug dealer, decides that he wants to get out of his dangerous trade. Working with his reluctant friend, Eddie, Priest devises a scheme that will allow him to make a big deal and then retire. When a desperate street dealer informs the police of Priest's activities, Priest is forced into an uncomfortable arrangement with corrupt narcotics officers. Setting his plan in motion, he aims to both leave the business and stick it to the man.

The Mack

Goldie returns from five years at the state pen and winds up king of the pimping game. Trouble comes in the form of two corrupt white cops and a crime lord who wants him to return to the small time.

Hustle & Flow

With help from his friends, a Memphis pimp in a mid-life crisis attempts to become a successful hip-hop emcee.

Marley

Bob Marley's universal appeal, impact on music history and role as a social and political prophet is both unique and unparalleled. Directed by Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), MARLEY is the definitive life story of the musician, revolutionary, and legend, from his early days to his rise to international superstardom. Made with the support of the Marley family, the film features rare footage, incredible performances and revelatory interviews with the people that knew him best.

Turn It Up

Trying to bootstrap his way out of Brooklyn's mean streets is Diamond, a rap musician. With his long-time pal Gage acting as his manager, he's trying to lay down a demo tape with cut-rate studio time. To pay the bills, he and Gage run drugs for "Mr. B." Inside a week, Diamond's beloved mother dies suddenly, his father appears after an absence of 12 years and wants a relationship, and his girlfriend Kia tells him she's pregnant, asking him if he's ready to be a father. Gage steals $100,000 in a multiple-felony robbery so that Diamond can record a full album, not knowing it's Mr. B's money he's taken. B wants his money, Diamond wants his music, Tia wants an answer.

Hit Man

Bernie Casey portrays Tyrone and Pamela Grier plays a sultry skin-flick star in this first Americanized remake of the iconic Michael Caine action film Get Carter. From Watts to the West Side, from porno parlors to a high-rise, from motel dives to a crime kingpin’s sprawling pleasure dome, from corner hangouts to a wildlife preserve, Tyrone covers a lot of real estate, busts a lot of heads.

Shottas

A raw urban drama about two friends raised on the dangerous streets of Kingston, Jamaica. Biggs and Wayne take on the "Shotta" way of life to survive. As young boys, they begin a life of crime, eventually moving to the US where they begin a ruthless climb from the bottom. They remain bound to each other by their shottas loyalty as they aggressively take control of the Jamaican underworld.

Third World Cop

Loose cannon cop Capone returns to his home town of Kingston to join a group of officers fighting organised crime in the area. On his first day he uncovers gun smuggling operation that may be connected with lead criminal Oney. However his old crew, led by Ratty, also are involved leading Capone to a choice between his job and his old crew.

6.0 / 10 1982 Drama
suggested by: user36319lyhw56

Countryman

A young woman crash-lands her plane in Jamaica. A local named Countryman rescues her and leads her away from the authorities, who have fabricated a story about the plane, involving drug and arms smuggling by the CIA, in order to gain popularity in an upcoming election.

The Arrangement

A drug deal hijacked by a third party, they leave the drugs and take the money. A stripper witnesses a murder and now the Mafia's after but there is nowhere safe to hide.

5.7 / 10 2003 Drama Romance
suggested by: user509mkq46cgw

One Love

Kassa a free-wheelin rasta man, falls for a straight laced gospel singer Serena, when they both meet as they enter a music contest. Serena's father the pastor forbids her to see him and wants her to marry one of his church members. Meanwhile the record boss organizing the contest, tries to get Kassa's band to sign to his label on his terms not theirs. By using heavy tactics, he pushes the band to fight back.

Caught Up

Daryl gets out of jail after 5 years. His mother has died, his girlfriend is married, and he can't find a job. His new girlfriend Vanessa, whom he meets when a gunman opens fire on them, gets him a job as a car driver. Hitmen are still after them, and Vanessa tells Daryl that this is her former lover Ahmad who wants revenge.

Born to Raise Hell

A hard core Interpol Agent is assigned to an Eastern European task force to target gun trafficking and dope running throughout the Balkans. While investigating a Russian gun dealer, his team is caught in a bloody street war between a Gypsy gang and the Russians, leaving one task force member dead. Fueled with vengeance, he leads us on an action packed thrill ride while avenging his friend's death.

6.4 / 10 1997 Drama
suggested by: skywalker

Dancehall Queen

Street vendor Marcia is scraping together a living in the ghetto section of Kingston, Jamaica. Her young daughter is being hounded by a rich sugar daddy who has been supporting the family; her brother's life is being threatened by a local thug. So, when the licentious patron threatens to abandon the family, and her brother breaks down under pressure, Marcia hits bottom. She needs to escape to a haven where she can get lost in fantasy; Marcia, don in sex-me-up clothing and outrageous glamour, finds refuge in the beats of the very dance hall outside of which she normally vends.

The Collectors

The head of the Louisiana Mafia sends two mobsters (Casper Van Dien, Rick Fox) to New York on a dangerous assignment to collect money.

Mafia

A renegade cop skirts the law in order to capture a ruthless crime boss.

Johnny Was

Johnny Doyle escapes a violent past in Ireland to lie low in London, until his former mentor Flynn breaks out of Brixton Prison...

5.5 / 10 2006 Drama
suggested by: SonicSparrow

No Place Like Home

When Susan, a film producer from NYC, goes to Jamaica to shoot a shampoo commercial, she finds herself, through a series of unforeseen circumstances, drifting further and further away from the world she knows and into the life of the island, a strange alternative reality that turns many of her previously held assumptions upside down.

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