On February 6, stoners will fire up their gravity bongs and crackly LPs of Exodus to celebrate Bob Marley’s 75th birthday. While that’s all well and irie (as long as you stop bogarting the frickin’ spliff, DENNIS), we also want to celebrate the impact Marley had on our culture by looking at films that prominently feature reggae. Check out these movies on the Mercury’s shelf at Movie Madness (moviemadness.org) from Sat Feb 1-Sat Feb 29!
The Harder They Come (dir. Perry Henzell, 1972) Featuring the best movie soundtrack of all time, this story of a wannabe singer turned outlaw folk hero stars charismatic reggae legend Jimmy Cliff.
Rockers (dir. Theodoros Bafaloukos, 1978) Reggae stars Big Youth and Dillinger, playing fictionalized versions of themselves, lend verisimilitude to a tale loosely inspired by Bicycle Thieves.