Henzell collaborated in the frame-by-frame restoration and hi-definition digital transfer of the film to DVD. If ever a soundtrack deserved to be heard in its original audio brilliance, it's this one.

Even without its famous score, the film is a knockout. Jimmy Cliff, whose performance and music in the movie made him an international reggae icon, plays a poor street kid who comes to Kingston to record his music. He becomes an outlaw pop star through his dealings with corrupt cops, sleazy record-industry honchos and drug dealers.

Broadly speaking, "The Harder They Come" was one of the early 1970s "blaxploitation" films that included "Shaft" and "Superfly." Like those movies, "The Harder They Come" features in-your-face rebels and a great score.

It's not always easy to make out the dialogue because the actors have such thick Jamaican accents. But this difficulty is just one of the film's many incidental charms. The Caribbean lilt is a piece of music in itself.

The extras are plentiful, including a featurette on the making of the film and another on the worldwide "The Harder They Come" phenomenon, as well as interviews with Cliff and Henzell.

There's also a bonus CD of the soundtrack filled with soulful songs like "Many Rivers to Cross," "Johnny Too Bad," "Pressure Drop" and, of course, "The Harder They Come." (Xenon, $29.98.)

(Peter Rainer is a critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)