User Reviews

I-man loves this movie! A true classic! Everyt'ing from the music to the actors to the land of the JA makes this a must see. Much more intimate than "The Harder They Come" and not as dark. This is also a very funny movie. The "Stepping Razor" walking montage is classic hilarity! Get this film and keep it in your collection. Do not lend it out or you might not see it again, sight? Without taking away from the great directing Theodore Bafaloukos did, this movie almost makes itself! Show me a movie with realer characters and I'll argue you with you day and night, seen? The soundtrack is great! All kinds of reggae styles from a cross-section of artists...many of whom are in the film! Jah Guide, Protection Until Time, and Loveful Heights!

Basically devoid of anything as utterly redundant as a plot, storyline or a script (bah!) we dive into everyday life of rastas, their music and challenges they face. Instead of setting out a story we muse the town hustling with drumming legend Horsemouth (almost everyone here plays themselves and several scenes even go as far as to break the fourth wall), as he borrows money, buy a bike, starts distributing CDs, gets robbed, recaptures his bike, gets beaten and finally enacts sweet Robin Hood-esque vengeance on the big boys responsible.

Accompanying by a crew of rasta's of worldwide fame, like Jacob Miller, Gregory Isaacs, Robbie Shakespeare and so forth he has Jah on his side and enough laid back love attitude to capture the hearts and minds of unsuspecting viewers. At times utterly hilarious, else just fascinating, even if half the time is spent on deciphering Jamaican patois (which is actually vastly enjoyable in itself) into something slightly recognisable. Features a classic scene, where Richard 'Dirty Harry' Hall occupies a DJ booth and then resists Babilon with true rastafari class.

Techincally astute with some beautiful shots, as well as some classy laid-back artistry. Essential watching as a world cinema cinematographic gem. Especially if you want to end up all gushy-gooey feel-good after viewing, sight?

"Rasta, what are you doing inside there?" "Hey Rasta, what the Babylon am I deal with? I and I control to the fullness." "Get out, mon!" "Remove ya!!!"

Such a great window into late 1970's Jamaica and the reggae scene, featuring many musicians playing themselves, such as Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs, and Robbie Shakespeare. The soundtrack and the patois alone make this highly engaging, but maybe more importantly, it also highlights the social consciousness of Rastafarianism. This often seems to be overlooked in reggae music, which can be dismissed as music to get high to, but its deepest concerns are in the struggles of the common man against the corruption of the wealthy, and the oppression of the "Babylon system" they live under.

We see that most obviously in the Robin Hood like story line in this film, which is a bit simple, but also in the lyrics of songs playing in the background, e.g. Junior Byles on Fade Away singing "the rich is getting richer every day, and the little that the poor man got, it shall be taken away, do you hear what I say?" or Gregory Isaacs on Slave Master singing "Every time I hear the music and I make a dip, a dip, slave master comes around and spank I with his whip, the whip." The solidarity with ending colonialism in African is also referred when producer Jack Ruby says they've just finished recording Free Rhodesia, which isn't heard here, but which the Black Disciples would release in real life.

One of the things that didn't work as well for me was the way the main character (Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace) treated his family (which was his real life family too, btw). He's trying to provide for them by using all of their money to buy a motorbike so he can get around to sell records and play the drums in live sessions, but he's almost never home, and when he is, he downplays his wife's concerns about having money for food and clothing for their small kids. He tells her not to worry, Jah (God or Haile Selassie) will provide, and that he need only teach them their culture. He tells her to shut up several times, and we see none of her viewpoint.

There is an interesting scene showing the tolerance of the faith when Horsemouth is confronted by his grandmother, a Christian who is celebrating baptisms in the river, and who asks the Lord to forgive his sins and for him to convert. Rather than argue or get angry with her, he simply accepts her, without backing down from his views. Here and in one or two other places, the fourth wall is broken, allowing a character to explain views of peace and brotherhood. Of course, when pushed by "the man," the film brews up some cathartic revenge, set to Peter Tosh's Stepping Razor, but it's not violent, and just involves a little redistribution of wealth. This is a film that feels deeply meaningful to culture, and it's one that works on several levels, despite its modest budget.

One of my all time favorites! I've been looking for this one for a long long time. Having very strong documentary features, this film keeps surprising the viewer every minute. It is (at least for the first half an hour or so) as if someone just shouldered a camera and followed Horsemouth around Kingston doing his daily hustlin' business. Most of the the main characters are real people, playing themselves, esp. reggae artists and producers, and most of the locations are real as well. Later the plot turns into kind of a Robin Hood scenario, when the ghetto people strike back against the upper class mafia guys. What I like most about this movie is its many layers. It's like a deep insight into Jamaican society of the late 70's, the golden era of roots reggae, in all its many aspects like class struggle, Rastafari, family and religious issues. Several times, like in the opening scene or when Horsey gets punched by Sunshine's father, characters directly address the viewer personally by facing the camera which I've never seen used like this anywhere else. Technically it's remarkably well done (apart from some pretty dark underexposed moments), for instance they manage to have many songs of the soundtrack coming from actual sources in the picture.

In one word: Great stuff, not only if you're into old school dub and reggae. If you have it, treasure it! If you don't, get it and then treasure it.

I saw this movie when it premiered in 1977. Its as good today as it was then. If you're a reggae fan then this film will have you grinning the entire time.

Its great to see all my favorite reggae artists. People like Robbie Shakespeare, Dirty Harry Hall, Gregory Issacs, Jacob Miller and Jack Ruby in a robin hood type film. The acting isn't great, but its still charming. The music is wonderful and the performance clips are a lot of fun.

I suggest seeing the 25th anniversary edition of this film. A lot of cool things in it!

REMOVE YA! --Dirty Harry

In this movie we have the thinnest thread of a plot. A young man makes a living as a drummer while he uses a newly-purchased motorbike to sell records to shops around Kingston.

Then his bike is stolen. And he steals it back. When the mafia types ("mafia" being the reggae patois for any gangster) catch up to his and beat him up he swears to get justice. And, with a little help from his friends, he does.

The big attraction here is the music, not the plot. The soundtrack includes Peter Tosh, Robbie Shakespeare, Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs, Jacob Miler & Inner Circle, Bunny Wailer, Kiddus I and Leroy Wallace (who plays the protagonist). The DVD has seven extra audio tracks which are accompanied by stills from the production.

The DVD also has a nice essay on Rastafarian culture, as well as a glossary of the rasta patois.

A lot of fun. Buy it. Play it. The play it again.

You don't have to be a reggae fan to enjoy this film (it's not a concert film); the scene compositions are unobtrusively beautiful and thoughtful, and sucked me in. This might seem unsurprising since the director has an art photography background, but he achieves in his directorial debut what most directors only dream about. The plot, acting and music combine to make a very fun, laid back movie and a pleasure to watch. It's a shame it's the director's only film.

As others have mentioned, this isn't a "story-telling" movie. The thin plot concerns Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace's purchase and loss of a motorbike, but the real value of this movie is as a snapshot of real life in Jamaica, outside of the tourist resorts. Most of the movie takes place in an urban setting (presumably Kingston, although part of the movie seems to take place in Ocho Rios) and this is really one of the closest looks you're ever going to get at the life of Jamaica's poor, working class musicians without going to Kingston in person. The musical performances are top-notch (especially a stunning a capella rendition of "Jah No Dead" by Burning Spear) and Horsemouth actually makes a pretty good actor, filled with righteous indignation as he goes after the "Mafia boy" who "t'ief" his bike. A must-see for any fan of Jamaican music or admirer or Jamaican culture.

After being totally burnt out on election coverage overkill, depressed by the economic woes and debating changing careers, my wife suggested we put on a movie and escape for a while.

She surprised me by pulling out "ROCKERS" one of my favorite movies of all time, it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't watched it once this year (i usually watch bi-annually)

Wow! its amazing that this movie holds up on every level, after the first 5 minutes I completely forgot all my problems and was absorbed into the conflict of Horsemouth, The acapella of Burning Spear and of course The RASTA takeover by Dirty HArry. REMOVE YA!!!

As a filmmaker I can only aspire to do a movie with such impact wit and simplicity. The music the story, the locations and who can beat the wardrobe. To the cast and crew I fully salute and thank you for making a truly classic picture!!

Rockers is so completely enjoyable and totally unique. Shot on location and starring a community full of Reggae superstars. I would disagree that the plot here is inconsequential. The plot is a quest for a man to rise above his status and make himself, his family and community stronger. His values - peace, love, neighborliness - are tested by the gangsters who try to stop him. But he rises above them and meets the challenge. The end is perfect and sweet. The use of real people as actors and the very poignant of real life in Jamaica is incredibly unusual. And the real question here is who is this Greek director and writer and how did he get so deep inside the Rasta community?

This is the movie that some say inspired the plot for Pee Wee's Big Adventure. It's a story about an up and coming reggae musician who has his bike stolen and so he embarks on a quest to find his stolen property.

Joining him on his journey are some relatively well known names in roots reggae. A stand out scene for instance has Gregory Isaacs cracking a safe!. Another memorable scene shows the immensely talented but little known Kiddus I, shaking out his mass of dreadlocks before singing one of the more memorable songs of the film.

All in all it's a very fun and easy film to watch. Although the dialect can sometimes be a tad difficult to decipher it is easy enough to figure out what is going on. Most versions have subtitles but it is just as fun to ignore them and enjoy the local patois.

Remove Ya!

The "must" for every "Rastamann".It shows the original Jamaikan! it is funny, how they get the charakters together. When you watch Leroy stilling back his motorbike - faboulus! And Jakob "Killer" Miller,sorry that he die already,a great player.I live for 3 Years in Trinidad/Tobago and I can tell you, real hatty movie.

Incredible film! I watch this movie everyday after work. My favorite part is when Dirty Harry took over the DJ Booth with "Queen Majesty". "Money Worries" by The Maytones and "Natty Take Over" by Justin Hinds are my favorites for the underscore. The DVD is best for its quality on the soundtrack.

Rockers The Movie- 1980 Rockers is the greatest reggae movie of all time. Rockers, is a 25 year old cult classic, globally recognized, Rasta, reggae musical, comedy, and adventure set in Jamaica and starring some of greatest singers and musicians reggae's golden age. Rockers was originally inspired by The Harder They Come, but everyone knows that Rockers is a far superior film.:)

Rockers premiered at the 1978 San Francisco Film Festival and invited to 1979 Los Angeles Film Exposition and the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. This crucial and prolific film to Reggae History and Jamaica was produced by Patrick Hulsey. The film stars Jacob Miller, Gregory Isaacs, Richard "Dirty Harry" Hall, Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Burning Spear, Robbie Shakespeare, Big Youth,Majorie Norman and Monica Craig amongst others. For more information about the Rockers Movie, see http://www.RockersTheMovie.com

For Officially Licensed Rockers It's Dangerous Urban Rasta Fashion see http://www.RockersItsDangerous.com or order at (305)672-0698

One of the most extraordinary casting reggae wise , this film may seem at first view quite empty , it is technically poor (very dark) , but THE VIBES , if you want to know why the music of this small island crossed all borders , you got to rock it with Leroy, Gregory , Jacob and the others..sin

Reggae was a well established part of popular culture in the late 1970s, so it only made sense that there would be a movie focusing on Jamaica. Ted Bafaloukos's "Rockers" focuses on a drummer whose motorcycle gets stolen. It's sort of "The Bicycle Thief" meets Robin Hood.

The characters break the fourth wall in a few scenes, and most of the dialogue is subtitled due to the thick accents. Basically, this is the textbook definition of true-to-life. Apparently, Bafaloukos (originally from Greece) first went to Jamaica in 1975 as a freelance photographer for Island Records, and the Jamaicans mistook him for a CIA agent. Whatever the case, he turned out one impressive movie. This one, "The Harder They Come" and "Land of Look Behind" (about Bob Marley's funeral) are the trio of great movies about Jamaica.

I have to write this review because this movie has got so many praises and good reviews here.

I like to listen some reggae but I'm not particulary interested in Jamaican culture or rastafari things so I started watching the film from a very neutral point of view.

Right away it feels like the director has some kind of crush on Jamaican culture and reggae and he is trying to pass on this new found love to his audience. But when you analyze this movie from critical point of view the acting isn't too great(terrible), the dialogue is boring, the camera work and directing is very very basic and the plot seems just to be there only so it can be called movie instead a this random mixture of music video and culture documentary In one word it feels FAKE. I think it would have much better impact if the director would have just filmed real life, random events and let the people be themselves without any acting..

I couldn't even finish watching this because it just didn't suck me in at any point and that's why I'm not gonna give a rating to it either,