Nostalgia Kinky

2026 just started and we already have one of the year’s great archival releases, courtesy of the MVD Rewind Collection. The landmark Rockers (1978), one of the most important films of the seventies, arrives on sparkling 4K UHD and Blu-ray via a stunning new 4K restoration from the film’s original negative. Loaded with all the archival extras from past releases, along with an epic 2 hour brand-new making of documentary, MVD has unleashed the ultimate edition of this very special film.

Directed by one and done Greek filmmaker Ted Bafaloukos, Rockers (1978) is an extraordinarily vivid portrait of Jamaican youth and the Kingston reggae scene featuring some of the most legendary musicians of the era. Featuring one of the greatest soundtracks ever made, Rockers is a dynamic portrait of passion, poverty and getting over. Starring Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace, Burning Spear, Big Youth, Richard ‘Dirty Harry’ Hall and so many other unforgettable figures, Rockers stills packs an electrifying jolt nearly five decades after its initial limited theatrical release.

Rockers legacy has always been slightly eclipsed by The Harder They Come (1972), Perry Henzell’s masterpiece that introduced Jamaican film and music to audiences all over the world. Rockers will always occupy a place as the 2nd greatest Jamaican film ever made and the 2nd most important to most eyes, despite the fact that Rockers is just as masterful and revolutionary as The Harder They Come. It just happened to come second.

Of course, hardly any connected to Rockers has ever minded the comparisons to The Harder They Come and have acknowledged its obvious and unavoidable influence. Rockers is a more polished film than its early seventies predecessor, perhaps even a better made film but both films are masterworks, each completely unique in its own way.

The story behind Rockers is as incredible as the film it spawned. It is especially astonishing to realize that the entire project was born out of commercial director Bafaloukos’ passion for the music coming out of Jamacia in the seventies, which eventually led him, his wife, a small-team and a big-dream to Kingston talking to local musicians about their lives and work. Suddenly a movie develops with just fragments as a script completely starring untrained locals from the area, some of whom became part of the crew as well. That this movie got made in the first place is amazing enough but the fact that Rockers is as great as it is nothing short of a cinematic miracle.

Everything works in Rockers. Everything. From the astonishing opening musical number, which features one of my favorite break that 4th wall moments ever to the triumphant closing featuring everyone getting over in their own way, Rockers is so incredibly special. Whereas The Harder They Come had a natural grittiness about it due to its cheaper 16mm film-stock, Rockers is a beautiful looking shot on 35mm production featuring eye-popping color photography by Peter Sova. This was one of Sova’s first films and his incredibly vivid and colorful cinematography shows why Hollywood snatched him up not long after this. Perfectly paced, Rockers also benefits greatly from the editing of Susan Steinberg. This is the same editor who cut Robert Frank’e legendary Rolling Stones documentary Cocksucker Blues (1972) and Steinberg does exceptional work throughout crafting a remarkably cohesive film considering its chaotic backstory. Ironically The Stones themselves fell under the spell of Rockers and visited Jamaica to record after its release, to not the best creative or personal results.

Like in The Harder They Come, the cast of Rockers proves to be amongst its strongest assets, with even the famed musicians who’d never acted a day in their life delivering wonderfully charismatic and often moving versions of themselves. Rockers is just packed with great performances and unforgettable moments. The ‘Jah No Dead’ sequence with Burning Spear is particularly as moving and powerful as anything else found in the amazing cinematic year of 1978.

And the music. The incredible music. Rockers’ soundtrack is so iconic and masterful that it has overshadowed the film nearly as much as The Harder They Come’s album had done the same. Rockers features stunning musical performances and the entire film is enveloped with these wonderfully smoky dub beats and it is so awesome. The film’s dialogue already has this wonderful cadence and warm musical quality about it and the film’s song-driven score gels perfectly with it.

Blending fiction and reality, Rockers took about two months to film for under 50,000 bucks. The idea that a film this exceptional could be made in another country with a near complete novice cast and crew for under a quarter of a million in today’s money should always remain extremely inspiring for filmmakers. With today’s technology, Rockers could be made for a lot cheaper today but the natural film grain and moment in time can’t be replicated.

Echoing one of my favorite repeated sayings in Rockers, John Lydon was himself up to some ‘Mafia business’ in Jamaica while Rockers was being filmed. The Jamaican scene had found their biggest fans in the London Punk community, with The Clash and especially The Slits drawing huge influence. The Slits’ Ari-Up even eventually moved to Jamaica after falling fully in love with the Rastafarian lifestyle. Lydon was the first to visit though, soaking up the atmosphere and music he’d been listening to since the early seventies for his new project that appeared in the wake of The Sex Pistols implosion. This wasn’t to be some sanitized whitewashed Claptonized take either. Lydon was deadly serious and hugely knowledgeable. One of his co-conspirators in this mysterious new band, Public Image Ltd, Jah Wobble was also in Jamaica listening to the bass-heavy dub music in the smoke filled clubs he frequented. Along with Keith Levene, these three created a pulverizing sound never heard before after their Jamaican excursion, Metal Box (1979). During this monumental recording’s press-tour, Lydon was on British radio plugging his favorite Jamaican artists including Rockers cast member Gregory Isaacs and within a year of the film’s soundtrack and Metal Box, the sounds of reggae and dub infused the Post Punk music as part of its very life blood. The rebellious nature at the heart of Rockers and its DIY attitude is equally infused with Punk culture. I love this period so much.

After its much-discussed screening at The San Francisco Film Festival, Rockers had a fairly successful limited release for a film of its budget. Critical reaction was mostly positive although the film didn’t receive the push it deserved. Rockers should have been a smash hit, instead it became a cult favorite. By the eighties it was playing on college campuses as Reggae’s influence became more commercialized and far less interesting than it had been in 1979. Rockers never went away and it finally began to really get its due via a 25th anniversary DVD, which featured a slew of special features (all ported over on this new release). With The Harder They Come in The Criterion Collection, it’s great that we now have a Criterion level release of Rockers.

I am so pleased with MVD’s new 4K restoration of Rockers, with its bold colors never looking more memorable and its score never sounding more powerful. The original mono-track is especially strong sounding throughout. This is far and away the best Rockers has ever looked or sounded on home video and doesn’t suffer from some of the brightness issues found on previous releases.

MVD’s previous Blu-ray was a bare-bones affair, making this absolutely stacked release most welcome. Along with the new 4K restoration, MVD have indeed ported over all of the bonus features from the early 2000s DVD. These include a select scene commentary from Bafaloukos. This feature was mistakely listed on the original DVD and this new release as a full commentary. MVD will be correcting the artwork on future pressings to reflect that it is just a select-scenes track, but honestly after watching the mammoth Jah No Dead: The Making of Rockers documentary MVD made for this new release worrying about a small typo would be silly.

The two hour long Richard Schenkman directed Jah No Dead: The Making of Rockers is the big selling point of MVD’s new collection, along with the new restoration, and it is a grand slam. Packed with as many people involved with the film MVD could locate, this is as exhaustive a documentary about the making of a film you can imagine. No stone is left unturned via this very honest and straightforward look at the film. This fine documentary, along with the older DVD features featuring Bafaloukos make this the absolute definitive edition of Rockers. As with the most of the MVD Rewind Line, a slipcover, reversable sleeve and poster are included. I can’t recommend a release higher for any that have never experienced Rockers or for fellow travelers already well under its spell. Rockers is a tremendous film, an important part of film history and this new MVD Rewind 4K and Blu-ray gives it a fine home.

Order Rockers directly from MVD and enjoy this gallery of clippings I found related to the film.

-Jeremy Richey, February 2026