The Harder They Fall director, writer, producer and composer Jeymes Samuel knew from an early age that something was not quite right with the Westerns he grew up watching on TV. These visions framed Western heroes like John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, battling the elements and baddies, against gorgeous backdrops that reached to the horizon. But Samuel knew something was always missing.
“Traditionally in Hollywood westerns, Black people, Chinese people, other people of color, and women were always shown as subservient.”
The westerns Samuel watched reflected a Hollywood not ready to embrace the truth of the Old West, and how it was really settled in the mid-1800s. When the institution of slavery was abolished, and the formerly enslaved flocked West in search of a better life and a fresh start, many of them became Cowboys – and a third of them were Black. Many were of other races and, it turns out as history tells us, women could be just as hardscrabble as any John Wayne.
“I loved Westerns so much growing up that when they invented Google I began to research all these great characters that we never got to learn about through movies.”
He became obsessed with the real life characters of the Old West, Black men and women who risked their lives every day for their own dreams. Being a storyteller, he gathered these real people — who all lived in different places in the West at different times throughout the 19th century — and weaved their essence and purpose into a screenplay. This original script, peppered with curated music from Samuel and fellow producer Shawn Carter, aka legendary rapper-mogul JAY-Z, and given a strategic assist by producer James Lassiter, it became The Harder They Fall.
“After this movie, no one will ever say there were no people of color in the Old West. So we had to remember as we were making this movie: it would be fun to make but also a true historical statement. Black people, Asian people, all people of color and women deserve a film like this that is done on an epic scale.”
Here is the official synopsis:
“When outlaw Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) discovers that his enemy Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) is being released from prison he rounds up his gang to track Rufus down and seek revenge. Those riding with him in this assured, righteously new school Western include his former love Stagecoach Mary (Zazie Beetz), his right and left hand men — hot-tempered Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi) and fast drawing Jim Beckwourth (R.J. Cyler)—and a surprising adversary-turned-ally. Rufus Buck has his own fearsome crew, including “Treacherous” Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield), and they are not a group that knows how to lose. Featuring a red hot soundtrack and a stunning all-star cast, including Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz, Delroy Lindo, LaKeith Stanfield, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, R.J. Cyler, Damon Wayans Jr., Deon Cole with Regina King and Idris Elba revenge has never been served colder.”
The Harder They Fall debuts Nov. 3 on Netflix.
Check out the trailer below:
