The River Niger

This is a must see film.This movie is poetry in itself. Thumbs up to this work!!! The unconditional love between Tyson's character and Jones' character exuded the power of 'Black Love'. The very fact that through out the entire movie, you were constantly reminded of God's power and creativity, was captivating, especially the poetry. Turman's character's awakening to the sleeping giant within, to fight the oppressive system that has held back the African American race for generations, decision to fight back with intelligence instead of violence was a move in the right direction to solid change. Violence is only a temporary solution to a life long problem. To not spoil the end, Jones' character, what can I say, selfless hero! This movie should be viewed by all young African American men and women. This will remain a classic!

There are several things to understand about this movie. 1. The actors and actresses are African American and at the time of the movie were not necessarily appreciated for their outstanding talents that have been showcased in later years. 2. Comments that the "gang" members were hokey perhaps come from those who have never been residents in the Watts area of LA, the south side of Chicago or the east side of Detroit in the early 1970's. (3) I find that the use of the"n" word brings about discussion with today's students of communication and film who are products of the rap culture's influences. All in all the film's adaptation from the original play is a good one.

1st watched 9/30/2022 - (Dir-Krishna Shah): Heavy-handed drama about a son returning from his stint in the airforce to try and have a normal life. The movie starts by introducing the family & friends of the man, played by Glynn Turman. His dad, played by James Earl Jones, is a drunk with a heart for poetry and his family. His dad's best friend and family doctor, played by Lou Gossett. The mother, played by Cicely Tyson, and a new entry; the son's fiancee, arrives at the house and is welcomed by the group. These festivities are abruptly interrupted by the arrival of the gang that the soldier was associated with before he went into the air force. The rock of the group, the mother, gets ill and it puts a damper on the family and the returning son, Jeff --- who wants to become a lawyer, but the in-ability to get work pulls him back into helping the gang with their revolution against the white world. This movie shows the reality of black life during the time, but has so many storylines that never get resolved. I guess it may be the point of the story, based on a tony-award winning play - but not showing the audience any real answers doesn't help the movie. Cicely's character keeps a positive spin up to the end, but we really don't know why, and an abrupt non-positive non-climatic ending doesn't help it's cause either. A historic movie in the sense that it's based on an all African-American play but just doesn't sit well, for the most part.

You don't have to be black to fully appreciate this film but..... What am I saying, of course you do! This film may be based on an award winning off Broadway hit play, but that does not prevent it from being a dated piece of boring black angst. James Earl Jones, Lou Gossett & Cicely Tyson give very credible performances, but the actors playing the younger roles were so hokey, the overall film becomes unwatchable. The young actress made up to be the grandmother was particularly inept. As much as I admire James Earl Jones, I must admit that I could not sit through the whole thing, so I do not know how it ends.

I love James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson as a couple. They live in the ghetto or slums of Los Angeles, California in the 1970s. The rest of the cast includes the under-used Hilda Haynes and Louis Gosset Jr. The story of Johnny Williams as a poet and his ill wife played by Tyson is not so bad and their surroundings are undesirable as they battle crime, gangs, violence, and living in a tough part of the city. Jones and Tyson are a formidable pair and strong together on screen and they are worth watching the film alone even if it's not that great on paper. JOnes's performance elevates the role into a complex character of JOhnny Williams and there are familiar actors and actresses also in this film. The River Niger might not be that great but it's not that bad and Tyson and Jones are so strong together that you can see them at odds as well. Johnny loves his wife, Mattie, and strives as a poet but the scene where he reads to Mattie is heartbreaking, emotional, and worth watching. I didn't care for the other scenes involving the gangs, violence, and crime. I just loved watching Tyson and JOnes as a couple.