swap_horiz The River Niger Alternatives

1

The Cool World

The Cool World is Shirley Clarke's 1963 Harlem gang drama, preserved in the National Film Registry and scored by Mal Wal...

Classic Drama Crime 1960S

7.2 Good

2

Cornbread, Earl and Me

Cornbread, Earl and Me is a 1975 American coming-of-age drama by Joseph Manduke, notable as Laurence Fishburne's film de...

Drama Community Youth Crime

6.8 Fair

3

...tick...tick...tick...

Ralph Nelson directed this 1970 drama starring Jim Brown as a newly elected Black sheriff facing deep racial tension and...

Classic Drama Crime 1970S

6.6 Fair

4

Trouble Man

Trouble Man is Ivan Dixon's 1972 crime thriller starring Robert Hooks as fixer Mr. T, remembered for Marvin Gaye's self-...

Action Drama Detective Crime

6.5 Fair

5

The Education of Sonny Carson

The Education of Sonny Carson is a 1974 American drama by Michael Campus, adapted from activist Sonny Carson's autobiogr...

Drama Youth Crime Biography

6.5 Fair

6

J.D.'s Revenge

J.D.'s Revenge is a 1976 American blaxploitation horror film by Arthur Marks, starring Glynn Turman as a law student pos...

Supernatural Horror Crime Possession

6.5 Fair

7

Willie Dynamite

Willie Dynamite is a 1973 blaxploitation drama by Gilbert Moses, released in New York in 1974 as the first Zanuck-Brown...

Action Drama Crime 1974

6.2 Fair

8

The Final Comedown

The Final Comedown is Oscar Williams's 1972 drama starring Billy Dee Williams, built around a shootout between Black mil...

Action Drama Activism Crime

5.8 Mediocre

9

Five on the Black Hand Side

Five on the Black Hand Side is Oscar Williams's 1973 family comedy, adapted by Charlie L. Russell from his 1969 play as...

Drama Community Family Comedy

5.8 Mediocre

10

Passing Through

Passing Through is Larry Clark's 1977 independent jazz film, notable for Horace Tapscott's score and its 2023 addition t...

Music Drama Independent Crime

5.7 Mediocre

11

Original Gangstas

Original Gangstas is a 1996 Larry Cohen action film set in Gary, Indiana, notable for reuniting Fred Williamson, Jim Bro...

Action Nostalgia Community Crime

5.6 Mediocre

12

Hammer

Hammer is Bruce D. Clark's 1972 boxing crime film starring Fred Williamson as B.J. Hammer, helping establish him as a bl...

Action Drama Boxing Crime

5.5 Mediocre

13

Melinda

Melinda is Hugh A. Robertson's 1972 MGM crime drama starring Calvin Lockhart, and it includes karate champion Jim Kelly'...

Action Drama Mystery Crime

5.5 Mediocre

14

Together Brothers

Together Brothers is a 1974 American crime drama directed by William A. Graham, notable for Barry White's only complete...

Drama Youth Crime Revenge

5.2 Mediocre

15

Countdown at Kusini

Countdown at Kusini is a 1976 Nigerian-American action drama directed by Ossie Davis and financed by Delta Sigma Theta s...

Action Drama International Crime

5.2 Mediocre

16

Monkey Hustle

Monkey Hustle is a 1976 American blaxploitation comedy by Arthur Marks, notable for Yaphet Kotto, Rudy Ray Moore and a C...

Drama Community Crime Comedy

5.1 Mediocre

17

Emma Mae

Emma Mae is a 1976 Jamaa Fanaka film, later retitled Black Sister's Revenge, notable as a UCLA-era LA Rebellion work abo...

Drama Community Crime Female Lead

4.8 Poor

18

No Way Back

No Way Back is a 1976 blaxploitation film written, directed by and starring Fred Williamson as private eye Jesse Crowder...

Action Drama Crime Thriller

4.6 Poor

19

Black Heat

Black Heat is a 1976 American blaxploitation action film by Al Adamson, starring Timothy Brown as Las Vegas detective Ki...

Action Drama Detective Crime

4.0 Poor

20

Black Shampoo

Black Shampoo is a 1976 American blaxploitation and sexploitation film by Greydon Clark, recasting Shampoo around a Blac...

Action Drama Crime Revenge

3.8 Poor