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From the time he started working in movies as a stuntman in the 1970s, plying his trade in iconic films like “The Wiz,” “The Warriors,” and “Dressed to Kill,” Steve James had a dream: to become a major Black action star.
And it should have happened — from his early role in James Glickenhaus’ deliciously nasty grindhouse flick “The Exterminator” and his series of collaborations with Cannon action auteur Sam Firstenberg (“Avenging Force,” “American Ninja”) to his memorable turns in William Friedkin‘s “To Live and Die in L.A.” and the Chuck Norris-Lee Marvin disaster extravaganza “Delta Force,” James was convincing, charismatic, and a fighter with grace and style.
Unfortunately, James died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 41, just a little over 10 years after his career really started to get going. And his best performance, as a wrongly court-martialed Vietnam vet who helps the citizens of a rural Southern town take on a racist and corrupt sheriff in “Riverbend,” was barely seen. An independent production Firstenberg made on a shoestring in 1989, “Riverbend” had only a brief theatrical run before coming out on VHS and then vanishing into obscurity. It never came out on DVD or Blu-ray, and didn’t play on cable TV.
Those of us lucky enough to stumble onto the movie in the early 1990s knew it was special; although the movie hits many of the same beats as dozens of other action movies starring actors both white (“Walking Tall”) and Black (“Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song”), it doesn’t feel derivative in any way. Screenwriter Samuel Vance evokes Vietnam-era America with rich textures and evocative dialogue that anchor the movie in reality, and the uniformly excellent performances (including one from “The Color Purple” Oscar nominee Margaret Avery) give the movie even more depth and resonance.
The result is a film that delivers the pulpy satisfactions of the kinds of action movies Firstenberg and James had been making together at Cannon, but with an urgency and level of thoughtful social commentary that makes all the conventions feel fresh — the characters might be in a genre movie, but the actors play everything like it’s the first time anyone ever did these things on screen.
Firstenberg orchestrates the delicate character moments and the bone-crushing action with real flair. The movie is straightforward and blunt when it needs to be (particularly when it comes to the nuance-free conception of the sleazy sheriff), but there are dozens of quiet, beautifully observed gestures and lines of dialogue that enable Firstenberg and Vance to pull off a highwire act of a climax that would seem corny in other hands, but is deeply moving here.
“Riverbend” was released on VHS by Paramount’s Prism Entertainment label, but didn’t get any real marketing push and only found its small audience via word of mouth. Over the years, as VHS tapes disintegrated or became landfill, “Riverbend” became a film more talked about than seen — until one man who did see it, filmmaker and archivist Michael J. Dennis, began what became a years-long process of bringing much-deserved attention back to the movie.
Dennis runs the Reelblack YouTube channel, where he regularly uploads rare and forgotten Black films along with contextualizing interviews and lectures. In 2019, he uploaded a copy of “Riverbend” from one of those old VHS copies, and it quickly attracted several thousand viewers — one of whom was Firstenberg himself. Instead of sending Dennis a cease-and-desist letter, Firstenberg emailed him to thank him for discovering and sharing the film, which got Dennis thinking: Was there a way to do a proper restoration?
In 2021, Dennis saw a 35mm print of “Riverbend” for sale on eBay and decided to take a chance; unfortunately, the print he purchased was in terrible shape and missing around 10 minutes of footage, primarily the love story between James and Avery. After he got over his initial disappointment, Dennis worked with Firstenberg and Deaf Crocodile’s Craig Rogers to create a digital file that removed many of the scratches and splices and restored the love story by incorporating VHS footage.
What Dennis called the “grindhouse restoration” premiered at the 2024 Denton Black Film Festival in Texas, not far from where “Riverbend” was originally shot. As interest in the film continued to grow, Dennis became determined to untangle the complicated rights, and some detective work led him to discover that the movie was now owned by Amazon/MGM. Via Samuel Vance’s widow, Valerie, who co-produced the film, Dennis convinced Amazon to release their masters to his company, Reelblack Renaissance.
The vaults yielded a 35mm print of “Riverbend” that hadn’t been screened in decades — meaning Dennis now had the source he needed to undertake a full-scale restoration and re-release. With the materials secured, Reelblack preservationist Austin Squitieri worked on a Firstenberg-approved 6K scan with improved stability, grain rendering, and color depth, eliminating damage baked into the print over decades. The audio was rebuilt from the original three-track 35mm pre-mix reels, restoring clarity and dynamic range long lost in previous versions.
Now, Dennis’ dream of “Riverbend” becoming widely accessible in its best possible form has become a reality. Reelblack Renaissance is releasing a gorgeous Blu-ray taken from the 6K restoration this August, and there have been big-screen presentations of “Riverbend” at venues including BAMcinématek and the American Cinematheque. (The post-screening Q&A from that event with Firstenberg, Avery, and others is included on the Blu-ray as a special feature.)
More celebrations of the movie are on the way — on August 15 there will be a screening and Blu-ray release party at the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta — and the meticulously produced physical media release is one of the most indispensable discs of 2026. In addition to the flawless transfer, the disc features hours of extra features in the form of an audio commentary, interviews with key cast and crew members, and a documentary devoted to the legacy of Steve James.
As a late example of what James could do and where his career should have gone, the “Riverbend” restoration is perhaps most moving and most vital. James was as dynamic an onscreen fighter as Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and pretty much every other action star of the era who got bigger parts and more lavish marketing budgets — he also could act circles around them. Combining genuine acting craft with the action movie goods in a way few stars outside of Steve McQueen ever have, James was a true original. Dennis and Reelblack Renaissance have done truly heroic work giving his best performance the presentation and release it always deserved.
“Riverbend” is available for pre-order on Blu-ray from Reelblack Renaissance. The August 15 screening at the Plaza will feature a post-screening discussion with actors Margaret Avery, Julius Tennon, Alex Morris, Vanessa Tate Goodrich, and Marcus Coleman; co-producer Valerie Coleman Vance; poster artist Aaron Kai; Debbi James (Daughter of Steve James); and Michael Dennis. Tickets and info are available at the Plaza’s website.
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