blaxploitation
In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...
film directed by
Cliff Roquemore
Cliff Roquemore (28 September 1948 – 5 February 2002) was an American writer, producer and director. Principally active in Detroit theater, he was also involved with the production of several blaxploitation films, including ''The Human Tornado' ...
. The film is a sequel to ''
Dolemite
''Dolemite'' is a 1975 American blaxploitation crime comedy film and is also the name of its principal character, played by Rudy Ray Moore, who co-wrote the film and its soundtrack. Moore, who started his career as a stand-up comedy, stand-u ...
''.
In the film, a sheriff's wife has an
extramarital affair
An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or solely em ...
with Dolemite. Her husband orders one of his subordinates to murder her, and then frames Dolemite for her murder. Dolemite flees to
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, and the sheriff follows him there.
Plot
After coming off a successful
comedy
Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium.
Origins
Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
tour, Dolemite throws a get-together at his mansion. The party is crashed by racist police officers and they find out that the sheriff's wife is offering Dolemite money for sexual services. When the sheriff catches them red-handed, he orders his deputy to shoot them both. The deputy shoots the sheriff's wife, but is shot and killed by Dolemite, who escapes.
Dolemite and his friends kidnap a young man and decide to head to
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
to meet Queen Bee. There, they find out that the local mob boss, Joe Cavaletti, has kidnapped two of Queen Bee's girls, forcing her to close her business and work for him. Dolemite rescues Queen Bee and her girls and teaches his enemies a lesson, all the while being chased by the sheriff, who has pinned the murder of his own wife on Dolemite.
Cast
*
Rudy Ray Moore
Rudolph Frank Moore (March 17, 1927October 19, 2008), known as Rudy Ray Moore, was an American comedian, singer, actor, and film producer.Sir Lady Java as Herself
* J.B. Baron as Sheriff Beatty
* Jack Kelly as Captain Ryan
* Herb Graham as Cavaletti
* Barbara Gerl as Mrs. Cavaletti
* James R. Page as Jimmy (credited as James Cromartie)
*
Ernie Hudson
Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Winston Zeddemore in the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. Hudson has also acted in the films ''Leviathan'' (1989), '' The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'' (19 ...
as Bo (credited as Louis Hudson)
* Ed Montgomery as "Dough"
Release
Both the ''
Daily Variety
''Variety'' is an American trade magazine owned by Penske Media Corporation. It was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933, ''Daily Variety'' was launched, based in ...
'' and ''
BoxOffice
''Boxoffice Pro'' is a film industry magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business published by BoxOffice Media LP.
History
It started in 1920 as ''The Reel Journal'', taking the name ''Boxoffice'' in 1931 and still publishes today, with a ...
'' announced Dimension Pictures’ acquisition of ''The Human Tornado'' which initially was set for release on June 23, 1976. The film officially premiered at the Rialto Theatre in Atlanta, GA, on July 23, 1976. The film was later shown across twenty theaters in Los Angeles and several theaters in New York City on October 13, 1976.
Critical reception
According to the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
, reviews of ''The Human Tornado'' focused on the film’s shortcomings, specifically editing and continuity. A review in ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' praised certain performances by the actors Java, Herb Graham and Jerry Jones while a review in the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' found the film to be "dumber" than its predecessor as well as being much funnier.
Home media
The film was restored and released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and
Blu-ray
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
by
Vinegar Syndrome
Vinegar Syndrome is an American home video distribution company which specializes in "protecting and preserving genre films". The company was founded in 2012 in Bridgeport, Connecticut by Joe Rubin and Ryan Emerson, who created it to restore ...