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Dolemite

Play trailer Poster for Dolemite R 1975 1h 30m Action Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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60% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A wrongly jailed man (Rudy Ray Moore) and his female kung-fu friends seek vengeance on the rival (D'Urville Martin) who put him away.

Critics Reviews

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Simon Abrams RogerEbert.com 08/01/2018
Moore's swagger...He's not much of an actor, but he is charming as heck, and comfortable in his character's oily skin. Go to Full Review
Odie Henderson RogerEbert.com 08/01/2018
Dolemite is a good entry point for those curious about Rudy Ray Moore's cinematic output. Go to Full Review
Brian Orndorf Blu-ray.com Mar 12
B+
Moore is the reason to remain invested in "Dolemite," which provides the blaxploitation tradition with a much-needed shot of endearing ridiculousness, finding the actor committing to every moment of this outrageous picture. Go to Full Review
Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com 10/08/2020
2/5
Laughably wooden performances are prominent amongst the supporting cast, and the only real bright spot is Moore, who despite being inarticulate and portly, demands attention. Go to Full Review
Hunter Lanier Film Threat 08/01/2018
8/10
Even with its amateurish presentation and off-kilter action, Dolemite is far more fun than a good many of the high-stakes, high-budget films that the big studios roll out every month or so. Go to Full Review
John Higgins Starburst 07/31/2018
6/10
To concentrate on the negatives would be going against what makes this film so special. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Nick O May 25 Rudy Ray Moore might just be the Ed Wood of Blaxploitation cinema, showing the world that with just a dream in your heart, anyone can become a midnight movie cult hero! See more CodyZamboni Z 07/03/2024 Over the top, campy, With laughably amateurish kung fu fight scenes, Lots of sudden bizarre editing cuts, but still watchable. See more Jens B @Jens97 07/26/2023 This plays out like more light-hearted and less competently made version of flicks like "Coffy" or "Foxy Brown". Dolemite probably the most sympathetic pimp you'll ever meet. He would be the bad guy in a Pam Grier movie, though. Classic kung fu-poetic monologue-groovy music-action flick! Good fun! See more Wayne K 07/01/2023 Rudy Ray Moore is a veritable legend in the genre of Blaxploitation, with the comedy character he created exemplifying the traits that made the gerne so special and beloved. As part of my research into a podcast episode on the 2019 film Dolemite Is My Name, one of my favourite films of the year, I decided to check out the original Dolemite flick from 1975. While the story behind it is fascinating and truly inspirational, the film itself, isn't. It has its moments, and Moore feels like he was born to play such a character, but the film is a few splashes of excellence in an ocean of tedium. The films limitations are clear, including poor staging, bad sound quality and sledgehammer editing, among others. These can be fun to notice, but they're often unavoidable consequences of making a movie on a limited budget. But the central storyline itself is rarely engaging, and there's so much boring downtime and pointless filler that I had a hard time concentrating on it. Musical numbers, repetitive scenes of talking, discussions with crooked cops and dodgy priests. Even though it's only an hour and 29 minutes it feels way longer, and the ending is so abrupt that you'd swear that was the point where the money well completely dried up. It's better to watch it as an artefact of cinema rather than as a singular piece of entertainment, because as the latter, it fails seriously short. See more Chris G 08/27/2022 1ya- A comeback showcase for Eddie Murphy where he has to reign in his natural charisma for the role in tightly directed and packed the the brim with notable actors of color to tell the story of a man that genuinely created his own fame. See more 12/02/2021 This might a low budget, but the comedy is pure gold! See more Read all reviews
Dolemite

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Movie Info

Synopsis A wrongly jailed man (Rudy Ray Moore) and his female kung-fu friends seek vengeance on the rival (D'Urville Martin) who put him away.
Director
D'Urville Martin
Screenwriter
Jerry Jones, Rudy Ray Moore
Distributor
Xenon Entertainment Group, Dimension Pictures Inc.
Production Co
Comedian Intl Enterprise Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Action, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 26, 1975, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 3, 2018
Runtime
1h 30m
Sound Mix
Mono