For the mineral, see Dolomite

Dolemite is a 1975 blaxploitation film, and is also the name its principal character, played by Rudy Ray Moore, who co-wrote the film. Moore had developed the alter-ego as a stand-up comedian and released several comedy albums using this persona. It was directed by D'Urville Martin , who appears as the villain Willie Green. The film is generally seen to have taken the blaxploitation genre beyond what previous films such as Shaft had done, playing black stereotypes to a highly exaggerated extent. Unlike many blaxploitation films, however, Dolemite was written and directed by African Americans.

The plot of the movie is thin and full of holes, and the acting and kung-fu are medicore, at best. Those who appreciate the movie almost always do so in an ironic fashion, it being one of the movies that's so bad it's good. A minor but often cited flaw with the film is the tendency for the boom mike to appear on screen for extended periods of time.

In spite of the movie's overall poor quality, or because of it, it has attained something of a cult status, earning it a following and making it more well known than many of its counterparts. It has been parodied on the sketch comedy show MADtv.

An often neglected sequel, called The Human Tornado , was released in 1976. This sequel took the humor of low-budget production further, with the absurdly choeographed fight scenes played at fast speed.

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