Human Tornado

As the poster says: “Nerve-shattering… Brain-battering… Mind-splattering… A ONE MAN DISASTER!” If you want an argument from me, you’ll have to change the subject.

Rudy Ray Moore is without a doubt one of the most idiosyncratic talents ever to light up the silver screen. He first achieved fame as a nightclub entertainer reciting “toasts” (basically proto-raps) about a mythical black pimp/avenger named Dolemite that had been handed down in various forms through years of African American oral tradition.

With the advent of blaxploitation action movies in the ‘70s, Moore took the next logical step, starring as Dolemite in his own films. This is the second and possibly funniest. This time, the bad guys are rednecks and mobsters. We also get to see the pudgy Rudy Ray Moore naked on more occasions than we might wish. Throughout, Moore displays his half-speed martial arts chops and amazing one-liners. The Human Tornado also foreshadows the giant step into surrealism Moore’s films would take, culminating in Petey Wheatstraw and Disco Godfather. Devastating! (Lars Nilsen)