“Way
down in the jungle deep, the lion stepped on the signifyin’ monkey’s feet.” Anyone
who is familiar with that poem’s first line, most likely heard it from
comedian/actor/singer, the late, great Rudy Ray Moore. Influenced by legendary
comedians Red Foxx and Richard Pryor, Moore, who worked nightclubs throughout
the 1960s, became popular through a series of hilarious and racy party albums
he released in the early 70s, some of which featured Rudy Ray as a character
named Dolemite; a sharply-dressed, supercool, humorous and loquacious, rhyming
pimp-poet whose incredible strength and expert martial arts ability are equaled
only by his sexual prowess. The albums and his live stand-up routine were so
popular that, in 1975, the charismatic Moore took all of his earnings and
decided to turn this larger-than-life urban hero into a kick-ass, comedic
movie.
Bad-ass pimp Dolemite (Rudy Ray Moore, Petey Wheatstraw, The Devil's Son-In-Law),
who was framed, incarcerated and had his club, The Total Experience, stolen
from him by his evil rival Willie Green (D’Urville Martin, Black Caesar), is released from prison and, with help from the FBI,
the loyal Queen Bee (Lady Reed, Disco
Godfather) and Dolemite’s all-girl army of Kung Fu killers, sets out to
bring Willie Green to justice and retake his rightful place as king of the
streets.
Co-written (with actor Jerry Jones who
appears in the film as an FBI agent) and produced by Rudy Ray Moore, Dolemite was directed by D’Urville
Martin for the paltry sum of $100,000, but went on to gross $12 million. Rudy
Ray not only capitalized on the popularity of his own adult party albums and
the Dolemite character, but he smartly cashed in on the now legendary “Blaxploitation”
craze started by wonderful films such as Shaft
(1971), Super Fly (1972) and Three the Hard Way (1974) as well as
the Kung Fu phenomenon that was sweeping the country, mostly due to the
immortal Bruce Lee and his iconic 1973 film Enter
the Dragon in particular.
The entertaining Dolemite not only features plenty of comedy and very quotable
dialogue, but also, Kung Fu, adult language and liberal doses of sex and
violence; not to mention a great musical score by Arthur Wright (The Human Tornado, The Crying Game) and
the Filmore Street Soul Rebellion as well as a fun and memorable title song composed
and sung by Ben Taylor. It also contains loads of unintended laughs which,
along with Rudy Ray’s enjoyable ghetto poems, give the extremely low-budget
film much of its charm. Some wonderful examples of Dolemite’s unintentional hilarity are visible boom mics,
character’s talking over one another (“Flo!”),
wooden line deliveries (“Another
frame-up, hmm?”), a cop who attacks Dolemite and falls on his ass (no
second takes), a lip-synching nightclub singer who is way out of synch, Rudy
Ray almost falling asleep during a scene and D’Urville Martin saying to him, “Don’t get excited!”, and a character
named Creeper who is also known as the Hamburger Pimp and is played by a real-life
junkie (Vainus Rackstraw). Naturally, the film is also a fantastic early 70s
time capsule featuring funky fashions (the ginormous, furry hats are my
favorite) as well as wonderfully gaudy décor. For those who may turn their
noses up at the film, Dolemite and
the work of Rudy Ray Moore (who has rightly been dubbed “The Godfather of Rap”)
has gone on to influence many; most notably a plethora of Rap artists including
Snoop Dogg and the 2009 comedy classic Black
Dynamite.
Dolemite has been released on
Blu-ray/DVD by Vinegar Syndrome. The extremely fun film, which has been
restored in 2k from its 35mm negative, is presented in its original 1.85:1
aspect ratio and is extremely sharp and beautiful looking. We are also treated
to a lovingly included full frame version (the VHS version everyone’s used to)
which not only shows the boom mic in frame even more than the 1.85 version, but
sometimes the sound guy too. Special features include a very informative
making-of documentary by Elijah Drenner (That
Guy Dick Miller) which contains remembrances from many of Dolemite’s cast and crew including Rudy
Ray Moore, Jerry Jones and Ben Taylor; an entertaining interview with Lady
Reed; a “Locations: Then & Now” featurette and a very thorough audio
commentary by Rudy Ray’s biographer, Mark Jason Murray. Amongst many other
interesting things, he talks about Rudy’s early days in show business, how the
character of Dolemite came to be, the trials and tribulations that came with
making the film and Rudy Ray’s life after his amazing 1970s reign (interspersed
between Murray’s commentary are a few audio interviews with Rudy Ray, Jerry
Jones and martial arts champion Howard Jackson (who appears in the film).
Although cool and informative, some of these interviews are a bit muffled and
somewhat hard to fully hear). There are also trailers for Dolemite and its hilarious sequel The Human Tornado (also released on Blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome)as well as a reversible sleeve with the
fun, eye-catching, original poster art. There’s also some cool new artwork,
too. Both images are also featured on the discs themselves. If you’re a fan of Dolemite, Rudy Ray Moore or the 1970s “Blaxploitation”
genre in general, this Blu-ray is a must have. Can you dig it?
What more can be said about the immortal Kirk
Douglas? He was a three-time Academy Award nominee who was finally given the Academy’s
Lifetime Achievement award in 1996; not to mention being a loving family man and
a philanthropist. With a tremendous body of work which showcases his incredible
acting talent, Douglas was truly one of the icons of Hollywood’s Golden Age. A
genuine movie star if ever there was one, Douglas headlined amazing movies such
as Champion (1949), Detective Story (1951), Ace in the Hole (1951), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Lust for Life (1956), Spartacus (1960), 1963’s The List of Adrian Messenger (one of
seven films he made with the great Burt Lancaster), and The Fury (1978). Just to name a few. Recently, our good friends at
Kino Lorber have released A Lovely Way to
Die; a crime neo noir film Douglas made for Universal Pictures in 1968.
Solidly directed by David Lowell Rich (The Horror at 37,000 Feet), A Lovely Way to Die tells the tale of
Jim Schuyler (Douglas), a former cop who is hired by lawyer Tennessee
Fredericks (played by the always impressive Eli Wallach) to protect Rena
Westabrook (Sylva Koscina, Hercules
Unchained), a woman who has been accused of murdering her wealthy husband.
Although not in the same league as some of
the Douglas films I mentioned earlier, A
Lovely Way to Die is a very enjoyable moviewhich also features the acting talents of Kenneth Haigh (TV’s The Twilight Zone), Martyn Green (The Iceman Cometh), Sharon Farrell (It’s Alive), Ruth White (Midnight Cowboy), Philip Bosco (The Savages), Ralph Waite (TV’s The Waltons), Meg Myles (The Edge of Night), William Roerick (The Wasp Woman), Dana Elcar (TV’s MacGyver), Dolph Sweet (TV’s Gimme a Break!), Lincoln Kilpatrick (The Omega Man) and famed New York radio
announcer Marty Glickman. There are also uncredited appearances by Ali MacGraw
(Love Story), Richard Castellano (The Godfather), Conrad Bain (TV’s Diff’rent Strokes), Marianne McAndrew (Hello, Dolly!), Doris Roberts (TV’s Everybody Loves Raymond) and John P.
Ryan (It Lives Again). The film also
contains a terrific musical score by composer Kenyon Hopkins (The Hustler).
A Lovely Way to Die has been released on
a Region 1 Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. The transfer looks fantastic and the movie is
presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Special features include the
original U.S. theatrical trailer, the international theatrical trailer, a very
informative audio commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Steve
Mitchell as well as trailers for Lonely
Are the Brave; The Secret War of Harry Frigg and The Night of the Following Day.
Filmmaker Lewis Teague has some very
impressive credits. In 1964, he directed an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. In the 70s, Teague worked at Roger
Corman’s New World Pictures as an editor and assistant director before helming
1979’s crime drama The Lady in Red.
He also edited an Oscar-winning short in 1976 titled Number Our Days, worked on classic TV shows like Barnaby Jones and performed second unit
on Sam Fuller’s The Big Red One
(1980). Teague is probably best known for directing cult classics such as the
underrated 1980 monster movie Alligator;
the vigilante film Fighting Back
(1982); the Stephen King adaptations Cujo
(1983) and Cat’s Eye (1985), and the
romantic comedy The Jewel of the Nile
(1985). Recently, Dirty O’Neil, the
first feature film to be directed by Teague, has been made available on
Blu-ray.
Dirty O’Neil concerns police
officer/ladies’ man Jimmy O’Neil (Morgan Paull, Blade Runner) who must do everything he can to stop three
dangerous criminals from terrorizing his small, peaceful town.
The entertaining film, which was co-directed
and written by Howard Freen and distributed by American International Pictures,
is filled with solid direction and features fun performances by wonderful
talent the likes of Art Metrano (Police
Academy series), Pat Anderson (TNT
Jackson), Katie Saylor (TV’s The
Fantastic Journey), Tara Strohmeier (The
Great Texas Dynamite Chase), Anitra Ford (TV’s The Price is Right), Kate Murtagh (The Night Strangler), John Steadman (1977’s The Hills Have Eyes) and Playboy Playmates Jeane Manson (The Young Nurses) and Liv Lindeland (Picasso Trigger). Dirty O’Neil also benefits from a simple and engaging story, a
catchy musical score by Raoul Kraushaar (1953’s Invaders From Mars), and contains enough action and laughs to fill
its brief 89 minute running time.
Dirty O’Neil has been released in
high definition Blu-ray from a brand new 2K master and is presented in its
original anamorphic (1.85:1) widescreen aspect ratio. The great looking and
sounding Region 1 disc also contains English subtitles, the original theatrical
trailer and trailers for Dagmar’s Hot
Pants, inc.; National Lampoon Goes to the Movies; Maria’s Lovers; Checkered
Flag or Crash and Sunnyside.
In the world of exploitation cinema, the name
Jerry Gross is very well known. Gross owned and ran Cinemation Industries, a
film studio/distribution company based in New York. Cinemation produced and/or
distributed many movies like the teenage pregnancy film Teenage Mother (1967), the Swedish made sexploitation films Inga and Fanny Hill (both 1968), the revolutionary “Blaxploitation” classic
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
(1971), the horror film I Drink Your
Blood (1971) and the popular animated adult feature 1972’s Fritz the Cat. Just to name a few.
After the company went bankrupt in the mid-70s, Jerry started the Jerry Gross
Organization which continued the tradition, releasing shocking fare such as
1978’s controversial I Spit on Your Grave
and the horror classic Zombie (1979).
Recently, Gross’s first feature film, Girl
on a Chain Gang, was released on Blu-ray.
Written, produced and directed by Gross, Girl on a Chain Gang, which was based on
a story by Don Olsen, concerns three young civil rights activists who drive
through a small Southern town and are wrongly arrested by the hateful and
corrupt local police. Once they are brought to the station, the three young
friends—two men and a woman—are put through the most humiliating and terrifying
night of their lives.
Originally titled Bayou, Girl on a Chain Gang,
which was made for a paltry$31,000
and shot in Long Island, New York, is a surprisingly (considering the budget)
well-made, but, in some spots, disturbing film to watch. Based on actual
events, the film deals with the hate and racism that existed in the mid to late
1960s (and unfortunately still exists today). The film also contains a talented
cast (especially William Watson as the evil sheriff) and a memorable musical
score by Steve Karmen.
Girl on a Chain Gang has been released on
a region free Blu-ray by The Film Detective and is presented in its original
1:37:1 aspect ratio. The beautiful-looking transfer boasts sharp, crystal clear
black and white images (which shows off George Zimmermann’s lovely
cinematography) and the disc not only contains an informative audio commentary
by Jennifer Churchill, author of Movies
are Magic, but also an interesting featurette about writer/producer/director
Jerry Gross, a wonderful booklet which contains an essay on the film by
Something Weird Video’s Lisa Petrucci, and a reproduction of the “Certificate
of Jury Service” which Jerry Gross gave out to audience members in 1966.
