RipDelight
This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
Doomtomylo
a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Freeman
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Lela
The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
Judexdot1
After beginning in a very sort of "afro-Rocky" way, unsung berserk exploitation director, Jamaa Fanaka, return to his blaxploitation roots with this one. Tony Geary, former "General Hospital" star, returns to his roots as well, with his strangest film since he got raunchy with future "Ilsa" Dyanne Thorne, in "Blood Sabbath" (1972). Leon Isaac Kennedy returns as "Too Sweet", and ends up boxing, in prison, again. But this time he meets an eventually helpful, mystical dwarf,"The Midnight Thud", who teaches him Kung Fu when not smoking crack. Geary gets all strange as the nasty "Serengeti", and seems to be channeling Chris Walken throughout. Fanaka knocks this out of our normal dimension, but doesn't quite equal some of his other, less profitable work, like "Welcome Home Brother Charles" (aka "Soul Vengeance"), where other mystical midgets also assist the "hero".
panik65
This film is one of the greatest human achievements ever. A boxer, "Too Sweet," framed for murder, is sent to prison where he must fight a crack smoking, inmate raping, kung fu midget called the "Midnight Thud." At first "Midnight" is a snarling beast, the willing retainer of another homosexual inmate - Serengetti - and his tranny 'girlfriend' and does nothing but smoke crack in his dungeon (yes, there is a dungeon) beneath the prison and snarl. Episodically he is released by his handlers (prison guards wearing welding suits and masks!) to discipline various inmates. In fact, his mere existence seems to threaten the manhood of the entire prison. There is evidently a LOT of crack smoking going on down there, since the floor of the dungeon is knee high in billowing crack smoke. Also, there are no women in this film, only transexuals. Even Too Sweets 'conjugal visit' near the end was clearly not a (biological) woman.Later we discover 'Thud' is a great martial arts trainer and enjoys smoking expensive tobacco from fancy pipes (as well as crack), and he eventually trains Too Sweet - in a Rocky style montage episode - to win the prison boxing match. Wouldn't you win too if a three foot crack addict was yelling "ENEMA TOO SWEET!" in YOUR corner?The absurdity of this movie isn't a slow burn but a head scratching, perfectly ballistic sustained crescendo; it never lets up, escalating into a jaw dropping finale. Bravo!
Longwhip
The greatest prison boxing film featuring a black midget called The Midnight Thud ever? I think so and I think you will too after watching. If Rocky was trained by The Midnight Thud he woulda beat Clubber Lang the first time. Unfortunately Raymond Kessler who portrayed The Thud passed away earlier this year which means he won't return for the rumoured Penitentiary 4 to be directed by Woody Allen.
EL BUNCHO
There is no way that this movie could have been made to be taken seriously. I won't give away the plot(because it is so ludicrous that your mouth will be agape for the entire running time, I kid you not!), but ask anyone who has seen this about "The Midnight Thud" and get ready to see that person collapse in a fit of laughter. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION FOR SHEER STUPIDITY!!!
