Priest, Martin

Nothing But a Man

From the era when American films almost never put black characters at the center of a movie, Nothing but a Man stands like a beacon of intelligence and sympathy. It was shot in 1964 at the height of the Civil Rights movement by two Jewish white men, director Michael Roemer and cinematographer Robert M. Young, who wrote the script after traveling through the South and immersing themselves in African American life. Ivan Dixon (later of Hogan's Heroes) plays a railroad worker who settles down to marry a preacher's daughter (jazz singer Abbey Lincoln), only to find that the system is rigged against him. The film is not condescending or idealizing in its approach; some of the problems of the characters are outside the reality of racism. Aside from its status as a landmark social-issue film, it is good to recognize, 40 years on, what a terrific piece of filmmaking this is, with fine acting (Yaphet Kotto and Gloria Foster are in the cast), lucid dialogue, and a fresh feeling for everyday domestic life. --Robert Horton

A landmark independent film, NOTHING BUT MAN is one of the most sincere and sensitive pictures ever made about the struggles and hardships of Black life in 1960s America. Lauded by critics at the Venice and New York film festivals when it first premiered

Zebrahead

A hard-hitting and impressive low-budget independent film about love and racism, Zebrahead is a volatile mix of social commentary and powerful acting. Michael Rapaport (Mighty Aphrodite, Beautiful Girls) is a white urban high school student enamored of black rap culture who pursues and falls in love with the cousin (N'Bushe Wright) of his black best friend. Their intense romance brings out racial tensions in their school, among their friends and at home. Problems escalate as a notorious gang banger goes after the girl, forcing a schoolwide confrontation with violent results. With the flavor of a modern urban Romeo and Juliet love story and a showcase for the debut of two exceptional young actors, Zebrahead is a provocative sleeper film well worth checking out. --Robert Lane

The Plot Against Harry

An early delight of American independent cinema (before there was American independent cinema, really), The Plot Against Harry is proof that failure is not necessarily the final word. Shot independently in 1969 by the collaborators of Nothing But a Man, writer-director Michael Roemer and photographer/co-producer Robert Young, Harry couldn't find a distributor and was quickly forgotten. In 1989, Roemer took another look at the movie, submitted it to a couple of film festivals, and suddenly found critical acclaim and a respectable release.

In retrospect, it now looks like a cinematic cousin to Philip Roth's Goodbye-Columbus, with its middle-class Jewish milieu and observant humor. Harry (Martin Priest) is a mid-level mobster whose racket has weakened during his stint in prison. Newly out, he tries to piece together the business, or possibly go straight, meanwhile reconnecting with his ex-wife and the two daughters he barely knew. Nothing seems to work--it's almost as though there's a plot against him.

As a curio, Harry is choice. It's easy to see how the movie had trouble in 1969, however; the style suggests an in-the-streets documentary, rather than a culture comedy. (An opening sequence in the jailhouse looks like the beginning of a grim prison exposé.) This bizarre approach actually gives the movie much of its appeal today, however, as does the relentless eccentricity of the supporting cast, many of them non-professionals; Harry's henchman Ben Lang should've had a wonderful career as a good-natured goombah. --Robert Horton

Nominated for 6 Independent Spirit Awards including Best Picture, THE PLOT AGAINST HARRY is the eccentric cult comedy classic that was presumed lost for twenty years until it resurfaced to triumphant festival screenings and rave reviews. With its retro go-go boots and long black Cadillacs, this "astounding and often hilarious spectacle of the late 1960s" (The Nation) was wildly praised by Roger Ebert as "a wonderful oddball comedy...Two enthusiastic thumbs up!...I loved it from beginning to end!" Written and directed with a snap-crackling wit by Michael Roemer (Nothing But A Man), THE PLOT AGAINST HARRY plays like a brilliant cross between a poignantly realistic John Cassavetes film and a prime-era Woody Allen comedy. The film follows the uproarious rise-and-fall of Harry Plotnik (Martin Priest), a once-notorious Jewish gangster who finds his numbers racket slipping away after his release from prison. Under pressure from well-meaning relatives, Harry makes an erratic effort to go straight, triggering a series of humiliations and petty disasters. Unable to fit into either the criminal or civilian worlds, Harry becomes uniquely and irresolutely heroic--a modest, modern-day Job fated to be the butt of an endless stream of small-time cosmic jokes. DVD Features: Special "Making Of" Featurette with Director Michael Roemer and Cinematographer/Co-Producer Robert Young; Filmmaker Biographies; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection