Directed by Michael Roemer • 1969 • United States
Starring Martin Priest, Ben Lang, Maxine Woods
A treasure of American independent filmmaking that was neglected for decades until its triumphant rediscovery, writer-director-producer Michael Roemer’s feature follow-up to his landmark NOTHING BUT A MAN is a wryly observed, delectably deadpan comedy set in the world of New York’s Jewish community and the small-time mobsters operating within it. After two decades behind bars, low-level racketeer Harry Plotnick (memorably cow-eyed Martin Priest) is released into a changed city he hardly recognizes. As he attempts to reconnect with his estranged family, he finds himself launched on a subtly surreal journey through an unfamiliar, middle-class world that seems to have no place for him.
Up Next in American Independents
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Vengeance Is Mine
Directed by Michael Roemer • 1984 • United States
Starring Brooke Adams, Jon DeVries, Ari MeyersLike director Michael Roemer’s prior features—the powerful civil-rights-era landmark NOTHING BUT A MAN and the offbeat mob comedy THE PLOT AGAINST HARRY—this continuously surprising, cuttingly incisi...
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The World’s Greatest Sinner
Directed by Timothy Carey • 1962 • United States
Starring Timothy Carey, Gil Barreto, Betty RowlandTimothy Carey—the unforgettable character actor whose weird, wiggy energy brought a manic edge to classics like THE KILLING and PATHS OF GLORY—wrote, produced, directed, and starred in this outrag...
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Sleepwalk
Directed by Sara Driver • 1986 • United States, West Germay
Starring Suzanne Fletcher, Ann Magnuson, Dexter LeeSara Driver’s first feature is a tantalizingly enigmatic, surrealist fantasia rooted in the grit and anything-goes energy of the 1980s New York night world. When Nicole (Suzanne Fletch...
