The Plot Against Harry (Standard Edition)

The story behind the release of The Plot Against Harry is a jaw-dropping bit of showbiz insanity. The film was shot and completed in 1970, but it couldn't garner any traction with distributors, exhibitors, or other early viewers. It was deemed a comedy too impenetrable to laugh at. So director Michael Roemer decided to cut his losses and move on to the next project. In the late '80s, Roemer decides to have a video transfer of Harry made for himself and his family. When he does, the technician at the post house who is doing the transfer immediately starts laughing at the film. Thinking the film might have a second shot, Roemer has new prints struck and sent to festivals. And the film gets accepted: to New York, to Toronto, to Cannes. It gets an indie distributor and is released in 1989 and 1990 as a "new" release.

Looking at the film now, it's more than a little baffling that those early viewers didn't know what to make of it. It's such a delightfully wry and richly conceived depiction of both small-time racketeering and the social circles of New York Jews that this viewer was instantaneously disarmed. I will admit that the movie is light on schtick or hard jokes, but lead actor Martin Priest is a consistently warm and charming presence, even as his character gets more and more beleaguered and confused.

The film opens with Harry Plotnick (Priest) getting out of prison. Even though he was only gone for a short stint, he returns to find his numbers racket is nearly in shambles. One of his runners, Big Julie (Julius Harris), has decided to go into business for himself, and a few others from his crew have joined up. Against his better judgment -- and in violation of his parole -- Harry goes to his Italian capo to ask him to intimidate Big Julie into falling back in line.

Meanwhile, Harry reconnects with his ex-wife Kay after a silly traffic accident and discovers that he has two grown daughters, a grandchild, and another grand-baby on the way. Kay is cautious but the others are oddly welcoming to Harry and are willing to give him a shot at rejoining their family. The film is light on its feet at 80 minutes and mostly consists of Harry's attempts to rebuild his business and his family life, with a seemingly inverse amount of success at every turn. His attempts to lead a "straight" life are undercut by his history of racketeering and his attempts to reclaim his place in the rackets seem destined to lead him straight back to prison. (He hasn't even been out a week!)

Writer-director Roemer peoples his film with a lot of non-actors who offer the necessary authenticity of the characters they are portraying and without the stiffness you sometimes find in performances from first-timers. Ben Lang is particularly good as the social climbing ex-brother-in-law who wants Harry's help in boosting his catering business. Margo Solin also impresses as Harry's younger model daughter who immediately understands that she has her prodigal father neatly under her thumb.

While The Plot Against Harry might have seemed offputting in 1970, with its streetwise naturalistic style and unrepentantly Jewish sense of humor, now it feels like a forbear to work of Albert Brooks and Larry David (among others). As the camera slowly pulls back in the film's final shot, we see Harry standing in the middle of his kid's wedding, seemingly as lost and uncertain as the couple at the end of The Graduate. In this moment, I could almost hear the signature theme tune from Curb Your Enthusiasm kicking in before a final cut to black.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray

The initial limited run of The Plot Against Harry with a collectible slipcover has already sold out. No matter, the flick is still worth owning, and The Film Desk's standard keepcase still comes with a generous booklet featuring photos, critical writing from four different critics, and a piece by director Michael Roemer that introduced the published screenplay. The disc loads to a copyright warning and the Film Desk logo before landing on a full motion menu. If you stop the disc and restart, it will play the warning and logo again before offering the option to play from where you left off.

Sourced from the new 4K restoration created for the 2023 theatrical re-release, this AVC-encoded 1.85:1 presentation is impeccable. The film has the documentary-flavored visual style that characterizes a lot of New York movies from the 1970s but Robert M. Young's black-and-white photography is never sloppy or distractingly soft. The transfer displays remarkable clarity, sharpness, and depth. No noticeable density issues or major damage. The images really come to life in a wholly satisfying way.

The soundtrack defaults to an English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround mix that isn't even referenced on the packaging. One can only guess that maybe it was created for the recent theatrical re-release. An alternate English DTS-HD MA 2.0 option preserves the mono mix that originally accompanied the film. Usually in these situations, I prefer the presence of the original mixes -- especially with character-driven, dialogue-heavy films. This is the rare case when I think the new remix is an improvement. It doesn't overdo it in terms of adding directional ambience -- the audio is still pretty front-focused -- but it gives the mix a little more breathing room that adds to the naturalistic feel of the film. Both options are clear and well-supported, although there are a few scattered instances of muffling and warble that were presumably unsalvageable. One subtitle option: English SDH.

The Film Desk’s bonus material mostly consists of interviews and discussions with director Michael Roemer at different points in the afterlife, from its original belated world distribution in 1990 to the film’s most recent theatrical re-release in 2023.

• Making the Movie: Michael Roemer & Robert M. Young In Conversation (HD, 33:34) - Recorded for the 2005 DVD, this discussion between collaborators Roemer and Young thoroughly covers their early working relationship. This includes some stories about their debut feature, Nothing But a Man, and lots of interesting stories about the making of this film. It culminates in their discussion of the film’s failure to connect in 1970 and becoming a “new” release in 1989. An optional English subtitle track is provided.
• 2023 Q&A with Michael Roemer and Azazel Jacobs (HD, 27:16) - A post-screening discussion from the film’s most recent repertory run, captured in New York. Roemer is kind of dumbstruck at the film’s positive reception, but he still offers plenty of good production tidbits. One drawback: the discussion has burned-in subtitles that are dotted with many errors, some of them pretty bizarre. (Right off the bat, Michael Roemer’s name is transcribed as “Michael Moore.”)
• Audio interview (1:13:17) - Recorded at the Cannes Film Festival in 1990. Critic Nicolas Saada interviews Roemer about the film and his career on the occasion of the film’s belated acceptance to the Cannes festival.
• Trailer (HD, 1:53) - A newly created promo for The Film Desk’s 2023 theatrical re-release.

The Plot Against Harry sat on a shelf for nearly two decades because distributors didn't think it was funny. As tastes continue to change, the film seems perfectly suited to the current era where character-driven TV dramedies like The Bear thrive. I smiled more than I laughed at The Plot Against Harry but, from the first frame, I was on board with the characters and their world. Martin Priest is incredibly natural and watchable as the put-upon Harry who can't seem to get things to go his way. The Film Desk's restoration is first rate and their packaging (even without the limited edition slipcover) is outstanding. Highly Recommended.