Martin Priest Movies
- 1993
In the final episode of Law & Order's fourth season, a highly independent hearing-impaired woman is found murdered. Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Logan (Chris Noth) turn their sights on the dead woman's two most recent sweethearts -- one of whom was her mentor at the institute where she studied to overcome her handicap. This episode represents the last regular series appearances of Richard Brooks as Assistant D.A. Robinette and Dann Florek as Captain Don Cragen, though both actors would reprise their roles in subsequent guest appearances, while Florek would again play Cragen on the spin-off series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
An interracial romance sparks social upheaval in this indie drama from first-time writer/director Anthony Drazan. Jewish high school student Zack Glass (Michael Rapaport) lives with his widowed, womanizing father (Ray Sharkey) in one of the nicer areas of Detroit. His pop and grandfather own a pair of vintage record stores full of everything from swing and jazz to soul and disco; Zack carries on the vinyl-centric family tradition by selling hip-hop mix tapes out of his locker and mixing fiddles and Puccini into his DJ sets at local parties. One day at school, beautiful New Jersey transfer student Nikki (N'Bushe Wright) witnesses Zack's girlfriend unceremoniously dumping him; when it turns out that Zack's best friend, Dee Wimms (DeShonn Castle), is Nikki's cousin, the stage is set for romance -- the first interracial pairing for each teen. Dee is happy to play matchmaker, but members of the Wimms clan aren't as pleased with the romance. Nikki's mother, Marlene (Candy Ann Brown), asks Zack point-blank if he's curious about black women -- or just slumming it. Such mild disapproval is nothing compared to the rage felt by Nut (Ron Johnson), a young troublemaker who wants to romance Nikki himself. When Nikki overhears Zack making a racially insensitive comment about her to his pals at a party, she questions the viability of their relationship; the next day, she finds herself making time with Nut, who displays an unexpected tender streak. When Zack shows up at the local skating rink to talk to Nikki and sees Nut pestering her, things spiral out of control. Soon, the lines are drawn in a community-wide debate about interracial dating and urban violence. Zebrahead earned a Filmmaker's Trophy for Drazan at Sundance in 1992 and launched the successful careers of Rapaport and Wright. Indie fans will notice Kevin Corrigan in an elliptical subplot involving the industrial disintegration of the Motor City. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
- Starring:
- N'Bushe Wright, Paul Butler, (more)
Filmed independently by Michael Roemer in 1969, The Plot Against Harry didn't earn a mainstream release until 1989. What was contemporary in 1969 became a period piece by the time it saw the light of day, but this anachronistic quality lent a great deal of charm to the proceedings. Harry Plotnick (Martin Priest) is a once-notorious criminal whose life becomes a series of comic disasters once he's released from prison. His family members either refuse to acknowledge his existence or think the very worst of him, and his health rapidly deteriorates. Meanwhile, Harry's brother Max (Henry Nemo), beset with tax problems, sets fire to his business. Naturally, poor Harry is held responsible. Just when he has an opportunity to start life anew, Harry suffers a heart attack on a TV marathon. Certain that he's about to die, Harry confesses to all his past transgressions-and ends up behind bars once more. In lesser hands, The Plot Against Harry might have been clumsy or, even worse, maudlin. But with Michael Roemer at the helm, the laughs never stop-even though we sometimes feel guilty at deriving pleasure from poor old Harry's misery. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Martin Priest, Ben Lang, (more)
A landmark independent film, Nothing but a Man is the first dramatic story featuring a largely black cast created for an integrated audience (the work of black filmmakers such as Oscar Micheaux was intended for audiences who patronized black-only theaters). White filmmakers Michael Roemer and Robert M. Young traveled through the South in 1962 in search of ideas for a fiction feature set during the growing turbulence of the civil rights era. Their story, based in Alabama but shot in southern New Jersey, is only tangentially related to the movement toward equality. Duff, an itinerant black railroad laborer (Ivan Dixon), romances and marries Josie, a small-town preacher's daughter (Abbey Lincoln). Duff insists on being treated with respect, but his stance is personal rather than political. After he settles down in the town with Josie, he comes up against white bosses who want to make sure he knows his place and black men such as Josie's father who don't want to rock the boat for fear of losing what little advantage they have. Duff's relationship with his own father (Julius Harris), a broken-down drunk living in Birmingham, teaches him valuable lessons about dignity and self-worth. The film was lauded at both the New York and Venice festivals but received limited release in theaters specializing in foreign and independent film. However, word of mouth in the black community (where Nothing but a Man was for years a staple on the 16 mm rental market, in the days before VCRs) and continued attention by film historians have ensured the status of Nothing but a Man as a pioneering and enduring work. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, (more)
