Harry Plotnick, a minor leaguer in New York City’s mob circuit, finishes a stint in jail and is thrust back into the neighborhood where he once held authority. Since his imprisonment, his co-conspirators, family, and friends have deserted him, and his domain, once populated by fellow Jews, is now predominantly Black and Hispanic. The critic Richard Brody has called The Plot Against Harry a “classic of Jewish humor,” whose “existential absurdity is coated with calculatedly rancid shmaltz.” Starring Martin Priest as Harry, this hurtling, swooping comedy is like a turbulent flight: Harry’s attempts to land on his feet are met by a slew of unexpected, perhaps random but always hilarious events. Director Michael Roemer’s frenzied tale was shelved after its 1969 filming, thanks to charges of “unfunniness.” Twenty years later, The Plot Against Harry was released to critical and popular approval, establishing itself as a definitive picture of a bygone New York City. Film Forum debuts a new 35mm print and 4K restoration. —Jack Sullivan