Hippie sighting in Israel

January 9, 2011 - 1:06 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Entertainment, General, Israeliness, Life, Movies, Pop Culture 

It looks like Israel finally has its own Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Evidently the young and hip have been descending on the Tel Aviv Cinemateque on Friday nights for midnight screenings of the burgeoning cult film An American Hippie in Israel.

Ben Hartman of The Jerusalem Post called the unknown 1972 film “surely one of the worst films ever made in Israel, or beyond” with “terrible dialogue, worse camera work and editing, heaps of gratuitous nudity and violence,” and best of all, an all-Israeli cast awkward mangling of the all- English completely nonsensical script. In short, it bears all the hallmarks of a classic cult movie – Hartman calls it “undeniably hilarious and enjoyable to watch.”

The movie centers around New York native Mike, the hippie (played by Asher Tzarfati), who, fresh from the killing fields of Vietnam, lands in Israel one sunny morning clad in a white rabbit fur vest, bellbottoms and a bowler hat. He links up with some Israeli flower children and they skipacross the city, eventually making their way to Eilat to build a utopia far away from the rat race. The love fest predictably soon turns into a bloodbath, and floating plastic sharks prevent the crew’s escape from the coral island south of Eilat.

The monthly midnight showings were engineered by Yaniv Eidelstein, a 32-year-old Tel Aviv resident and video store worker who hunted down the film after finding a trailer for it online in 2007. He located one of the actors, now age 77, and invited him to come to his home with a copy of the film and screen it for some friends.

“After that first showing at my house, people kept asking me about it, wanting to know when I’d show it again, some of them people I’d never met even,” Eidelstein told The Post. “A few months ago, Time Out Tel Aviv ran an article about the movie, and afterwards we went to the Cinematheque and convinced them to hold a midnight showing.”

Since then, the crowds have been increasing, and attendees have memorized the dialogue ala Rocky Horror. Eighteen-year-old Matan Portnoi said that one he saw the trailer online, he realized he had to see the entire movie.

He keeps coming back for “the dialogue, the bad acting, the plot – all of it, really.” Just like any good bad cult film should deliver. See for yourself.

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Nostalgia Sunday – Dizengoff 99

March 15, 2009 - 3:26 PM by · 3 Comments
Filed under: General, Israeliness, Movies, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture 

dizengoff99Thirty years ago, apparently, the film Dizengoff 99 hit Israeli movie theaters and apparently I was there. I distinctly remember going to see the movie but, beyond that, have very little recollection about what it was actually about. You would think this might indicate a forgettable film. But no. In fact, Dizengoff 99 has just been released on DVD, with additional material and interviews about what is being touted as an Israeli cult flick.

Hmmm… I do remember there was a menage a trois with Gali Atari, Anat Atzmon and my beloved Gidi Gov… and so does everyone else, I guess, because that’s what comes up when you Google it and seems to be what this alleged cult is all about. Well, you didn’t get many scenes like that in Israeli movies, back in those days, so it must have made an impression.

What is impressive is the cast and crew. Aside from Gov, who was making a transition from singer to singer-actor, and Atari, who subsequently made an about-face back to the safety of the recording studio, there is Atzmon, a legendary beauty and every Israeli man’s fantasy as the dream girl in Lemon Popsicle (a true Israeli cult film). Also worth noting: this was one of the first films produced by Arnon Milchan.

The director, Avi Nesher, has made some truly great Israeli films such as The Secrets, Turn Left at the End of the World, and another true Israeli cult film – Ha-Lahaka, (also: Sing Your Heart Out), about the life and times of an IDF entertainment troupe. Dizengoff 99 may not be his finest work, but it does serve to document Tel Aviv nightlife in the late 70s and the soundtrack features the era’s great: Yehudit Ravitz, Zvika Pick, Arik Sinai, David Broza, Danny Litani, Dori Ben-Zeev, Yitzhak Klepter, Ricki Gal, Yigal Bashan and of course, Gali Atari, fresh from her 1979 Eurovision “Hallelujah” win.

By the way, there really is a Dizengoff 99 — today it houses the Bauhaus Center.

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