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The Angel was a Devil

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The Angel was a Devil
Directed byMoshe Guez
Written byMoshe Guez
Produced byMoshe Guez
Starring
  • Ophelia Shtruhl
  • Moshe Guez
  • Miri Ben David
  • Nissim Dadon
Edited byMoshe Guez
Music byMoni Amarilio
Moshe Guez

The Angel Was a Devil is a low-budget horror film directed by Moshe Guez.[1][2] It is the first horror film that was ever produced in Israel.[3] It was shot in 1971 and released in 1976. The film stars Ophelia Shtruhl[4] (who is famous from her role in "Lemon Popsicle"), Guez himself, Miri Ben David, Nissim Dadon (Franco), Eli Sandler, Hina Rosovska and residents of Ramat Amidar neighborhood in Ramat Gan, where Guez lived. The film was notoriously labelled "the worst Israeli film of all time".[5][6][7]

Plot

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Two female students at Bar Ilan University, Edith and Miri (played by Shtruhl and Ben David), find themselves stalked by a mysterious stranger. Edith decides to run away from the city, but the plan goes awry and she finds herself in the isolated farm of an eccentric farmer. In the background, a serial killer on the loose is stirring up the country.

Cast

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  • Miri Ben-David as Miri
  • Ophelia Shtruhl as Edith
  • Nissim Dadon as Franko
  • Eli Sandler as Eli
  • Moshe Guez as Tzadok

Reception

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When the film was first released, it generated negative reviews and was taken down from the screens after a very short period of time.[5]

However, in the upcoming years the film attracted a cult following. Since the director, Guez, left Israel in the 1980s, for many years the film has been considered "lost", and could only be viewed on rare occasions.

Legacy

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In 1995, the local Tel Aviv newspaper Ha'ir labelled the film as "the worst Israeli film ever", and Guez as the "Israeli Ed Wood".[8] The magazine then held a festive screening of the film at Tel Aviv Cinematheque.

In 2011, filmmaker Avida Livny directed a documentary called "Looking for Moshe Guez".

In 2016, film scholar Ido Rosen exposed the film's new "Director's cut" in special screenings in the Israeli cinematheques.[9][10][11] The new version included a digital restoration of the original images and sounds, re-editing, and removal of animated scenes.

Further reading

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  • Ido Rosen. "Silence of the Sabras: How and Why Did the Israeli Cinema Stop Being Afraid of Horror Films." Pas Yetsira 6 (2014): 37–54.
  • April Snellings. "Israel's First Horror Film Resurfaces In New Director's Cut." Rue Morgue 167, June 2016.
  • Ido Rosen. "National Fears in Israeli Horror Films." Jewish Film & New Media 8.1 (2020): 77–103.

References

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  1. ^ Rosen, Ido (2020). "National Fears in Israeli Horror Films". Jewish Film & New Media. 8 (1): 77–103. doi:10.13110/jewifilmnewmedi.8.1.0077. ISSN 2169-0332.
  2. ^ "10 סרטי אימה ישראלים שאתם צריכים להכיר". mako. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  3. ^ Rosen, Ido (2014). "Silence of the Sabras: How and Why Did the Israeli Cinema Stop Being Afraid of Horror Films". Pas Yetsira. 6: 37–54.
  4. ^ "פותחת פה לשטן: לאן נעלמה אופליה שטראל, הלא היא "סטלה המגמרת"?". www.maariv.co.il (in Hebrew). 19 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b רוזן, עידו (23 March 2016). "סיפורו של הסרט הישראלי הגרוע ביותר". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  6. ^ "עיניים גדולות 51: הסרט לו חיכינו ארבעים שנים, האתר לו חיכינו כל החיים והמהפכה העתידית של נטפליקס – וואלה! תרבות". וואלה! (in Hebrew). 23 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  7. ^ "האלווין כחול לבן: מצעד סרטי האימה הישראליים הטובים ביותר". israelhayom. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  8. ^ "הסיפור האמיתי מאחורי הסרט הישראלי הגרוע אי פעם". Seret.co.il | אתר סרט (in Hebrew). Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  9. ^ "פרויקט חייו של עידו רוזן: איפה המלאכים של רמת עמידר?". 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  10. ^ הגיב, Carmely Liviu (21 March 2016). "״המלאך היה שטן״: סקירה לקראת הקרנת גרסת הבמאי (ותשובה לשאלה ״לאן נעלם משה גז?״)". סריטה. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  11. ^ "קולנוע – המלאך היה שטן". www.habama.co.il. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
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