10 Movies That Were Nearly Lost Completely

10. An American Hippie In Israel

An American Hippie In Israel, also known as Ha-Trempist or The Hitchhiker, is a 1972 counter-culture exploitation film written and directed by Israelite filmmaker Amos Sefer. Because it was an independent movie, and one that Israel film critics called ‘The worst film ever made’, Sefer failed to find a distributor willing to take on such a bizarre movie after its first theatrical release.

The film could have been lost forever until rumors of its existence reached the ears of Bob Murawski and Sage Stallone - founders of the cult distribution company Grindhouse Releasing. In 2012 they contacted Sefer who still had a complete print of it in his possession. Once it was in the hands of Grindhouse Releasing, Murawski cut together a trailer that was released on YouTube, and it was viewed by a vast number of hungry Grindhouse fans wanting to get their hands on this strange exploitation movie.

After its new release in 2012, the film became incredibly popular, especially on the Tel Aviv midnight movie circuit. It is screened monthly to this very day, and fans interact with the movie in ways reminiscent of those of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.