Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Amazon.co.uk Review
You either love Russ Meyer’s garishly sexist movies about bodacious babes and horny men or you find them utterly disgusting. The response to his work is that clear-cut. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, which features a screenplay by critic Roger Ebert, barely qualifies as a sequel to the film based on Jacqueline Susann’s trashy bestseller. Rather, it’s a broad, trashy remake on its own terms about what happens to a trio of female rock musicians when they leave the Midwest and head for Hollywood. Sex, drugs, murder–the only thing it doesn’t have is cannibalism, the gold standard when it comes to trashy entertainment. –Marshall FineEND
This was the only Russ Meyer movie that had a budget of any sort but for all the money and studio interference it’s still a typical Meyer work. The movie even when trying to be normal still has that odd alternative way of looking at things that’s soo Meyer, an example being the emotional scene were the main male character dramatically leaps from the scaffolding above a stage were his girlfriends band is playing, the falling body is accompanied by the sound of a plane diving.
The film is so dated and that’s part of it’s charm, It’s definitely a work of it’s time and makes it all the odder for it, highly recommended for fans of the sixties, the odd and the bizarre.
Rating: 4 / 5
Russ Meyer attempts mainstream but his hearts not really in it and thank God for it. Like all glitzy oddities, this film has become a kitsch classic which is a shame because its much better than that. Like all Russ Meyer, it doesnt really fit in anywhere and probably doesnt stand up to much scrutiny, so why bother? Just enjoy the fact that he was commissioned to produce a film by a major studio and came up with this. Wonderful songs, beautiful women ( many of whom never appeared in anything else), glorious overacting, bizarre twists and iconic dialogue. ‘Its my happening and I’m freaking out!’ indeed. Very enjoyable.
Rating: 4 / 5
If you have never seen a Russ Meyer movie then ‘Beyond the valley of the dolls’ will probably be one of the most baffling pieces of modern cinema ever witnessed. Everything about this film is flawed, from the screenplay to the direction, and yet it has resulted in one of the most entertaining slices of cult cinema anywhere.
The story revolves around a girl band who travel to the West coast of America to seek fame and to meet up with a rich aunt. There follows over an hour of parties, drug and alcohol abuse, orgies, and legendary narcissism. They find a new manager, Ronnie ‘Zeeman’ Barzell, who takes them to the top then gradually leads them astray.
Something has to give, and the result is a cataclysmic night of insanity and murder. One of the characters even appears to turn into a woman before our eyes, believing himself to be Superwoman! He then seizes a sword and, with a cry of “the vile blade goes snicker-snack” lobs off a friends’ head.
The reason this film works is because everything is taken to the extreme. The dialogue would be a nonsense if it wasn’t so elaborately contrived. The camera never seems to establish a shot, and instead creates random montage.
This is all done deliberately to convey a cock-eyed view of the world, and it does this perfectly. The fantastic colour, the wild parties, all this goes to show up the alternate reality where these drug fuelled individuals reside. Undoubtedly some people will dismiss this as a mess, but others will consider it an important work purely for its originality. There really is nothing else like it.
Rating: 3 / 5
If you love cheesy, sleazy cult films with great music, fantastic fashions and acting that is so bad that its good – then this is for you. This is one of my all-time favourite films and a fantastic example of all of the above.
However, my reasons for writing this review is that if this is the same version i bought, which it looks like it is, its not in widescreen, and thefore is slighly disappointing. If like me you have only seen this film in widescreen, as it is sometimes shown on late night on TV, you will be frustrated by the clipping of this video. Russ Meyer is a director who uses the full scope of widescreen with action and reaction often happening to either side of the centre. Ive now gone back to watching my bootleg TV copy instead!
Mind you, if this is your only means of getting your hands on a copy of the film it is worth it, but i suggest a campaign to bring the widescreen version out is much needed.
Rating: 4 / 5