The biggest bit of trivia about 'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls' isn't that it was director Russ Meyer's first shot at establishing himself as a legitimate studio director, but the fact that the screenplay was penned by famed movie critic Roger Ebert. This was just a few years after Ebert had started his film writing duties at The Chicago Sun-Times, and long before his Pulitzer Prize (1975) or his 'Sneak Previews' pairing with fellow Chicagoan Gene Siskel (also in 1975). Still, Ebert was an established and noted writer, and perhaps the best answer to why he would risk his reputation to team up with 'King of the Nudies' Meyer to make a movie is given by one of his longtime friends in the Ebert documentary Life Itself. When asked why Roger would write the screenplay for a movie like this, the friend gives a one-word reply: "Boobs".
The on-screen text at the very opening of the movie informs viewers that this film is not a sequel to the 1967 film Valley of the Dolls, although one will need to watch the bonus materials or listen to Roger Ebert's commentary track to learn why. Apparently, 20th Century Fox had the rights to make a movie using the 'Beyond' title, but a couple of story ideas from 'Valley of the Dolls' writer Jacqueline Susann had been rejected by the studio. Still, hoping to make a quick buck off the original picture's success (and you probably thought only modern-day Hollywood did that...it's been happening for years, my friends), the studio went after Meyer – who had a reputation as someone who could make a movie on a dirt-cheap budget and turn a healthy profit. Meyer wanted to parody the first film, however, and it was he who went after Ebert – thinking only a writer outside of the Hollywood establishment would be able to write the kind of story he was hoping to film.
Trying to describe the movie for those of you who have never seen the film is a daunting task, but I'll provide the basics: primarily, it's about an up and coming all-girl band (originally called 'The Kelly Affair' but later dubbed 'The Carrie Nations') who make their way to Hollywood and get involved in all the trappings of fame: sex, drugs, and, eventually, violence. The band is made up of three young women: Kelly MacNamera (Dolly Read), Casey Anderson (Cynthia Myers), and Pet Danforth (Marcia McBroom), along with Kelly's boyfriend Harris (David Gurian), who manages the band – although, honestly, he seems to just be responsible for driving their van, smiling approvingly when they perform, and – of course – making out with Kelly.
When this fabulous foursome finally makes it out to Los Angeles, they meet up with music producer Ronnie "Z-Man" Barzell (John LaZar), who is far and away the wildest, off-kilter character in a movie jam-packed with wild, off-kilter characters. Each of the band members goes off and finds themselves in relationships with new people in Hollywood, none of which ends well. Without giving too much away about the movie's violent climax (a hint of which we see in the movie's opening credits, although the primary villain isn't revealed until the conclusion), I will say that for a movie that's supposed to be a satirical send-up of the original film, 'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls' really dives into the horror genre during its final minutes – although some of those scenes are so goofy and over-the-top, it's hard not to laugh at them as well...which is most-likely what Meyer and Ebert intended.
Needless to say, there are a lot of female chests exposed in Meyer's film, although the movie never really felt exploitative to me...it's just too darn goofy to be considered that. Despite the 'X' rating it got in 1970 (and it's still slapped with an NC-17 here), it's pretty tame and probably should be rated 'R', although I'm guessing keeping the X/NC-17 assignment results in more and more people eventually checking out the movie to see what all the fuss is about.
This is one of those rare releases where the bonus materials and the information about the background and history of the movie are actually more of a reason to pick up this Blu-ray than the film itself. I did find the movie watchable, but not in a coherent way. It's too jumbled to be considered a good movie, but the direction by Meyer and some of the dialogue by Ebert is so frenetic, I can't say the movie doesn't have any value as entertainment, either. This is not something I'm likely to watch repeatedly, but I can see myself pulling it off the shelf every few years for a viewing. It's a wild trip, man.
The Blu-Ray: Vital Disc Stats
'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls' gets groovy on Blu-ray in this Criterion Collection release. The 50GB disc comes housed inside a clear Scanavo keepcase, along with a cool 32-page booklet featuring essays by rogerebert.com writer Glenn Kenny and TV screenwriter Stan Berkowitz. There are no front-loaded trailers or advertisements on the Blu-ray, whose menu design follows the standard Criterion layout – with selections vertically down the left side of the screen, which open up toward the right when selected to show more information/options. A montage of footage from the movie takes up the remainder of the screen.
The Blu-ray in this release is Region A locked.
'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls' was shot on 35mm film and the transfer here is from a 35mm interpositive taken from the original camera negative. The movie is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
The most impressive thing about the transfer is how clean it looks. Nary a hint of dirt, debris, or defects appear on the image. In fact, the only real issue is that some establishing shots (most likely stock footage) appear slightly out of focus, but that's almost certainly an issue with the original print. As those who have seen the movie before already know, the color palette of 'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls' is expansive – capturing all the various bright tones and shades of the late 60s/early 70s (the movie was released in 1970). Thankfully, none of it is oversaturated here, and the transfer has a natural, film-like look to it. Grain is evident, although nicely pushed to the background of most shots. Black levels are solid, although not quite inky deep. There's a slight softness to the look of the movie, but detail is overall pretty impressive for a film of this age. My guess is fans of the movie should be quite pleased with what they are given here.
The only track here is a linear PCM 1.0 mono track that sounds pretty good (as mono tracks go) and is free from any popping and hissing, although it's not quite as crisp as a I would hope, particularly when it comes to the spoken word. While I wouldn't go as far as to call the dialogue 'muddy', it doesn't have the distinctiveness one hopes to hear. Still, one won't have any problem making out the dialogue or understanding what is being said.
While the audio here certainly is a good rendition of how the film originally sounded in theaters (the track was remastered from the 35mm magnetic track), it would have been fun to hear how a stereo mix may have sounded – particularly since so much music is present in the film. Of course, that would have probably involved the kind of time and investment neither 20th Century Fox nor Criterion were willing to make for what is still ultimately a cult movie with a somewhat small following.
English subtitles are available.
This is one of those rare Blu-ray releases that is worth owning less for the movie itself, and more for the history behind the film conveyed in the bonus materials that are included on this disc. 'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls' will never be mistaken for a good film, but it's not difficult to see why it has become somewhat of a cult classic over the years. Recommended.
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