Valley Of The Dolls / Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls [DVD] [1967]

Valley of the Dolls: What an abomination of a movie. Normally I hate reading reviews that say the book is so much better because everyone says it, but in this case it is sooooo true.
This movie was so confusing even after reading the book it still didn’t make sense, it bounced around like a jumping bean, turning what are decades in the book into minutes on screen without any sort of ‘2 years later’ or anything.
The character of Anne Wells is atrocious, nothing like the book, no mention of her naivety, or her disinterst in film/tv/modeling world, in fact she jumps at the chance to become the face of a beauty product. Her background in her hometown is not explained. So much is missed out, Anne’s potential husband Allan and his father Gino don’t appear in the movie at all. She dates office heart-throb Lyon Burke immediately, he leaves, then they are reunited all in the space of 45 minutes (it takes years in the book). Even Henry Bellamy and Helen Lawson, 2 major characters in the book, make very small appearances. Anne, Neely and Jennifer become immediate best friends without ever even being introduced to each other. I mean, it ridiculous, this film is a total mess. Jennifer’s suicide seems completely irrational and without proper explanation.
I could go on and on but it’s too much to state here. Even the dolls (drugs) that are a main feature of the book, make little appearances here!. And the ending…don’t get me started! Anne just decides to leave Lyon and go home in some weird scene which shows her being extremely happy for some reason (after one friend has gone to a mental home and the other has killed herself). A complete opposite of the book. Atrocious. Thank God for…..

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Not a sequel! Why these two films are put together is unknown, being that their similar title is the only thing that bonds them.
Thankfully this is not the cut version that appeared on VHS a few years back, so the final 20 minutes are here in their full gory glory.
Based around an all-girl rock group in the 60’s who find fame quickly and hurt the people around them as well as each other. Not as serious as it sounds, this is a tongue-in-cheek , totally over the top romp that has a great soundtrack, lots of nudity (A Russ Meyer trademark, of course) parties, drugs, alcohol, lesbianism, attempted suicides and a very violent ending. All done in the best possible taste. This is a great Meyer film, it’s completely insane from beginning to end and the crazy twist ending where ‘Z-man’ bursts into a room proclaiming “It is I, Superwoman!”, reveals he is a transsexual and then murders a bunch of the main characters is fantastic. Amazingly beautiful women in the form of Dolly Reed, Cynthia Myers and Phillys Davis make this a fun classic in my books. Check his other great movies like ‘Faster Pussycat Kill, Kill’ and ‘Supervixens!’

Overall this is a terrible DVD, lumping ‘Beyond’ with VotD. With zero extras (not even the mandatory trailers) only 2.0 stereo sound. Criminal!