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  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • Dual Layer ( )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Stereo
  • Spanish: Dolby Digital Stereo
  • German: Dolby Digital Stereo
  • Italian: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
    Dutch, English - Hearing Impaired, Italian - Hearing Impaired, Swedish, German - Hearing Impaired, French - Hearing Impaired, Spanish - Hearing Impaired
  Extras

    Valley of the Dolls

    20th Century Fox/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 118 mins . M15+ . PAL

      Feature
    Contract

    When I was a kid, I used to think this was a horror film. You know, it sounded like Land of the Lost or something; Valley of the Dolls. And there would be this valley and these giant 20 foot dolls would chase people with their staring eyes and rosette smiles, emotionless and obscene. And so I was mostly right, actually. Except for the 20 foot high part.

    Our story herein is actually a portrayal of the dingier side of Hollywood excess and the politics behind stardom. It’s not a pretty tale, as told through the eyes of naïve innocent Anne Wells. Leaving her family home for the big city, Anne soon discovers that things are very different around here. Entering a job for an entertainment lawyer, she soon meets with famous people and the up and coming, forming a friendship with Neely O’Hara, a young understudy of a very famous actress. Neely’s talent is too much for the old hand and she is forcibly removed from her show, but soon Neely finds herself gaining notoriety for her singing voice and the fame and wealth that accompany it.

    "I’m not everyone! I don’t have to live by stinkin’ rules set down for ordinary people!"

    Enter ill-fated Sharon Tate as the ill-fated Jennifer North. Making films on the strength of her gorgeous body, she lives life tortured by her mean mother via the telephone. Forming a three-way friendship, these three young ladies endure the pitfalls of Hollywood in romance, drugs, alcohol and general excess. Anne becomes a model for a well respected cosmetics range, while Neely’s career, ever ascending, finally sees her bottom out in booze and pills before entering into a sanitarium. Jennifer, meanwhile, has a husband in hospital and so to stay in the game embarks upon a career in pornography to pay the bills.

    From here each story continues with multiple branching sub-plots until the final curtain of this all too real drama, but I don’t wish to give anything further away.

    Patty Duke in the role of Neely O’Hara is absolutely sensational. Singing her way through the film with her amazing voice, we can see why she was cast as Neely. However, in 1967 I’m sure there weren’t a lot of people endeared to her character as she climbs from polite understudy to snarling addict. As a reference point, 'dolls' serves a double meaning in this title. There is the obvious connection with three beautiful young women making their mark in Hollywood, but it is also slang for the pills that mark so many downfalls.

    Some truly outstanding performances make this a very interesting and accomplished film, with even a brief cameo from the author thrown in. It runs perhaps a little long at 118 minutes and would have been served well with 15 minutes removed, however it is still enthralling and honest and well worth the watching.

      Video
    Contract

    Although shot in 1967, this film is visually stunning. While having more than its fair share of film artefacts, there aren’t any major ones and nothing too prevalent. In fact, for a film that’s 36 years old and counting, it’s incredible it could look so good. There are some state of the art camera techniques throughout that keep the viewer interested if the plot drags a little as well, although the camera moves are sort of common today.

    Shadow detail is nicely etched and blacks are all true to life. The rest of the colour palette is nicely filled with no bleeding or crap and are pretty even throughout. The film itself is delivered in 2.35:1 without enhancement (for some reason) yet still manages to look fine. There’s even a little bit of 'Pop Art' animation included to liven things up a bit. This is a good looking film for its age and has been transferred beautifully.

      Audio
    Contract

    Unfortunately we must live with Dolby Digital stereo, but that’s okay. There aren’t any major calls for surround sound anyway, being mostly dialogue driven. The dialogue is all clearly understood and easy to follow and most importantly, clear. Music, too, comes across nicely and the authenticity of the 1967 feel is groovy, man. Patty Duke’s singing is pretty awesome actually and has made the leap to DVD successfully which is a huge bonus. As to sound effects and such, they have opened the Stock Cupboard a bit at times, but there isn’t anything too lame in here when they do. All up the sound has been handled in a manner befitting the film.

      Extras
    Contract

    Consider this section Land of the Lost.

      Overall  
    Contract

    Whilst having its out-datedness and such, this remains a very involving film and a time capsule of the period in which it was filmed. An awesome array of costumes, dancing, singing, hairstyles, interior design and regular clothing fill every frame and this makes it watchable in itself. The story is an early foray into the excesses of the Hollywood lifestyle and has been well accomplished in that regard with realistic performances from all involved.

    It certainly has its measure of eye-rolling and wooden deliveries, but given the youth (and therefore possible inexperience) of most of the cast, this is quite suited to the story anyway. At any rate, the film is quite enjoyable and is 100 times better than the sordid attempt at cashing in on the name that goes on in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls which you can read about here.


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      And I quote...
    "The horrors of Hollywood are exposed here in this gorgeously authentic-looking film from 1967."
    - Jules Faber
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Nintaus DVD-N9901
    • TV:
          Sony 51cm
    • Receiver:
          Diamond
    • Speakers:
          Diamond
    • Surrounds:
          No Name
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard Optical
    • Video Cables:
          Standard Component RCA
      Recent Reviews:
    by Jules Faber

    Narrow Margin
    "Gene Hackman as an action star? It happened… "

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    "Taking a poke at too many demons makes this film a little stilted and not among his best works"

    A Zed and Two Noughts
    "Is it art or is it pornography? Who cares? Both are good."

    Blake's 7 - The Complete Series One
    "Performances are fine, but the flimsy sets, the crappy props and the undisguisable late 70s hairdos are just too much."

    Heavens Above
    "While not amongst some of Sellers’ more confident roles, this one is still up there amidst the more subtle of them…"

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