MovieChat Forums > Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) Discussion > 'Valley of the dolls' vs. 'Beyond the va...

'Valley of the dolls' vs. 'Beyond the valley...'

posted 13 years ago by spanking_machine
10 replies | jump to latest

I'm sure somebody already did a thread like this. but I mean, who cares.

I saw the original Valley of the dolls movie a while back. and I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first, except it was a bit boring

then yesterday I saw 'Beyond the valley of the dolls' for the first time in my life & I loved it.

so I just had to watch it again. and then I saw the first 'Valley of the dolls' movie again.

anyway. I wanna know which one you prefer. and why

I obviously like Beyond the Valley better. but I don't hate Valley -to differentiate them I'll just use the word 'Valley' to refer to the first movie (the one based on Susann's novel) and 'Beyond' whenever I talk about the Russ Meyer flick.

Ok.

So, I like Beyond better cos. ok. where do I start

Valley is a potentially good film. it has a good story. the book was a best-seller or something. but it just didn't work w/ that script.

are you serious? it was just like a soap opera. only that worse. and then that conventional cinematography. flat like neely's tits.

oh, neely. she's the only good thing about the film, y'know.
of course you know.

but i mean, that's it. the only real good reason to watch Valley is Patty Duke. she like saved then movie from being the most forgettable thing in film history after that dude stuart townsend or whatevs.

Sparkle Neely, Sparkle! and all that jazz. but that is it.
and it wouldn't be nearly as bad IF the movie didn't beg to be taken seriously. what with that script and all.

and that is why Beyond is better. it's camp. and while Valley is dead serious in its drugs-are-bad-kids message -did anyone else think of educational videos (the kind shown in schools) while watching this?- Beyond's fun lies in its tongue-in-cheek essence. and ultimately bc of this it's more entertaining.

and all that thanks to R. Meyer. I mean

[–] gnome-5 13 years ago

I didn't like Valley at all. I love Beyond. Mainly because it has a weird sense of humor, and moves very fast. The songs are a lot of fun, too.

[–] President_Bosch 13 years ago

I'm not terribly crazy for either film, but I think Beyond is better. A true camp classic and there were a lot of things to poke fun at.

Valley is overrated even as a camp classic. People make it out to be one of those 'so-bad-it's-good' films, but I just don't see that. The movie was straight up boring.

[–] Child_OfThe_Moon 12 years ago

I agree with all that's been said. VOD isn't campy, it's more soap opera-esque, and tries to cover too much ground in being realistic, reflective, and layered, which is why it comes off as dull to me. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls doesn't strive for realism but it's still more convincing and its characters more sympathetic, because they're down to earth. And of course, it's way more fun.

[–] illbeyourmirror 12 years ago

Well, they are exactly the same movie except VotD isn't supposed to be a joke.

[–] toycoon-too 12 years ago

I have tried to watch "Valley of the Dolls" on many occasions and usually end up falling asleep halfway through. I can watch "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" over and over and still never get enough of that outrageous, eye candy time capsule of 1970's decadence.

"Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" wins hands down!

"The most important thing is being sincere, even if you have to fake it." - Cesar Romero

[–] wallacesawyer 11 years ago

I prefer BEYOND. I've seen both recently, but BEYOND is more entertaining. I'm not sure about VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Too old fashioned, maybe still a little too glamorous, etc.

http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] LiteraryLane 9 years ago

Well, these two films are entirely different, and aren't really connected. What was intended to be a squeal to Valley of the Dolls became something completely different.

Valley of the Dolls was intended to be deep and dramatic, though it's very laughable. Instead it comes off over the top and rather soap-ish. It's really a guilty pleasure of mine. Patty Duke's performance is actually considered the worst one, but I enjoy all three women just the same. The songs were not very impressive besides the theme, which is sung by Dionne Warwick. They did their best to mimic the adult contemporary records of the time. Not even Judy Garland could save a song like "I'll Plant My Own Tree" though her rendition is fun to listen to. I always wondered how the film would have turned out had they kept her. The unusual fashions were just as overdone as everything else, but fun anyway. I love the hairpieces as well. Honestly, this is the one I prefer. Though poorly received, it is a '60's classic.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls wasn't intended to be taken seriously. It is more or less a satire of the original film and Hollywood altogether. The script was written by Roger Ebert. Some people don't like the editing, but Russ Meyer gave all of his films the same treatment. The party scene is a good example. The music is pretty entertaining. "Once I Had Love" is my favorite song from the soundtrack album. It is a fun movie.

"It is rare for people to be asked the question which puts them squarely in front of themselves."