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Valley of the Dolls on blu ray? (1 Viewer)

Vahan_Nisanain

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That film is, like, almost never on Home Video.

First release: Magnetic Video Corp. VHS/Betamax (1977)
Second release: Fox Video VHS/Laserdisc (Early 1990s)
Third release: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Early 2000s)
 

Matt Hough

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Truly one of my most enjoyable guilty pleasures.

And I'll bet I read the book (which covers a greater time span and goes much deeper into the lives of all the main ladies) ten times.
 

Johnny Angell

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Matt Hough said:
Truly one of my most enjoyable guilty pleasures. And I'll bet I read the book (which covers a greater time span and goes much deeper into the lives of all the main ladies) ten times.
Yes, this movie is sooooo bad! I will watch it just to wallow in the mud. Patty Duke gives one of the greatest stinkeroo performances of all time. :)
 

Charles Smith

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Matt Hough said:
Truly one of my most enjoyable guilty pleasures.

And I'll bet I read the book (which covers a greater time span and goes much deeper into the lives of all the main ladies) ten times.
Yes, the novel is wonderful and fills in a lot that the film didn't include. I would never have read it if someone I thoroughly trust in these matters hadn't assured me I absolutely should, and I loved it. It's due for a re-read.
 

Will Krupp

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Everett Stallings said:
Also on Comcast.
Everett Stallings said:
Also on Comcast.
You know, it's funny. I love Comcast but the functionality controls and the overall picture quality of netflix (less compression perhaps?) makes the experience so much more enjoyable than watching things on-demand through the cable box.

ps...I have no idea why I quoted Everett TWICE but I tried to re-do it three times and it happened each time so I think there's a glitch
 

Vic Pardo

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In Lee Grant's new memoir, "I Said Yes to Everything," she devotes a short chapter to VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, in which she played a supporting role. She has high praise for Sharon Tate and two amusing anecdotes about the director, Mark Robson. The second anecdote has a great punchline: "It's called acting."
 

Will Krupp

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Lord Dalek said:
Beyond is not junk. That movie is high art thank you very much.
Yet I'll take the earnest, not-in-on-the-joke original over the self aware, hip parody any day. :P

Another man's poison and all that
 

Rick Thompson

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If not with Valley, why not in a Russ Meyer box set? Just think: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Eve and the Handyman, Wild Gals of the Naked West, Supervixens, Mondo Topless and Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens!

The only question: Do we do that before or after the Ed Wood box set?
 

Brian McP

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I have high praise for Sharon Tate and always will -- she was the ultimate babe to me, even from an early age, and in this movie, she is at her best....but I only watch her scenes as I can't take the rest of the movie ('junkathon' -- a perfect summation, much prefer her in "The Wrecking Crew" and "12+1")

For fans of Sharon, her sister Debra recently published a photo-biography "Sharon Tate - Recollection" with a foreword by Roman Polanski. The reason I mention it here is that it contains many unpublished publicity portraits of Sharon from "Valley of the Dolls" and they are amazing, including the front cover photo. I bought a copy of the book for one of my old girlfriends (we had our own 'Sharon mutual appreciation society') and when she saw the front cover picture, she nearly fainted.

Here's a link to the book on Amazon -- http://www.amazon.com/Sharon-Tate-Recollection-Debra/dp/076245234X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408604007&sr=8-1&keywords=Sharon+Tate

The movie does have a great John Williams score, an adaptation of themes by Andre and Dory Previn, and he received his first Academy Award nomination for this movie -- he also arranged the theme song that became a hit for Dionne Warwick.

And it is a movie of its time -- half 50s Fox musical, half Hollywood potboiler with pills, sex and scenery chewing. It would be quite a sight and sound experience on bluray if they give it the full treatment. It was one of the biggest hits of 1968 and at one stage was rereleased as a double bill with "Planet of the Apes" -- not a bad double if one sits through both pictures on the same night, and far more fitting than "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", the X-rated parody of the original movie, but marketed as a sequel when both movies went back to theatres as a double bill in 1971 ("Beyond", a minor masterpiece to me -- my UK Russ Meyer dvd box set will keep me going for years to come -- I see more breasts in that set than I would have in 10,000 years)
 

classicmovieguy

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Put me down as somebody who simply cannot fathom "Beyond...". The original film is like Shakespeare in comparison. I know Ebert wrote the script with an eye for comedy, but the entire thing is an absolutely hideous affair. The climactic scene is too close to home when one considers Ms Tate's own sudden, terrifying end, and I'll never ever be able to stomach that.
 

Rick Thompson

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Brian McP said:
The movie does have a great John Williams score, an adaptation of themes by Andre and Dory Previn, and he received his first Academy Award nomination for this movie -- he also arranged the theme song that became a hit for Dionne Warwick.
Williams arranged the version in the film, which is not the same as the hit version on Scepter Records (which would not allow her to appear on the soundtrack album on 20th Century-Fox Records). The hit version, which reached #2 on the charts (kept out of #1 by Paul Mauriat's "Love Is Blue") was arranged by Pat Williams and produced by Burt Bacharach. Because Warwick could not be on the ST album (which I bought and was surprised to find no Warwick), it was sung there by Dory Previn.
 

Matt Hough

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"I'll Plant My Own Tree" on the soundtrack album is also not the one in the film. On the LP, it's sung by Eileen Wilson; in the film, by Margaret Whiting.
 

Thomas T

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Matt Hough said:
"I'll Plant My Own Tree" on the soundtrack album is also not the one in the film. On the LP, it's sung by Eileen Wilson; in the film, by Margaret Whiting.
Susan Hayward can sing (she used her own voice in I'll Cry Tomorrow and did Mame on stage) but she was hired at a moment's notice after Judy Garland bailed and didn't have time to brush up with voice lessons so she was dubbed on the I'll Plant My Own Tree number. Garland did record the song (but didn't film it as far as I know) so it would be nice if it were included as an "extra" on the blu.
 

MatthewA

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Thomas T said:
Susan Hayward can sing (she used her own voice in I'll Cry Tomorrow and did Mame on stage) but she was hired at a moment's notice after Judy Garland bailed and didn't have time to brush up with voice lessons so she was dubbed on the I'll Plant My Own Tree number. Garland did record the song (but didn't film it as far as I know) so it would be nice if it were included as an "extra" on the blu.
Why wait for the Blu-ray? Maybe this will tide you over.
 

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