Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

1970 Russ Meyer movie

Rating: not rated

Plot: The Kelly Affair, an all-gal rock 'n' roll trio, travel to California with the hope of making it big.

I don't know if I'm just missing too much context or what, but I just didn't get this. The flash-flash quick editing style and frequent nudity initially intrigued me, and I liked a montage with some voice-over narration that seemed like a commercial for Hollywood. But really quickly, I just got bored and then irritated and then bored again. Eventually, I stopped playing close attention, my mind wandering enough that I don't really feel comfortable giving this a rating.

Who's seen this? Do I need to give it some time and try to watch it again? Roger Ebert, I know you wrote the screenplay for this, so if there's something I need to know before giving this another shot, let me know. Do you even read this blog, Roger? I really dug Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, so I feel like I should like this Russ Meyer major studio release, too.

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

1965 sexploitation masterpiece

Rating: 16/20

Plot: Three mean go-go dancers, while out in the desert driving their hot rods really fast, kill! kill! a guy and kidnap his girlfriend. At a gas station, they hear about a crippled old man who lives with his two sons and who has a large amount of money hidden somewhere on his expansive desert property. They decide to go find it.

Russ Meyer was the "King of the Nudies," but this one has no nudity at all, unless you consider glimpses of naked backs to be "nudity". However, almost every single shot in the film is bursting with sexual fervor. There's enough oppressive udder activity in this, mounds not only threatening the strength of their wardrobes but threatening to break out of the television screen and smother the dog. There's also not anything overtly violent. Sure, characters kill! kill! and there's a Hamlet-esque denouement, but the more horrifying parts of the violence in this is psychological or suggested violence. Is the story, acting, and dialogue a little junky? Absolutely. The dialogue, at times, seems like it's being read phonetically by two of the three pussycats, and the characters' motivations at times don't make much sense. But this is some really artistic trash! I love the cinematography. This is the type of movie where you could pause the movie almost randomly and find yourself something poster-worthy. Really iconic imagery. The weird acting fits, and I actually did like Stuart Lancaster as the old man. Great stuff.

Apparently, there's a remake of this one in development. Why? How can Tura Satana be replaced?