#835: ROBSON, Mark: Valley Of The Dolls (1967)

ROBSON, Mark (United States)
Valley Of The Dolls [1967]
Spine #835
Blu-ray


Cutthroat careerism, wild sex, and fierce female protagonists are all on offer in this adaptation of Jacqueline Susann's sensational and wildly popular novel. Patty Duke, Barbara Parkins, and Sharon Tate star as three friends attempting to navigate the glamorous, pressurized world of big-time show business — the "valley" is not a place but a narcotized state of mind, and the "dolls" are the pills that rouse them in the mornng and knock them out at night. Blending old-fashioned gloss with Madison Avenue grooviness, director Mark Robson's slick look at the early days of sexual liberation and an entertainment industry coming apart was a giant box-office hit, and has become an unforgettably campy time capsule of the 1960s.

123 minutes
Color
3.0 Surround
2:40:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2016
Director/Writers


Based on the novel by Jacqueline Susann.
Screenplay by Helen Deutsch and Dorothy Kingsley.
Mark Robson was 54 when he directed Valley of the Dolls.

Other Robson films in the Collection:

#1236: The Seventh Victim (1943)

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Thirty-page booklet featuring an essay by film critic Glenn Kenny.

Commentary

From 2006 featuring actor Parkins and journalist Ted Casablanca.

Interviews

With writer Amy Fine Collins about author Susann and the costumes in the film.

Video essay

By critic Kim Morgan.

Footage

From Sparkle Patty Sparkle!, a 2009 gala tribute to actor Duke at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco.

A World Premiere Voyage

And Jacqueline Susann and “Valley of the Dolls,” two promotional films from 1967.

Episode

Of the television program Hollywood Backstories from 2001 on the film.

Screen tests

Trailers

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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