Beyond the Valley of the Dolls: Cast and Crew Q&A (2016) User Reviews

Better Than the Feature Itself

[Michael_Elliott · 19 December 2016]

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls: Cast and Crew Q&A (2016)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

This Q&A was hosted by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association in 1990 so obviously watching it today is quite great since so many of the people involved are no longer with us. Russ Meyer, Roger Ebert, Edy Williams, Michael Blodgett, John LaZar, David Gurian, Dolly Reed and Charles Napier are all apart of this Q&A session, which has the group answering a wide range of questions. Some of the questions include how the group got involved in the production, what they were doing before the movie and what they did in later years. Obviously everyone knows what Meyer and Ebert went on to do but it's great getting to hear from the two of them as they look back on a time when they managed to break into a studio and release an exploitation movie. The rest of the cast members look back very happily at the film, which at the time this was shot was celebrating its 20th Anniversary. Fans of the film will certainly enjoy this fifty-minute special.

Excellent Q&A session on "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls"

[Woodyanders · 9/10 · 20 March 2017]

This lively and delightful Q&A session was filmed at a 1990 revival theater screening of Russ Meyer's immortal cult classic "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls." Everyone talks about Russ Meyer as a super honest, loyal, and caring guy who's always there when you need him most. Roger Ebert takes 20th Century Fox to task for their refusal at the time in admitting that they even made the film as well as their grossly erroneous claim that it was a box office flop when it was released. Former Playboy Playmate Dolly Read admits that she was broke when she was cast in in the movie, Edy Williams talks about rehearsing with Meyer on the studio sound stage early in the morning before the crew arrived on the set, David Gurian discusses how excited he was about nailing his audition, Charles Napier relates a hilariously cranky anecdote about working with Meyer under the most trying conditions on "Cherry, Harry & Raquel," Haji shares a nice story on how her small part in "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" led to her securing a sweet gig dancing at Circus Circus in Las Vegas, and Meyer remembers how happy he was having a crew of over fifty people helping him make the picture. What really makes this 50-minute item such an uplifting and endearing treat to watch is the obvious love and affection every involved with "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" has for each other. Essential viewing for fans of the film.