Dom Robinson reviews
Marilyn Monroe: The Diamond Collection
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Cert: Cat.no: 23874 DVD
Running time: 11 films' worth
Year: several
Pressing: 2002
Region(s): 2, 4, PAL
Chapters: too many to mention
Sound: Mono and Stereo
Languages: English
Subtitles: varies
Widescreen: varies
16:9-Enhanced: Yes
Macrovision: Yes
Disc Format: 11 * DVD 9
Price: £79.99
Extras: Breakdown supplied below per disc.
Written by:
Cast:
Marilyn Monroe, and interviews with Steve Allen, Cyd Charisse, Evelyn Moriarty,
plus archive footage of Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, George Cukor,
Joe DiMaggio, Dean Martin, Arthur Miller
Released exactly forty years after her death, Marilyn Monroe
Five years ago, another blonde woman also died at the age of just over 36
and she couldn't keep her name out of the papers either. Coincidence? Let
the conspiracy theorists worry about that one.
Marilyn Monroe starred in thirty films including her final flick, the
rather aptly-named Something's Got to Give , also featuring Cyd
Charisse and Dean Martin . The movie was never finished because
the main star of the lightweight comedy was fired after eight weeks on-set.
Two months later, her body was found.
The documentary DVD in this set, Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days , runs
for nearly two hours, is narrated by James Coburn and does exactly what
it says on the tin, as well as taking a look behind the scenes of her last
film and after nearly four decades of languishing in Fox's vaults, over 500
minutes of unedited footage were last year honed down into a 37-minute
montage and is presented in in letterboxed 2.35:1 widescreen. Anyone looking
to skip straight to this film should go to chapter 13 on the disc.
Also included in this 11-disc set are ten of Marilyn Monroe's best movies:
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Bus Stop (1956), How To Marry A Millionaire (1953),
There's No Business Like Showbusiness (1954), Don't Bother To Knock (1952), Let's Make Love (1960),
Monkey Business (1952), Niagara (1953), River Of No Return (1954) and The Seven Year Itch (1955) .
In terms of presentation, note that Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Don't Bother to Knock, Monkey Business, Niagra and
Marilyn Monroe - The Final Days are in their original 4:3 ratio, while the rest are in
their original anamorphic cinemascope ratio (all 2.55:1, except There's No Business... and
Let's Make Love which are 2.35:1). Most of these are in mono and the
sound is clear enough, but then these aren't special FX-laden movies.
The extras on each disc aren't copious, but are as follows:
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes : Trailer. Movietone news. Restoration comparison. Stills gallery.
There's No Business Like Show Business : 3 trailers. Restoration comparison.
Let's Make Love : Trailer. Restoration comparison. Stills gallery.
How To Marry A Millionaire : 3 trailers. Restoration comparison.
Bus Stop : Trailer. Restoration comparison. Stills gallery.
Niagra : Trailer.
River Of No Return : Trailer.
Don't Bother To Knock : Trailer. Restoration comparison. Stills gallery.
Monkey Business : Trailer. Restoration comparison. Stills gallery.
The Seven Year Itch - Special Edition : Documentary: 'Backstory: The Seven Year Itch' (20 min). 2 deleted scenes. 2 trailers. Movietone news: Sneak Preview. Restoration comparison. Stills.
Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days : Movietone news: Cinemascope.
FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2002.
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Released exactly forty years after her death, Marilyn Monroe,
aka Norma Jean Mortensen, died on August 5th, 1962 of a drug overdose in Los
Angeles, California, the same city in which she was born. Brought into the world
on June 1st, 1926, this woman who went on to become a screen legend only lived
to be 36.
