Editorial Review:Description:Contains: *Seven Year Itch *Gentlemen Prefer Blondes *How to Marry a Millionaire *There's No Business Like Show Business *Bus Stop *Marilyn Monroe: Final Days
Amazon.com:The Diamond Collection consists of five Marilyn Monroe films plus the documentary
The Final Days.
Bus Stop (1956) stars Monroe as a singer who finds herself trapped at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere during a blizzard.
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) was built around a trio of female stars, Monroe, Lauren Bacall, and Betty Grable, who play friends who come up with a plan to find and marry rich men. Monroe plays an ambitious showgirl in 1954's
There's No Business Like Show Business, which brings together two giants of Broadway, Ethel Merman and Irving Berlin, to celebrate the glories that were vaudeville. Howard Hawks's 1953 musical
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes stars Monroe and Jane Russell as friends who go to Paris looking for mates. The film is charged by Hawks's stylish snap, a famous set piece or two (including Monroe descending that staircase while singing 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend'), Russell's wit, and songs by Leo Robin and Jule Styne.
The Seven Year Itch (1955) is a memorable laugh machine. As a married man left alone during a hot summer, Tom Ewell shows off crack timing matched by Monroe's zesty comic flair, and the scene in which her white dress is blown skyward by a passing subway train has entered the encyclopedia of great movie images.
In
The Final Days, producer-director Patty Ivins chronicles Monroe's final, aborted feature film,
Something's Got to Give, which was ultimately shut down after the star was dismissed from the production. Beyond Monroe's fragile emotional and physical health, this well-crafted profile examines the financial crisis facing her studio as well as the mounting frustration of meticulous director George Cukor and his cast, including costar Dean Martin, as Monroe's absences drove the shoot over budget. The documentary concludes with a 40-minute reconstruction of footage completed for the feature, which would subsequently be reshot as a vehicle for Doris Day and James Garner,
Move Over, Darling.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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A beautiful and dazzling collection.
This gorgeous boxset features 11-discs of entertainment, including ten films and a new documentary examining Marilyn Monroe's final days. My favourite actress, Marilyn is great in each movie, but particular highlights include: Bus Stop, Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Don't Bother To Knock and The Seven Year Itch. The lovingly made boxset also includes a booklet with synopsis' for each movie, and a mini-biography of her show and eventful life. Five stars!
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The Greatest Collection of Films from a Silver Screen Goddess...
The Diamond Collection represents some of Marilyn Monroe's greatest achievements on film! This first installation of the Diamond Collection certainly contains her most well-known films, and is a must have for Marilyn fans.
Within this collection are the titles "Bus Stop" -- "How to Marry a Millionaire" -- "There's No Business Like Show Business" -- "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" -- "The Seven Year Itch" -- and a documentary chronicling the final days of Marilyn Monroe.
My favorite Marilyn film is the one that saw her star rise, and that's "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". Her infamous musical number 'Diamonds are a girls best friend' is found within this film. During Marilyn's era in the film industry, almost ALL actors contracted to the different studios were required to not only be able to act, but to be able to dance and sing as well. Marilyn's singing voice wasn't strong, but it still had a beautifully hypnotic lilt to it, and made her unique in this respect.
"The Seven Year Itch" contains her infamous grater scene in which a gust of wind blows up her white skirt, thus creating a fabulous moment in cinematic history. According to witnesses, the director of the film had to ask Marilyn to wear two pairs of undergarments because the camera was picking up the fact that she was *not* a natural blonde.
There are far too many memorable Marilyn moments to list them all, but I highly recommend this collection of DVDs. In addition to the five Marilyn films included in the set, there is an added bonus of a documentary titled "The Final Days" in which it chronicles -- what else -- the final days of Ms. Monroe. This documentary also pieces together the fragmented footage of the film "Somethings Got to Give", which Marilyn was in the process of shooting at the time of her tragic death. Included in this footage is the skinny-dipping scene Marilyn had completed, which would have certainly become just as infamous has many of her other scenes.
My only regret is that Marilyn films from other studios, such as the charismatic "Some Like it Hot", or even the Olivier production of "The Prince and the Showgirl", could not be included in either installments of the Diamond Collection.
I simply can't say it enough, this is a wonderful collection, and a great tribute to the loving memory of Marilyn Monroe.
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Great Gift!
I got this for my other half for chrismas. It was a big hit. A perfect gift for any Monroe fan that does not have it yet.
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She really was "A Candle in the Wind"
This collection of films is a must-have for fans of Marilyn Monroe. The tragic ending to her life is forgotten while the watcher is mesmerized by her overwhelming stage presence that outshines everyone else on the screen. Her characters always portray an innocence that shines through her sexual magnetism. What never comes through in her performances is her own troubled life. In Bus Stop, she has a southern accent and, for once, isn't playing herself. How to Marry a Millionaire is filled with great stars of the past--Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable and William Powell, as well as Marilyn Monroe. The story has never lost its humor and charm. There's No Business like Show Business is the story of a vaudeville family, and Marilyn doesn't enter the picture immediately. Here, we are bowled over by the magnificent stage presence of Ethel Merman, who manages to put everyone else in the shade--including Mitzi Gaynor, Donald O'Connor and Marilyn. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes remains such a fun story with Russell and Monroe paired up in some wonderful mixups. There are some fabulous musical numbers, most notably "Ain't There Anyone Her for Love?" and "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." The Seven Year Itch, while perhaps toned down for the censors of the time is funny and unforgettable.
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Great box set to have in collection
This is a great box set to add to any collection. The movies are all in widescreen so you aren't missing any of the orginal picture. I would recommend purchasing to any fan of Marilyn Monroe movies. I would also recommend purchasing to someone who hasn't seen any of Marilyn's movies.
