Customer Reviews

Marilyn Monroe and the Camera

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hardcover: 245 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 13.00 x 1.10 x 9.40
ISBN: 0821217658 1989 first edition Soft cover are the same dimensions.

Contents:
Forward by Jane Russell 2 pages
About the photographers 5 pages
Marilyn interview with Georges Belmont 10 pages
Plates (huge photos) 214 pages of just photos
Biography pages 237-242
2 pages of filmography
bibiliography
photo credits
This is a great book, a few pictures are grainy, but 95% are sharp rich and gorgeously clear.
I was shocked that I had not seen some of the images. I collect her images, and have a lot of them on my computer that most people haven't seen. So this is a stellar collection indeed and a must for Marilyn fans. I have the "Marilyn A life in Pictures" and still this book had even more. I do recommend both books highly.

One of the first Marilyn books I got was a compilation of photographs from well-known photographers. It wasn't till later that I got the original primary sources, i.e. books by Eve Arnold, and collections by Bernard Bruno and Bert Stern. So once one gets this collection, one can decide which photographer captured Marilyn's beauty the best, be it Milton Greene, Bernard Bruno, Richard Avedon, Ed Feingersh, or my personal favourite, Andre de Dienes. The photos, both colour and B&W, accompanied by captions, take the reader on a chronological journey from 1945 to her death in 1962.

Well-known photographs include the Tom Kelley photo that led to the notorious nude calendar, her potato sack dress, the photo Andy Warhol used, her wearing the golden dress, and the Life magazine photo. The final picture is not of her but her obituary flashing across Times Square.

Other material include a 1960 interview done with Georges Belmont for the French magazine Marie Claire. She talks mostly about her early life as a child before going into her adult life. Jane Russell, who was her costar in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, does a brief but generous foreword on her recollections.

Other photos include scenes from movies, press conferences,and other occasions. There's an annotated biography and filmography in the rear of the book. Each film entry has the distributing company, year, starring cast, and the name of Marilyn's character. As for the bibliography, I was surprised to see I had nine of the books used.

This serves as a cross-section of photos taken by various photographers as well as a photographic history. Good for beginning MM students, as it was for me back then.

This book features pictures from Marilyn's life ranging from her modeling days as Norma Jeane up until her death. You get many of the "classic" Monroe photos here, including the gold dress, the white dress scene from the Seven Year Itch, and several movie stills. Several candid shots are also included as well as some lesser seen ones from photograph sessions. Jane Russell paints an endearing picture of Monroe in the forward. We also get an interview with Monroe. It is a widely known fact that Marilyn embellished parts of her childhood and she does so here, claiming her mother is dead, when Marilyn's mom actually outlived her for more than 30 years. Nevertheless, Monroe appears beautiful, vulnerable, ans sensuous all rolled into one in these images. You get a lot of pics for a reasonable price.

I love this book because it is pure marilyn. The book shows her at her best. There are no conspiracies, scandals or judgements made about her in this book. It is just about the love that she had for the camera. She understood the camera better that anyone I can think of and it is her element, like a fish in water. Many authors write books on her to try to explain who she was,(99% of them never even knew her.) but all you have to do to really know her is study her pictures. They truly reveal every aspect of her, and that's why this book was made.

This book is good for the SIZE of the pictures which are large. Most of the full page shots are 9"x13" and some are centerfolds. Unfortunately the picture quality is not consistantly professional grade. I would have given this book 4 stars had the photos been digitally enhanced.

For any fan Of Marilyn as i am, this is a book that must be added to your library as it is to mine. You won't regreat this wonderful find!

This book is amazing, I own a ton of Marilyn books and this is among my favorite, picture-wise especially! It is a huge book and well worth the price. All of the pictures are printed on thick glossy paper just the way I like it. As many other reviewers have stated this book does have alot of the poses that made Marilyn famous and that are associated with the legend she has become today, but there are also some not so common ones as well. I LOVE this book and no Marilyn fans library is complete without it. It is the ultimate picture book, so for those of you that dont want to purchase the books by her individual photographers then this is perfect as theres a little bit of everything here!

This is a wonderful book to add to your collection, although filled w/ a majority of pictures that you may have already seen (a few you may have not seen), it is a wonderful collection and great to see them all together!