Customer Reviews

Marilyn Monroe Special Anniversary Collection (The Seven Year Itch / Gentlemen Prefer Blondes / Niagara / River of No Return / Let's Make Love / Marilyn - The Final Days)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Marilyn Monroe Special Anniversary Collection, celebrates Marilyn Monroe turning 80 years old, this collection includes some of the films Marilyn was most famous for. Unlike "The Diamond Collection" this one includes the original artwork which is way more colorful, however this collection does include the exacted same thing that was in "The Diamond Collection". I can understand if you buy this one too, but don't except anything new, I bought this one because "The Diamond Collection" I had went underwater when the levies broke back in Louisiana, plus now that it is out of print, it is really high in price. This set also includes "Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days" which is a documentary on Mariyln & her last film which was never completed. After the documentary or you can skip it they still include the incomplete film which they remastered & edited into a short, if Marilyn never died I'm sure the film would have been really cute, plus she plays a mother on screen & just by telling you know she loved children. Overall this boxset is an A+, but it reminds me of something that never was, who never really had a chance of being a person maybe a movie star, but never a person in general, someone who was taken way before their time.

The films include, by year:

Niagara (1953) - Full Frame 1.33:1 - Restoration comparison, still photo gallery, Original theatrical trailer.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) - Full Frame 1.33:1 - Fox movietone news: Grauman's Chinese Theatre: Marilyn Monroe & Jane Russell immortalized in cement, restoration comparison, one sheet still gallery, Original theatrical trailer.

The River Of No Return (1954) - Widescreen 2.55:1 - Restoration comparison, still photo gallery, Original theatrical trailer.

The Seven Year Itch (1955) - Widescreen 2.55:1 - Fox movietone news: The Seven Itch has sneak preview, AMC Backstory: The Seven Year Itch, two deleted scenes, one sheet gallery & restoration comparison, original theatrical trailer.

Lets Make Love (1960) - Widescreen 2.35:1 - Restoration comparison, still photo gallery, Original theatrical trailer.

Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days (2001) - Fullscreen 1.33:1 - Fox Movietone News: CinemaScope, Still Gallery.

If you've already bought both of the Diamond Collections, then this boxset holds nothing for you - except for a brand new box cover.

from Vol. 1: SEVEN YEAR ITCH, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES & MARILYN: THE FINAL DAYS
from Vol 2: NIAGARA, RIVER OF NO RETURN & LET'S MAKE LOVE

The documentary Marilyn the Final Days is about her failed film "Something's Got To Give" and has an edit of all the complete scenes in the film put together.

If you own the orignal Diamond Collection sets this set may not be for you, but I sold off my originals and purchased this set based on the fact the covers of each DVD feature the Original Poster Artwork for the films not just a giant pic of Marilyn herself. Hopefully FOX will release another set fewturing How to Marry a Millionaire and Don't Come Knocking as well as many others in the FOX/MONROE Cannon.

Well, this is by no means the definitive Marilyn Monroe Collection, but represents just the highlight movies of her career as an actress.
One should also own "Bus Stop", "How to Marry a Millionaire", "Monkey Business", "Don't Bother to Knock", "O'Henry's Full House", "Asphalt Jungle" and "The Misfits", in order to have a somewhat complete picture of her movie career.

But if one wants to start somewhere, this is the Basic Marilyn Monroe Collection, starting in order with "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", a very funny and
successful Comedy, followed by "Niagara", a romantic thriller, "River of No Return", also starring Robert Mitchum in a very interesting Western (in which Marilyn seems to be far more herself in a natural part and not so stereotyped as usual), "The Seven Year Itch", the iconic comedy which actually made
Marilyn into a myth and one of the last movies, "Let's Make Love", with French actor/singer Yves Montand at her side, which can be considered a lukewarm and pale example of unsuccessful comedy, attempting to revive her career.

In addition to these, comes a feature long documentary about her "Final Days", which includes, toward the end, the reconstructed and alas, truncated (due to her premature death) final movie in which Marilyn was supposed to appear, opposite Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse, called "Something Got to Give".
A true rarity and a unique document in time.

All the copies are special Anniversary editions, which also appeared earlier in different boxed sets, which means that they all received a digital remastering of picture elements and a full digital transfer on DVD.
The sound is on all, and where possible, either in Stereo or Surround and this has been achieved with a very accurate remastering, giving by now, the best audio quality possible.

I call it an excellent package and deal for this price.

A must, for all those who remember Marilyn with fondness and respect.

I love this set! It is a really nice display item as well, as it sits nicely on a shelf and has a wonderful picture of Marilyn on there.

While this set doesn't have all the Marilyn Monroe movies, it is a good set to have. Marilyn is beautiful in all of the enclosed movies. She acted various parts and did so in different ways. This set is a good start for anyone beginning a Monroe collection!

Isn't it about time the entire MM library of movies be re-mastered and released in BLU Ray? Set aside studio greed. Put together the entire collection in one great package. Make it affordable. Re-master the movies in their original theatrical wide-screen versions. (No George Lucas treatment - Please!) Don't forget to include the English sub-titles! Imagine the possible extras that could be included. Sign me up and long live the Goddess of the Big Screen! PS: Write your congressmen/women and have Marilyn Monroe declared a National Treasure.

While the films are a great choice and the prints are in great shape, how about some commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes. Except for SEVEN YEAR ITCH, there is nothing. Marilyn made so few films, only 12 starring roles, as compared to other superstars who've made dozens, I wish there were more to each movie...expecially deleted scenes. I know every one of these film had deletions, but no one has ever said WHAT WAS DELETED. In the case of NIAGARA, much must have been deleted because it seems so choppy. Never sure what day is when. In BLONDES, the first part of the movie also seems a bit disjointed, and one night moves into the next without explanation. I know Mr. Zanack was a stickler for short films and he cut his films a bit too much. So when and if new materials are found and put in these films, I won't be buying any more of them.

As of yet, I have only watched 3 of the films in this set: The Seven Year Itch, River of No Return, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The other films appear to be some of the best from her filmography, and I'm assuming that most people interested in her will know the films anyway. I'll thus skip the movie reviews.

The Packaging is basically what I assumed it would be: A sturdy box that is used to hold 6 DVD movies. The outer case is really nice looking, and it makes for a nice display piece on the shelf.

The individual movies are in regular DVD cases, all with individual artwork (featuring the original poster artwork). They are much nicer looking than DVD cases from the Diamond Collection. The only thing that bothers me is that the screen-captures on the rear-DVD art are in B&W, even though some of the movies are in color.

The picture of the films look much nicer than I'd expect from such old movies. They still have that classic-cinema look - you can tell they're old, but everything is crisp, there's no dust, etc.

My only big complaint is that the DVD's don't seem to have much in the area of bonus materials. The Seven Year Itch is the only one with anything besides restoration comparisons and still galleries. One smaller complaint is that the DVD's (besides River and Final Years) don't have booklets with production info.

Overall, it was well worth the price. My box got a tad dinged in the shipping - Amazon didn't put much padding in the box - but as far as the actual product, it would be a great gift for a film fan.

This is the last complete performance on film of Marilyn and I have to say that she(as usual) is stunning! Her performance is on the money and, she even dares comparison to Mary Martin by performing "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" in her own way which is something to see!I recommend this one highly as it comes on the success of her smash hit,"Some Like It Hot"