Customer Reviews

The Misfits

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

 

 

This is the book that I have been waiting for! Contains dozens of never-before-seen black and white candids/poses/portraits/studies of the making of THE MISFITS by renowned Magnum photographers (including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bruce Davidson, and Eve Arnold), a lengthy interview with screenwriter/playwright Arthur Miller and his wife (and Magnum photographer) Inge Morath on their memories of this momentous movie, and a wonderful piece by Serge Toubiana on the making of the fillm.

Of note are several sad studies of Miller and Monroe and the disintigration of their marriage. One important photo, taken by Inge Morath, is haunting in its depiction of two people separated by an ocean of anguish.

I would recommend this book for the Marilyn Monroe fan, the Arthur Miller scholar, the film-history buff, and those interested students of the photo-essay.

I was so excited when I heard a book of The Misfits was coming out, my favorite movie with my favorite stars. The layout is beautiful and the pictures are great. I only gave the book 3 stars because it didn't tell me anything 'new' about The Misfits. Just another book with the same things that have been written over and over agin. But for any die hard Marilyn, Monty, Gable, Huston, or Miller fans worth reading.

I think this is the best book that tells the story of The making of The Misfits complete with many stunning rare images of Marilyn.I'm blown away by them.Get yours now!

I really enjoyed this book, a glimpse inside the making of the last film for Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable and for Arthur Miller's with Hollywood. The interveiw with Miller i found very interesting and more than that the pictures i felt said more about the atmosphere and the tensions going on in the making of this i feel extrodinary film.
I have been a Marilyn Monroe fan since the age of fourteen and this is without a doubt a wonderful addition to my Marilyn Library. For any one that loves her as much as i do this is a great addition!

It's a treat to read this in quasi-novel/script form. Written in present tense like a screenplay (though not in script form), this pretty much follows the movie line-by-line, scene-by-scene. For those of you who treasure THE MISFITS motion picture, this is an old treat.

THE MISFITS
with an essay by Serge Toubiana

This is a beautiful book collecting the Magnum Pictures photography that documents the making of the Clark Gable/Monty Clift/Marilyn Monroe movie The Misfits.

The Misfits was a famously difficult movie to make. The actors worked in 100 degrees fahrenheit for several days in a row. There were rumors that the marriage between Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller (the film's writer) was falling apart. Shooting was supposed to last only fifty days but went on for almost twice as long. You can see the problems taking a toll on the stars, with the actors trying to keep a sunny composure in spite of the difficulties. The text tells us that a lot of this isn't acting: the only pictures in the book that are staged are the few where the cast members are rounded up for publicity poses. At one point, filming was suspended because Marilyn was so exhausted. Clark Gable had a fatal heart attack less than two weeks after filming finished. It is no wonder that superstitious movie fans considered the movie to be cursed! For a day to day account, see the PBS program Making "The Misfits" which is based on The Making of the Misfits by James Goode.

Included in this book is an extensive interview with Miller about the making of the film. He talks about his memories of working with director John Huston, and a humorous story about a Catholic review board interpreting the movie. He also has some choice words about the influence that acting coach Paula Strasberg had on Marilyn. Apparently, in order to communicate with Marilyn, people had to deliver messages through Strasberg. On page 20, Miller says that Strasberg made more money on the film than Marilyn! In spite of all the problems, Miller says he is pleased with how the movie turned out.

The pictures in this book give us a glimpse of the confused and depressed woman that Marilyn had become. This book makes an great companion volume to Marilyn: Her Life In Her Own Words which contains some of the last photographs of her. She attempted to make one more movie (Something's got to Give) but was unable to get herself together. This story, as well as a partially assembled version of the project, is available on the Marilyn Monroe - The Final Days documentary (see my ***** review for more details).

"This is the best thing I did in my life"
~Clark Gable, to Arthur Miller on 'The Misfits'

A thoughtful, long-time, and loving friend just gave me this book as a birthday gift.

When I was almost six years old, my family was visiting Virginia City, Nevada. My mother overheard about the filming of "The Misfits" rodeo scenes in Dayton, Nevada, so we drove down for the afternoon, and re-visited Dayton on subsequent shooting days.

During the filming, we were sitting in the rodeo arena bleachers, close to where 'Roslyn' (Marilyn Monroe) runs down after 'Perce' (Montgomery Clift) is thrown from the bull. My mother still does a creditable imitation of Roslyn's cry of "Oh, Perce! Perce!" for our amusement.

This book brought back many special memories of those experiences. I feel as if I'm a part of this book, since they had such an impact on those early years of my life.

All in all, this is one of the best gifts I've ever received. Any film buff would also appreciate this book, to own, share, or to give--it's a gem.