The Final Days)

Starring:Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Arthur O'Connell, Betty Field, Eileen Heckart, Robert Bray, Hope Lange, Hans Conried, Max Showalter, Henry Slate, Helen Mayon, Mary Carroll, David McMahon, Jim Katugi Noda, James O'Rear, Edward G. Robinson Jr., Linda Brace, Richard Culvert Johnson, Phil J. Munch, Del Moore
Director: Joshua Logan, Jean Negulesco, Walter Lang
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
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.
Description
Marilyn in her billowy white skirt and the scene that made her a legend. Co-starring Tom Ewell. "There's No Business Like Show Business" (1954, 117 min.) - A glamorous tale about the trials and tribulations of a veteran vaudeville family. Co-starring Ethel Merman and Donald O'Connor. "How to Marry a Millionaire" (1953, 95 min.) - Discover Marilyn's phenomenal comic talent as she leads an outrageous man-hunting scheme in this classic comedy. Co-starring Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953, 91 min.) - Marilyn is sensational, performing the timeless hit "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." Co-starring Jane Russell. Also includes the acclaimed documentary "Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days," available only in this box set, plus forty minutes of exclusive, never-before-seen footage from Marilyn's never-completed final film, "Something's Got to Give."

Average customer rating:

Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection II

Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection II

STUNNING LEGENDARY PERFORMANCES~BRAVO MARILYN!!!

Niagara is a (flawed) Gem

Waiting for the soundtrack of the DIAMOND COLLECTION , Volume II. This collection merits a soundtrack.

Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection II (Don't Bother to Knock / Let's Make Love / Monkey Business / Niagara / River of No Return)
Starring: Marilyn Monroe
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video
General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Classic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Comedy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video
Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video
Classics | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video
All Fox Titles | 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Comedy | 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Boxed Sets | 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection (Bus Stop / How to Marry a Millionaire / There's No Business Like Show Business / Gentlemen Prefer Blondes / The Seven Year Itch / The Final Days)

The Prince and the Showgirl

Some Like It Hot (Collector's Edition)

The Misfits

We're Not Married

ASIN: B000062XG8
Release Date: 2002-05-14

Amazon.com

Some essential examples of the Marilyn Monroe mystique make up this second collection of titles from MM's years at Twentieth Century Fox. After sparkling in small roles, she burst upon the public consciousness in 1952, thanks to five films and a certain nude calendar. Two of the 1952 pictures, showing very different sides of the new actress, are included here. One is Monkey Business, Howard Hawks's raucous comedy about a youth serum, in which top-lined stars Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers regress to a state of adolescent abandon, with Monroe doing spot-on supporting duty. Don't Bother to Knock gives Marilyn her first lead role, in a tense little film noir; she's a babysitter with an unstable streak, a fine performance hinting at depths rarely touched in her career.

In Niagara, Monroe is a full-fledged sex goddess, a scheming wife tormenting husband Joseph Cotten in their cabin by the falls. This Technicolor slice of pseudo-Hitchcock is a fun location picture with a genuinely exciting climax. Otto Preminger's River of No Return has Marilyn livened up by the presence of costar Robert Mitchum, in a strong outdoorsy Western that catches the two stars in appealing form. By the time of 1960's Let's Make Love, MM looks tired. This backstage musical is more interesting as a time capsule than as a romance, although one number shines: "My Heart Belongs to Daddy." Less urgent for Monroe fans than the first Diamond Collection, this set is still a good one for the die-hards. --Robert Horton

Description

Contains: *Don't Bother to Knock *Let's Make it Legal *Monkey Business *Niagra *River of No Return

Customer Reviews:

Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection II.......2007-01-19

These are the movies that made us love her forever and a day or two.

Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection II.......2007-01-10

If you're a fan of Marilyn Monroe, this is a great collection ... each selection is Classic Marilyn. Quality is excellent.

STUNNING LEGENDARY PERFORMANCES~BRAVO MARILYN!!! .......2006-11-10

Marilyn Monroe is a once-in-a-lifetime legend and nobody has come along since to match the magic of this gifted and very versatile performer...each gem in this Diamond Collection are classics to be enjoyed over and over again for anyone who enjoys the finest that the world of entertainment has to offer! "Don't Bother To Knock" is an amazing hauntingly brilliant performance early in Marilyn's career that shows incredible dramatic range while "Monkey Business" is a fun romp showing Monroe's great comic ability. "Niagara" is a real DIVA Superstar turn unlike any other and Marilyn is drop-dead gorgeous in this colorful spectactular with this film being the one that made Marilyn Monroe a true film Superstar and introduced without a doubt that famous Monroe walk with Marilyn unforgettable in that sumptuous red dress...mesmerizing and exotic singing "Kiss" and never was Marilyn more seductive!!! "River Of No Return" is a great movie that has aged well having a timeless quality to it with a moving and richly etched performance from Marilyn that holds up well today...musical numbers show Marilyn had her own totally original style and made magic with these numbers and every moment is fascinating to watch. "Let's Make Love" was ahead of its time and its style of intergrating musical numbers into the story was used some ten years later in "Cabaret"...listening to the Original Soundtrack CD it is clear that Marilyn delivers some of the finest musical performances of her brilliant career (Cole Porter's "My Hear Belongs To Daddy" is a real showstopper!) making this a must have for fans of great musical films and this winning release also features wonderful unreleased performances not in the film...as a young teen who sneaked into the theatre to see this racy at that time film, I have lost track of how many times I have seen this classic and find it richly entertaining every time...and the final never completed "Something's Got TO Give" show a sophisicated and very beautiful Marilyn who never looked so stunning on the big screen and this motion picture would have been a real classic...Marilyn was coming into her own as a unique performer and living screen legend who showed promise of becoming the greatest star of her generation...too bad her career which meant so much to Marilyn and showed such promise of hitting greater heights was cut tragically short. Thankfully movies such as these keep this incredible legend alive and Marilyn will in this way always shine the brightest and she always lit the screen up in a way that nobody else ever could...Marilyn was the true meaning of SUPERSTAR...we love and miss you Marilyn and thank you for leaving behind a treasure chest of magic for all of us to savor and enjoy!!!

Niagara is a (flawed) Gem.......2006-01-01

I bought the 1st Diamond collection for my wife (a devoted Marilyn fan) and we were both impressed with the quality of the restorations. We were looking for more of the same with the Marilyn II collection. Although I ordered the collection well before Christmas, I didn't receive it until the day after Christmas. The tracking site showed it ready for pickup on December 18. When we received it we first viewed Niagara. The restoration was very good. I've been to the Falls many times and I got a kick out of how little things had changed since this movie was shot. Joseph Cotton was very convincing as the tortured soul who was infatuated with Marilyn. The action was well-paced and kept you in suspense during the last half of the movie. Unfortunately, this DVD was defective and the picture broke up 30 minutes into the movie and we lost about 10 minutes of the movie. I went to Amazon's site and after going through a short questionaire I was able to print out a postage-paid mailer without having to talk to anyone. I returned the collection for replacement due to arrive in a week. Hopefully this one will not be defective since we are looking forward to viewing the other DVDs in this set.

Waiting for the soundtrack of the DIAMOND COLLECTION , Volume II. This collection merits a soundtrack........2005-12-19

After The DIAMOND COLLECTION of Marilyn Monroe DVD was released,
a soundtrack CD was also released with many interesting tracks.
Yet this time around, no soundtrack was released. I am waiting
for a soundtrack with the songs Marilyn sings in NIAGARA (KISS),
River of No Return, and Lets Make Love, as well as the main themes from Don't Bother to Knock, and Monkey Business. There must be enough tracks in the vaults of 2oth Century Fox to include as Bonus items of Marilyn Monroe singing, deleted songs
from her movies, alternate takes, etc. We Marilyn Monroe fans
demand that a soundtrack CD to the Marilyn Monroe DIAMOND COLLECTION vol. II be released.

Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection (Bus Stop / How to Marry a Millionaire / There's No Business Like Show Business / Gentlemen Prefer Blondes / The Seven Year Itch / The Final Days)

Average customer rating:

The Greatest Collection of Films from a Silver Screen Goddess...
Great Gift!
She really was "A Candle in the Wind"
Great box set to have in collection
Best Collection ever!!

Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection (Bus Stop / How to Marry a Millionaire / There's No Business Like Show Business / Gentlemen Prefer Blondes / The Seven Year Itch / The Final Days)
Starring: Marilyn Monroe , Don Murray , Arthur O'Connell , Betty Field , and Eileen Heckart
Director: Joshua Logan , Jean Negulesco , and Walter Lang
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Classics | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection II (Don't Bother to Knock / Let's Make Love / Monkey Business / Niagara / River of No Return)
Some Like It Hot (Collector's Edition)
The Misfits
The Prince and the Showgirl
The Audrey Hepburn DVD Collection (Roman Holiday / Sabrina / Breakfast at Tiffany's)

ASIN: B000059GEK
Release Date: 2001-05-29

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.

Description

Marilyn in her billowy white skirt and the scene that made her a legend. Co-starring Tom Ewell. "There's No Business Like Show Business" (1954, 117 min.) - A glamorous tale about the trials and tribulations of a veteran vaudeville family. Co-starring Ethel Merman and Donald O'Connor. "How to Marry a Millionaire" (1953, 95 min.) - Discover Marilyn's phenomenal comic talent as she leads an outrageous man-hunting scheme in this classic comedy. Co-starring Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953, 91 min.) - Marilyn is sensational, performing the timeless hit "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." Co-starring Jane Russell. Also includes the acclaimed documentary "Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days," available only in this box set, plus forty minutes of exclusive, never-before-seen footage from Marilyn's never-completed final film, "Something's Got to Give."

Customer Reviews:

The Greatest Collection of Films from a Silver Screen Goddess..........2007-04-17

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.

Great Gift!.......2007-03-21

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.

She really was "A Candle in the Wind".......2006-02-27

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.

Great box set to have in collection.......2006-02-23

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.

Best Collection ever!!.......2005-12-31

I looked from heaven to hell for this and only found it here on amazon.com. It was well worth the searching, Marilyn is awsome!!

Average customer rating:

Marilyn Monroe: Diamond Collection
Starring: Marilyn Monroe , Tom Ewell , Evelyn Keyes , Sonny Tufts , and Robert Strauss
Director: Billy Wilder , Patty Ivins Specht , and Howard Hawks
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection II (Don't Bother to Knock / Let's Make Love / Monkey Business / Niagara / River of No Return)

ASIN: B000BK8DS0
Release Date: 2001-05-29

Product Description

Includes: The Seven Year Itch, Bus Stop, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, There's No Business Like Show Business, How to Marry a Millionaire, and Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days.

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