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List Price: $49.98 | | Label: 20th Century Fox
Salesrank: 53964
Released: May 29, 2001 |
| Our Price: $100.00 |
| Used Price: $62.57 |
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MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
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."
Description of 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 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.
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) Reviews:
Marilyn at her best. 
2009-10-19 - Very nice used set. Haven't watched all the films yet, but the ones I did were very much like on the screen. But, what I saw so far certainly is Marilyn at her best when she was still alive. Sad story about her early childhood, which certainly did not reflect on her work on film. A nice keepsake for sure from a star who left us wondering.
Marilyn Monroe: The Diamond Collection Vol. 1 
2009-01-12 - I was so glad to receive this item in time to give my mother for Christmas. DVDs were in perfect shape all included in the novelty cases. These are the classics!
Just like new.....can't wait to watch them!
2008-12-16 - The Marilyn movie collection arrived quickly and was well packaged. They are a gift, so haven't watched them myself but I am certain they will be cherished.
A beautiful and dazzling collection.
2008-02-18 - 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!
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.
