The Universe of Marilyn Monroe is a new Spanish anthology, part of an ongoing series – with previous subjects including Bette Davis, Billy Wilder, Jack Lemmon, Montgomery Clift, Howard Hawks, and the Marx Brothers.
“There has never been, nor will there ever be, a film star as important and charismatic as Marilyn Monroe. Her legend extends far beyond the purely cinematic, making her one of the most transcendent personalities of the 20th century. Beautiful, sensitive, sweet, sexy… She once said that she only wanted to be wonderful. God knows she succeeded.
In The Universe of Marilyn Monroe, a group of authors analyse all her films, her co-stars, her directors, obsessions, likes, dislikes… all the constants of her life and work.”
Frank Powolny’s iconic 1953 portrait of Marilyn swathed in white fur graces the front cover, with an image captured on the set of There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954) on the back.
Further black-and-white and colour photographs are featured inside…
Previous releases from publisher Notorious Editions include a 60th anniversary tribute to Some Like It Hot; and Marilyn, by the popular artist Alejandro Mogollo.
Another new Spanish anthology, The Films of Marilyn Monroe, features a 1953 portrait by John Florea on the cover, and some well-known writers inside. (You may notice that New York Times critic Bosley Crowther is named twice on the proof cover…)
“There are books you read. And there are books you devour like a film on a screen, waiting for something to happen. The Films of Marilyn Monroe belongs to this second category. Marilyn wasn’t just a star. She was an apparition. A moment of truth amidst the artifice. And this book invites you to return there: to that place where the image comes alive and the myth becomes flesh, gesture, breath.
Here is all of Monroe. The woman who learned to hold the camera’s gaze and the actress who, against all odds, disarmed it from within. From the unsettling intensity of Niagara to the comic—almost musical—precision of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, from the deceptive lightness of The Seven Year Itch to the secret melancholy of Some Like It Hot. Film by film, scene by scene, this volume reveals a performer far more complex than her legend allowed us to see.
Because for years, Marilyn Monroe was spoken of as an icon. And she was. But that word, repeated ad nauseam, sometimes obscures the most obvious truth: that she was an extraordinary actress. Not because she radically transformed her characters, but because she found something true in them. And she offered it without restraint, as if she knew that the camera doesn’t forgive, but neither does it lie.
But what makes this book truly exceptional is the voice of its authors. Here, some of the most prestigious names in film criticism and history engage in dialogue: Roger Ebert, David Thomson, Donald Spoto, Bosley Crowther, David Robinson, Noël Simsolo… Different perspectives, unique styles, one shared certainty: that Marilyn Monroe cannot be explained, but she can be better understood when observed closely.
Approaching this volume is like entering cinema through a privileged door. It is like stopping time in every frame. It is discovering that behind the icon is an actress of extraordinary sensitivity, capable of sustaining comedy and tragedy with the same luminous fragility. Because some stars fade. And then there is Marilyn Monroe. This book demonstrates why it continues to shine.”
Other chapters include David Robinson’s introduction to Marilyn Monroe: A Life On Film; Sam Kashner’s ‘The Things She Left Behind,’ originally published in Vanity Fair; David Thomson’s Guardian article about the ‘Happy Birthday Mr President‘ dress; and essays by Monroe biographers Joan Mellen, Anthony Summers, Jenna Glatzer, and Jeffrey Meyers.
While the list of contributors is impressive, some photographs appear digitally altered…
Prior releases from Spanish publisher Cult Editions include Marilyn’s first full-length biography by Maurice Zolotow; and an earlier anthology, About Marilyn Monroe.
And finally, don’t forget that a 3-week celebration of Marilyn comes to Barcelona on June 1st.
“After an intense year of work, we have the immense pleasure of presenting the Commemorative Event for the Centennial of the birth of Marilyn Monroe.
In order to honour the life, work, and legacy of the most important female icon of the 20th century, both the management of Mercat dels Encants—Manel Torquet and Jaime Elías—and we ourselves have joined a long list of artists to offer all Marilyn admirers around the world an event worthy of her figure.
The list of the various activities and their respective schedules can be followed chronologically on social media at @encantsbarcelona and @marilynmonroebarcelonajunio26.
Artists Susana Adelid, Alejandro Mogollo, Romà Roka and Jose Vicente Cairon Sanchez, writers Yoel Solà and Ric Brule, and cabaret performer Àngels López, among others, are contributing their talent so that the city of Barcelona lives up to the important anniversary we are celebrating.
A large part of the activities will take place in the (Multipurpose Hall) of the ‘Encants’ market from June 1st to 20th.”
The Marilyn Report 