Marilyn the Premiere Collection July 31, 2012 (1 Viewer)

This was available at Costco in 2009 and now apparently getting a general release.
Volume One: 1950-1952:
All About Eve
As Young As You Feel
Lets Make It Legal
Love Nest
Don't Bother To Knock
Volume Two: 1952-1953
Monkey Business
O. Henry's Full House
We're Not Married
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
How To Marry A Millionaire
Niagara
Volume Three: 1954-1961
There's No Business Like Show Business
The Seven Year Itch
Bus Stop
Some Like It Hot
Let's Make Love
The Misfits
These are SD not blu ray. Currently about $50 at Amazon or under $3 a film. One disc per film. Same discs as previously released.
http://www.amazon.com/Marilyn-Premiere-Collection-George-Sanders/dp/B0030CRK4E/ref=sr_1_18?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1341629832&sr=1-18&keywords=Marilyn+Monroe

I'm tempted to get this since I don;t own any Marilyn films. Are there any issues with the transfers? Obviously the Blu will (hopefully) be improvements but if these are "good enough" I might bite.

Russell G said:

I'm tempted to get this since I don;t own any Marilyn films. Are there any issues with the transfers? Obviously the Blu will (hopefully) be improvements but if these are "good enough" I might bite.

Click to expand...

As Gary said, they're the same as the individual releases throughout the years (from approximately 2001-2008 ), and all of them were well-produced for their time. I don't recall any reviews citing any problems with the transfers. My only concern is that this set still includes a non-anamorphic version of The Misfits, since it's re-using the one and only DVD from 2001. Also, if you're a fan of extras, you'll be missing out on the special feature discs for All About Eve and Some Like It Hot, as well as Fox's 2001 documentary Marilyn: The Final Days, which was included in "Marilyn Monroe: The Diamond Collection, Volume One" (2001) and "Marilyn: Special Anniversary Collection" (2006)
Conspicuously missing from this set is 1954's River of No Return, which were in two Marilyn Monroe box sets before ("Marilyn Monroe: The Diamond Collection, Volume Two" & "Marilyn: Special Anniversary Collection"), and is also part of the "Forever Marilyn" Blu-Ray box set coming later this month.
Just to give a breakdown of the discs in this set:
Volume One: 1950-1952:
All About Eve - released in 2008, Disc 1 only (Fox)
--Commentary: actors Christopher Mankiewicz and Celeste Holm, author Kenneth Geist
--Commentary: author Sam Staggs
--Isolated Score
As Young As You Feel - released in 2004 (Fox)
--Theatrical Trailer
--"The Diamond Collection" Trailer
--Marilyn Monroe Trailer Gallery (her 1951-1960 Fox films, except for O. Henry's Full House)
Lets Make It Legal - released in 2004 (Fox)
--Commentary: actor Robert Wagner
--Theatrical Trailer
--"The Diamond Collection" Trailer
--Marilyn Monroe Trailer Gallery (her 1951-1960 Fox films, except for O. Henry's Full House)
Love Nest - released in 2004 (Fox)
--Commentary: director Joseph M. Newman, Marilyn Monroe biographer Jack Allen
--Theatrical Trailer
--"The Diamond Collection" Trailer
--Marilyn Monroe Trailer Gallery (her 1951-1960 Fox films, except for O. Henry's Full House)
Don't Bother To Knock - released in 2002 (Fox)
--Theatrical Trailer
--Restoration Comparison
--Photo Gallery
--"The Diamond Collection" Trailer
--Marilyn Monroe Trailer Gallery (the other films in "The Diamond Collection, Volume 2")
Volume Two: 1952-1953
Monkey Business - released in 2002 (Fox)
--Theatrical Trailer
--Restoration Comparison
--Photo Gallery
--"The Diamond Collection" Trailer
--Marilyn Monroe Trailer Gallery (the other films in "The Diamond Collection, Volume 2")
O. Henry's Full House - released in 2006 (Fox)
--Commentary: O. Henry scholar Dr. Jenny Lind Porter
--1927 short film: Girls
--1927 short film: A Man About Town
--The Life and Writing of O. Henry
--The O. Henry Museum
--Still Galleries: On the Set, Lobby Cards, Exhibitors Campaign
We're Not Married - released in 2004 (Fox)
--Theatrical Trailer
--"The Diamond Collection" Trailer
--Marilyn Monroe Trailer Gallery (her 1951-1960 Fox films, except for O. Henry's Full House)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - released in 2001 (Fox), re-released in 2006 (Fox)
--Theatrical Trailer
--Movietone News: Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in Cement
--Restoration Comparison
--One-Sheet Post Card
--One-Sheet
--"The Diamond Collection" Trailer
--Marilyn Monroe Trailer Gallery (other films in "The Diamond Collection, Volume 1")
How To Marry A Millionaire - released in 2001 (Fox)
--Theatrical Trailer
--Italian Trailer
--German Trailer
--Movietone News: How to Marry a Millionaire in CinemaScope
--Restoration Comparison
--"The Diamond Collection" Trailer
--Marilyn Monroe Trailer Gallery (other films in "The Diamond Collection, Volume 1")
Niagara - released in 2002 (Fox), re-released in 2006 (Fox)
--Theatrical Trailer
--Restoration Comparison
--Photo Gallery
--"The Diamond Collection" Trailer
--Marilyn Monroe Trailer Gallery (the other films in "The Diamond Collection, Volume 2")
Volume Three: 1954-1961:
There's No Business Like Show Business - released in 2001 (Fox)
--Theatrical Trailer 1
--Theatrical Trailer 2
--Portuguese Trailer
--Restoration Comparison
--One-Sheet
--"The Diamond Collection" Trailer
--Marilyn Monroe Trailer Gallery (other films in "The Diamond Collection, Volume 1")
The Seven Year Itch - released in 2001 (Fox), re-released in 2006 (Fox)
--Theatrical Trailer
--Spanish Trailer
--Movietone News: The Seven Year Itch has "Sneak" Preview
--Restoration Comparison
--AMC Backstory: The Seven Year Itch
--Deleted Scene: "Bathtub"
--Deleted Scene: "Subway"
--One-Sheets
--"The Diamond Collection" Trailer
--Marilyn Monroe Trailer Gallery (other films in "The Diamond Collection, Volume 1")
Bus Stop - released in 2001 (Fox)
--Theatrical Trailer
--Restoration Comparison
--Lobby Cards
--One-Sheets
--Posters
--"The Diamond Collection" Trailer
--Marilyn Monroe Trailer Gallery (other films in "The Diamond Collection, Volume 1")
Some Like It Hot - released in 2006, Disc 1 only (MGM)
--Commentary: Paul Diamond (son of co-writer I.A.L. Diamond), screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mendel, and actors Tony Curtis (2006 interview) and Jack Lemmon (1984 interview)
Let's Make Love - released in 2002 (Fox), re-released in 2006 (Fox)
--Theatrical Trailer
--Restoration Comparison
--Photo Gallery
--"The Diamond Collection" Trailer
--Marilyn Monroe Trailer Gallery (the other films in "The Diamond Collection, Volume 2")
The Misfits - released in 2001 (MGM)
--Theatrical Trailer

The only thing I'd be wary of is Fox's love for sleeve packaging in these sorts of sets. Hopefully, that's not the case here. Bizarre they are not including River of No Return while including titles she barely has any lines, but that is available separately.
I second that The Misfits is the only iffy disc on the set, but thankfully the blu-ray fixed much of those issues.