"Some of the most important pictures taken of Marilyn Monroe throughout her career with a memoir to go along with it. She and De Dienes were lovers and longtime friends. She would often visit him and take pictures purely for the catharsis of it."

"Whoever it was who said “There is only Louise Brooks” was right on. With those sad manga-heroine eyes and immaculate bob haircut, she’s become like Marilyn Monroe for nerds. This film is as full of dread and emotion as any modern-day thriller—and all without the benefit of, y’know, audible dialogue. Spectacular."

"The perfect comedy, all the successful elements are there. Especially an amazing casting: Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, and as if it wasn’t enough, Marilyn Monroe, more beautiful and sensual than ever. You have to follow this movie with its insane glam, frenzied rhythm and beautiful black-and-white cinematography. You can’t do much better in terms of American comedy, all eras included."

"Anybody who has the audacity to say that Marilyn Monroe wasn’t a good actress needs to see that f***** movie. I want you to go inside and outside of a house, jumping in a box and going, “I’m in and I’m out. And I’m in and I’m out.” And you believe it, that this woman is standing there, working the little thing, the whole body jiggling, the entire place mesmerized. There were just so many moments, and it’s shot so beautifully, and I think it’s just a remarkable film. Clark Gable in a completely different way than we’ve ever seen him before. It’s remarkable."

"I should do something that’s a little more contemporary, maybe. Some Like It Hot. Marilyn Monroe in that film was one of my first memories of film. That’s why I love it. I remember watching it when I was really young and singing along. Well, those are really artistic choices, but I also love modern films. I love Chaplin films, and I love French films… But off the top of my head, those are the five. It’s quite a pretentious list in hindsight. [laughs] I mean, they’re not my favorites; I could go on for ten hours. That was just off the top of my head. But I’ve never been good with favorites."

"In a year filled with epochal films—Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve, the great In a Lonely Place—this 1950 noir may have secretly had the greatest impact. Every heist film or let’s-get-a-team-together caper of the last seventy years owes a huge debt to Huston’s twisting and intense thriller, whose delightful ensemble cast features a bright-eyed Marilyn Monroe (then just about to take over Hollywood) and a grizzled Sterling Hayden (who was already looking to leave the industry altogether). The final moment is a genuine heartbreaker—as is the documentary about Hayden on the Criterion edition, which finds the great actor living on a boat, seemingly set adrift from society."

"When I was a kid it was shown each year around Christmas on Polish state television. No idea why—maybe the communist authorities hoped Marilyn Monroe would undermine the solemn spirit of Christian Christmas. It was a favorite of my father’s and I remember watching it with him as a kid and not getting any of the subtleties but just being gripped by that world, the cool characters, the beautiful images and places, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, the car chase with booze coming out of punctured caskets, the party on the train, the music, the jokes. The charm hasn’t worn off over the decades, and Billy Wilder’s irony and generosity, and his wisdom about life, will forever remind me of my father."