The cultural phenomenon of Marilyn Monroe has endured for generations, though she is often reduced to a sex symbol frozen in time, or a tragic figure with a focus on the scandals, marriages and troubles that punctuated her personal life. But Monroe’s achievements, legacy and contribution to cinema stretches so far beyond this reductive view.
She was a dynamic and intuitive performer who knew how to use her intelligence and physicality as well as her style and carefully crafted image, as expressive instruments. She was also a determined and ambitious creative who revolutionised the promotion machine, challenged the studio system by striking to protest poor-quality scripts and became the first woman since the silent era to set up her own production company.
This season, in honour of the centenary of her birth, will bring together some of her finest works, and will include a special 4K re-issue of The Misfits, alongside screenings of Niagara and Some Like It Hot.
