Niagara

This woman is amazing. Great seeing her in a mystery.

Starts off slowly so I skipped to Marilyn in the dress! I remembered that part from a clip. Great outfits and Marilyn was a great actress, I was impressed. The storyline and plot didn't stagger and had a few twists.

I grew up watching a lot of Marilyn Monroe movies but never saw this. I really liked it. She is most known for playing a bubbly s-x symbol, but I think she did really good in this drama. I wish she were more known for this.

A Hitchcock-ian 50’s movie rec to us prior to our first ever visit to NF. MM at her finest. Watch it if you’re a fan of hers or got nothing else to do.

Niagara is an excellent film in many ways and would always have a place in film history even if Gloria Grahame had played the role of the femme fatale. But that role was played by Marilyn Monroe, and it's for her that it is most remembered and viewed today. to her credit she played the role well. More than that, this is the film that really brought her to the attention of the American public. Until Niagara, though she had appeared in numerous films, they were relatively small films or small roles in important films like All About Eve or The Asphalt Jungle. Niagara also cemented Marilyn's image as a sex symbol even though the rather shocking nature of its blatant sexuality doesn't register now as it did in 1953. Her specific look, including the glossy lips and beauty mark first came together here. After Niagara Marilyn was a star.Much talk goes on over whether Niagara is truly Film Noir, often hinging on the fact that it was shot by director Henry Hathaway in Technicolor. Although the term translates directly as "black film" and most of the films of the genre were indeed shot in black and white, Niagara certainly is a film noir containing almost a definitive list of its elements: murder, untrustworthy or double-dealing people, danger, striking photography, at least one ultra-dramatic location and a femme fatale. Early noirs were made in black and white because they were generally small budgeted films considered lesser works because of their seamy subject matter, much as detective novels were in comparison to literature. This is erroneous but this was the 40's and early 50's. The black and white of the standard noir film worked beautifully to accentuate the generally poor underside of the city environments in which they were set. But the use of color with the same themes in play made perfect sense in films where much of the action took place in beautiful outdoor scenery; Leave her To Heaven comes to mind as another example of a color noir. Besides, the studio wasn't going to all the trouble to film on location at Niagara Falls and shoot it in black and white. The Falls are practically a character here.The acting is good throughout, though Max Showalter as the newlywed husband, Ray Cutler, seems a bit too over the top; but perhaps he was just supposed to be that kind of a guy, so eager to meet the president of a shredded wheat company. Jean Peters kept a perfect balance between sexiness and wholesomeness required by the script. She's actually really good looking and would have gotten more notice had her co-star been anyone other than Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn plays her role well showing her vulnerability despite her conniving nature. Two of her most famous appearances occur in this film: her long, hip-swinging walk down the sidewalk and her appearance in the famous magenta dress.Niagara is a terrific thriller and it has Marilyn to boot. You won't be disappointed.EXTRA NOTE: I don't know why Amazon labels this film "(Colorized)" It was shot in Technicolor and this is it. The trailer was shot in black & white for an unknown reason. Maybe someone looked at the trailer and thought this must be colorized. It's not.

The vivid three strip technicolor color only adds to this lurid tale of madness and infidelity. Actually, it is a bit creepy and unsettling. Marilyn Monroe is very pretty and quite sexy and is a diversion to what the story is actually focusing on and motivates her husband in the film. It is an amazing American film-noir film by directed by Henry Hathaway, who often takes on off-beat tales in my opinion. Joseph Cotten as George Loomis, the mentally deranged Koren War veteran, Monroe's husband, is simply brilliant and unwittingly menacing. I think Joseph Cotten is totally convincing. This is a must-see film noir tale that you must feel as you watch it.

darkly enjoyable colorizing did not harm it

Fox Home Entertainment has done it again with this beautiful Technicolor Blu-ray of "Niagara" just in time for it's 60th Anniversary. If you already own the standard DVD and are a fan of Marilyn Monroe then you seriously need to think about upgrading to this new Blu-ray presentation. Once you put the Blu-ray on and start watching you'll feel like Marilyn is in the room with you. I'm not kidding, this Blu-ray is that good. Forget the story, just sit back and enjoy the scenery. Joseph MacDonald's beautiful cinematography is eye popping on this latest Blu-ray gem from Fox(Bitrate: 32.50). The detail is exceptional. There are lots of shots of Niagara Falls(in 1953) that make you feel like you're watching a Ken Burns documentary instead of a movie. But it all comes back to Marilyn and she is simply stunning. The detail in this new Blu-ray had my head spinning, from the bright red lipstick on Marilyn's lips to her colorful costumes(very tight). You can even see her blood facial hairs underneath her makeup that's how good this Blu-ray is. Like I said the story wants to be a film noir tale but it was hard for me to believe that Joseph Cotton, who plays Monroe's husband, could be that frustrated with something like her waiting for him in their honeymoon cabin. You get the picture. Fox has been doing a great job in getting most of Monroe's films out on Blu-ray lately and along with "Niagara" they also released "Bus Stop"(1956) last week in memory of her untimely passing(she died 61 years ago today in 1962). Although I was too young to remember the impact she must have had on the Fifties(along with Elvis, Brando and James Dean) I can certainly see what all the fuss was about when I watched this beautiful looking Blu-ray. The restorers at Fox have been on a role lately with not only this title but previous Blu-rays of "Blood and Sand" and "Cleopatra"(one of the best Blu-ray restorations of the year). "Niagara" is 89 minutes(Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1) and contains the following subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Italian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish and Turkish. Audio are as follows: English DTS-DH Master Audio 5.1(also in Mono), French, German, Japanese in DTS 5.1. Italian & Spanish in DTS 2.0 and Spanish Dolby Digital Mono. As with previous Fox Blu-ray releases, "Niagara" is housed in one of those awful Eco-cases so you might want to switch to a sturdier HD case. In summary, fans of Marilyn Monroe would be wise to add this stunning Blu-ray to their collection. Even if you're not a fan, just sit back and enjoy the scenery. And I don't just mean Niagara Falls.