Revisiting and Reevaluating the Life, Death, and Legacy of ‘Marilyn’

“Marilyn went right down into her personal experience for everything. She would reach down and pull something out of herself that was unique and extraordinary. She found things about womankind in herself. She had no technique. It was all the truth.”

-John Huston, Director of The Asphalt Jungle

Marilyn Monroe was one of the greatest movie stars of all-time time. She’s an icon, a legend, a megastar. She was also a vulnerable human being who found herself used by most of the powerful men in her life from the studio bosses to her famous husbands Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller right down to world leaders President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy.

Seasoned journalist and keen filmmaker Emma Cooper has fashioned an insightful and engrossing documentary, The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes, that pieces together her final days via previously unheard recordings from many figures who knew her—as well as anyone could. In addition, Cooper peppers the doc with important details about Monroe’s personal and professional life, plus a few corroborated shockers about the night she died.

The filmmaker, as her base, uses Anthony Summer’ priceless investigation for his 1982 book, Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe, where he drew on over 600 first-hand interviews. Cooper then spent three years combing through this treasure trove and decided to combine vintage photos and archival footage as well as cast actors lip syncing to recordings of the actual voices. Interesting enough this adds a mysterious dimension to the work.

Cooper’s executive producer credits include BAFTA-nominated The Black Cop, Diana, Epstein’s Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell and The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann. She recently founded Empress Films on the principles of documentary storytelling, via fiction and nonfiction genres, “to find the most emotionally honest ways of telling unforgettable stories.”

AD had the pleasure of speaking with Cooper about Marilyn.

The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes debuts on Netflix April 27, 2022.