\n\t It\u2019s not easy picking the highlights from dozens of documentaries and hundreds of books, but here are some vintage and more recent titles that stand out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tThe Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes\t\t<\/p>\n \n\tThe most recent longform Marilyn documentary uses the unheard tapes that were utilized for the book \u201cGoddess\u201d \u2014 including interviews with John Huston and Billy Wilder \u2014 to focus on the circumstances around her death. Variety critic Owen Gleiberman said, \u201c \u2018The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe\u2019 is the rare tabloid expos\u00e9 that wants to set the record straight, and does. It confronts the key questions, as well as the conspiracy theories.\u201d Other reviewers, though, slammed it as \u201csinister\u201d and \u201ctawdry.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tAcclaimed documentarian Liz Garbus directed this doc based on the book \u201cFragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters,\u201d edited by Stanley F. Buchthal and Bernard Comment. Critics called it an \u201celegant pastiche\u201d based on Monroe\u2019s own writings and read by a parade of notable names.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tProduced for the 25th anniversary of her death and hosted by Lee Remick, the tribute includes rare footage of Monroe\u2019s teenage years and material from her marriages to Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, plus interviews with Robert Wagner, Gloria Steinem, Robert Mitchum, Susan Strasberg and Monroe herself.<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tNorma Jeane Alias Marilyn Monroe\t\t<\/p>\n \n\tThis hour-long television documentary was based on a long interview from 1960 with French journalist Georges Belmont, in which Catherine Deneuve listens to the interview and responds. \u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tThe Legend of Marilyn Monroe\t\t<\/p>\n \n\tNarrated by her last director, John Huston, this early doc delves into the psyche of the late star, with lots of celebrity interviews.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tMarilyn by Gloria Steinem\t\t<\/p>\n \n\tThe feminist author brings out previously unknown stories revealing the star\u2019s intelligence and emotional turmoil.<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tNorma Jean: The Life of Marilyn Monroe by Fred Lawrence Guiles\t\t<\/p>\n \n\tConsidered one of the definitive records of Monroe, the tome offers interviews with primary sources like former husband Arthur Miller, friend and mentor Lee Strasberg and directors Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder and John Huston.<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tMarilyn Monroe by Charles Casillo\t\t<\/p>\n \n\tCasillo delves into Monroe\u2019s bipolar disorder and other intimate moments in this comprehensive biography that features dozens of new interviews.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tMarilyn Monroe: The Biography by Donald Spoto\t\t<\/p>\n \n\tOnce considered the definitive Monroe biography, Spoto\u2019s thorough tome has been criticized for sometimes-unclear sourcing and being overly sympathetic.<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tMy Story by Marilyn Monroe\t\t<\/p>\n \n\tPublished more than a decade after her death, this unfinished autobiography was shepherded to publication by playwright Ben Hecht. Though Monroe stopped chronicling her life after her marriage to Joe DiMaggio, it provides a unique angle on her early life and formative experiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tControversial for its mix of biography and psychoanalysis, it was critiqued as harsh at the time but remains an important record.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-variety-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n