September marks the long-awaited streaming debut of Blonde, a Marilyn Monroe biopic that has generated an abundance of controversy. The Netflix release garnered an NC-17 rating for its graphic sexual content, which sparked debate over the fine line between art and exploitation.

RELATED: 10 Pioneering Women Of Early Cinema

Famed film critic and director François Truffaut once declared that it is nearly impossible to make an anti-war film because the inherent nature of action is thrilling and exciting. It is hypocritical to argue war is evil while simultaneously profiting from the glorification of violence. This same logic applies to Blonde, a film that seeks to demonstrate the exploitation of Monroe, yet revels in the kind of explicit, unnecessary sexuality that has exploited women in Hollywood for decades. Monroe had a remarkable film career full of iconic performances that are worth checking out after Blonde.

10 Monroe Joins An All-Star Cast In There's No Business Like Show Business

Monroe, O'Connor, and Gaynor in There's No Business Like Show Business

In 1953, Marilyn Monroe became one of the biggest movie stars in the world following the successes of Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and How to Marry a Millionaire. However, despite becoming one of Hollywood's biggest box office draws within a matter of a few months, Monroe was suspended by 20th Century Fox after refusing to star in The Girl in Pink Tights.

Once she returned to Hollywood, Monroe was placed into the ensemble cast of There's No Business Like Show Business, which included Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, Johnnie Ray, and Mitzi Gaynor. There's No Business Like Show Business features many great song and dance numbers from Monroe, the most notable being "Heat Wave."

9 Clash By Night Offers A Rare Supporting Dramatic Role From Monroe

Monroe and Robert Ryan in Clash by Night

Monroe began her career in Hollywood as a supporting actor. Many of these films have become completely forgotten by history. However, several movies, including The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve, rank among the greatest films of all time.

RELATED: 10 Golden Era Actors Who Would Have Been Great In Comic Book Films

Released in 1952 and directed by Fritz Lang, Clash by Night is a noir-ish melodrama that offers a rare look at Monroe in a dramatic role. Monroe played Peggy, which was her most prominent role up until that point. Clash by Night directly led to studio executives giving her a chance as the dramatic lead in Don't Bother to Knock.

8 The Misfits Is Monroe's Final Completed Feature Film

Monroe, Gable, and Clift in The Misfits

The final feature film completed by Monroe, The Misfits was a commercial and critical failure at the time of its release. The film was marred by tragedy, with its three legendary leads sadly passing away within five years of the film's release. In the film, Monroe plays Rosalyn Tabor, a woman who spends time with her landlady, a cowboy, and two other men in Reno and Northern Nevada while she divorces her husband.

Retrospectively, The Misfits' reputation has grown over time and it's now considered a cult classic. Many critics cited the importance of The Misfits in the transition from the end of the Golden Era to the beginning of the New Hollywood movement.

7 Monroe Delivers Her Most Complex Performance In Don't Bother To Knock

Monroe in a bedroom in Don't Bother To Knock

Nominated by the American Film Institute for its list of the greatest movie thrills, Don't Bother to Knock features what is arguably Monroe's greatest screen performance. This psychological film noir is one of only a handful of dramas Monroe was featured in. Her performance as Nell Forbes, a babysitter, proved Monroe could portray emotionally complex characters instead of simply the stereotypical "dumb blonde" characters she was so often cast to play.

Watching Don't Bother to Knock is a melancholic experience because Nell's mental health struggles are played so poignantly. Monroe's performance as Nell has since been cited as one of her best.

6 Monkey Business Sees Monroe In A Hilarious Screwball Comedy

Monroe, Grant, and Rogers in Monkey Business

Monkey Business marks Monroe's final significant supporting role before she skyrocketed to superstardom. This hilarious screwball comedy was directed by Howard Hawks and stars Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers.

Monkey Business is known for its zany plot, which involves a youthful elixir and great comedic chemistry between Monroe and Grant. Although it’s not as well known as some of her other comedies, Monkey Business sees Monroe at the top of her comedic gamr. Peter Bogdanovich has argued that Monroe was so great in Monkey Business that she upstaged the film's star, Ginger Rogers.

5 Monroe Cements Her Status As A Beauty Icon In Niagara

Monroe in a pink dress in Niagara

Niagara is a rare Technicolor noir and is wonderfully photographed by famed cinematographer Joseph MacDonald. Monroe is dazzling as a result of the film's gorgeous cinematography. The combination of her beauty and the sensuality of the femme fatale she portrays helped to cement her status as one of the twentieth century's most alluring women.

RELATED: 10 Female Actors Who We'll Always See As Their Most Iconic Roles

Niagara saw Monroe finally get top billing in a film. By the end of the year, Monroe was Hollywood's sixth highest-grossing film star and the highest-grossing female actor.

4 How To Marry A Millionaire Caps Off One Of Hollywood's Greatest Single Year Achievements By An Actor

Monroe, Grable, and Bacall smiling in How to Marry a Millionaire

The final film of Monroe's legendary three-movie run of 1953, How to Marry a Millionaire validated Monroe's status as a major Hollywood star. She got top billing on all advertising for the film over Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall, two bona fide stars in their own right.

How to Marry a Millionaire is a quirky screwball comedy about three women who set out to marry millionaires but end up finding true love in the process. The film is significant for being the second film shot in CinemaScope, a widescreen format invented to combat the threat of television to the film industry.

3 The Seven Year Itch Brought Monroe's Most Iconic Photograph

Monroe playing piano in the Seven Year Itch

One of the definitive Hollywood comedies of the 1950s, The Seven Year Itch is responsible for one of the most iconic pop culture images of the twentieth century. While shooting on location in New York City, photographers snapped away while Monroe was filming the now-famous scene of her dress getting blown by the draft of a passing subway train.

RELATED: 10 Best Women Fight Scenes In Popular Movies

The seven-year itch is a belief that married couples tend to start looking elsewhere at the seven-year mark of their marriage. The Seven Year Itch stars Monroe as a comedic femme fatale who causes a happily married man to question the stability of his marriage. The Seven Year Itch was included in both the American Film Institute's list of the greatest comedies and The New York Times' list of 1,000 greatest films in 2002.

2 Monroe Teams Up With Howard Hawks Again For Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Monroe and Russell in red dresses in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

While Niagara made Monroe a movie star, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes made Monroe a pop culture phenomenon. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a musical comedy that features Monroe's performance of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," arguably the most famous scene of her entire career. The pink dress Monroe wore in the sequence has become a staple of pop culture iconography.

Many celebrities have paid homage to it, including Madonna in the music video for "Material Girl." Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is now widely considered one of the greatest films of all time and is noted by critics for its positive portrayal of female friendship.

1 Some Like It Hot Remains Monroe's Most Celebrated Film

Sugar (Marily Monroe), Josephine, and Daphne in Some Like it Hot (1959)

There is no Marilyn Monroe performance more memorable, more iconic, more celebrated than that of Sugar Kowalczyk in Some Like It Hot. Perhaps the greatest comedy ever made, Some Like It Hot teams Monroe up with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, who are on the run from the mob after witnessing a shooting.

Some Like It Hot is notable for its outrageous humor that pushed the bounds of the Production Code to its very limit. Monroe gave the finest comedic performance of her career in Some Like It Hot despite the turbulent behind-the-scenes issues Monroe was facing at the time. The film's legendary final line, "well, no one's perfect," still delivers raucous laughter over sixty years after its original release.

NEXT: 10 Angelina Jolie Movies To Check Out On Netflix