The Sound of Music (1965)

Movie Info

Listen to me, and you’ll be professional singers by the end of the day

How do you solve a problem like Maria? Maria (Julie Andrews) is a young postulant, and a frustration to the nuns of the abbey. When the Mother Abbess (Peggy Wood) receives a request for a nanny from Captain Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), she is eager to send Maria. Maria finds herself in the von Trapps world of rules and whistles and seeks to bring music to von Trapp’s children Liesl (Charmian Carr), Friedrich (Nicholas Hammond), Louisa (Heather Menzies), Kurt (Duane Chase), Brigitta (Angela Cartwright), Marta (Debbie Turner), and Gretl (Kym Karath). When Maria finds herself falling in love with Captain von Trapp, her relationship with the church and the fact that the captain is planning to marry Baroness Elsa Schroeder (Eleanor Parker) against her, Maria must decide the direction of her life. The war is coming to Austria however, and the Nazis could change everything.

Hey, I know you just got out of the convent, but want a bunch of kids?

Directed by Robert Wise, The Sound of Music adapts the Rodgers and Hammerstein 1959 musical. The film was well received and the winner of a number Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Sound, Best Scoring of Music, and Best Film Editing and nominated for Best Actress (Julie Andrews), Best Supporting Actress (Peggy Wood), Best Art Direction—Color, Best Costume Design—Color, and Best Cinematography—Color. It continues to air annually on television.

Growing up, the family would always watch The Sound of Music, but when I was young I always had to go to bed…just after “The Lonely Goatherd”. I never even realized Nazis were part of the plot for years. The movie does nicely divide into two basic parts with Maria and Captain von Trapps’ romance making up the first half of the movie and the second half of the movie dealing with the Nazis occupation of Austria. The first part of the movie, for me, is more enjoyable, but the concert and escape is also fun.

Maybe this year, Rolfe won’t be a dick…nope…still a dick

Julie Andrews as Maria is the perfect nanny/mom. She sings, is entertaining, and caring. She is Maria.  Christopher Plummer seems a bit out of his league as von Trapp, but Charmian Carr as his oldest daughter Liesl does a good job with her turncoat boyfriend Rolfe (Daniel Truhitte). The filmmakers did a nice job casting the children who manage to have a bit of personality despite their age and lack of screen time.  (though Friedrich’s blueberry line always makes me cringe with the poor delivery).

If you watch The Sound of Music and don’t want to go to Salzburg, something is wrong with you.  The movie really eats up the scenery from the mountaintops to the city itself.  If you own the DVD of this film, there is a fun little introduction to Salzburg with Charmain Carr seeing the sites as part of a “preview” of the film when it was released.

So long, farewell!

What of course sells The Sound of Music is in the title.  The music for the movie is classic and easy to memorize and learn.  It seems like we always had to sing “Do-Re-Mi” as a means to learn how to sing…just like the von Trapps.  The music is often soft and sentimental, but it does a great job telling the story and allows the actors to express their emotions through them.

Now, The Sound of Music is often considered a “Christmas Movie”. Why?  I’m not really sure. “My Favorite Things” is a Christmas song and the only thing I can believe is that mentions of wrapped packages, snow, and some other winter things are the reason. I don’t consider The Sound of Music a Christmas movie, but a movie that can be enjoyed anytime of the year.  Visit the hills once more!

Related Links:

The Sound of Music Live! (2013)