The Sound of Music

1965.
#55 / #40
Winner of 5 Academy Awards.

Maria (Julie Andrews), a postulant, becomes the governess of Captain Georg Von Trapp's (Christopher Plummer) seven children. Maria teaches the children the joy of music and play, then falls in love with and marries Captain Von Trapp. And then the Nazis show up.

Eddie: THE SOUND OF MUSIC is long. This is only the third movie I've ever seen that had an intermission. Sarah complained about the panoramic vistas in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, and this movie has an equal number of ridiculous landscape shots. Also, THE SOUND OF MUSIC is children's fare to begin with, one of the highest rated kids' movies on the AFI list. All that being said, Julie Andrews is spectacular, illuminating the screen with her vibrance. Who knew she had such a voice? (Well, I did. After all, I've seen MARY POPPINS.) And the oldest Von Trapp daughter, Liesl (Charmian Carr) isn't bad to look at either.

Despite the annoying, sweeping panoramas, Ted D. McCord deserves credit for his iconic cinematography. Most of the movie was shot in 70mm, and the screen comes alive so well, it would be a disservice to watch it anywhere other than the big screen. Dorothy Jeakins matches Andrews' green costumes to the green hills of Austria, making the whole movie seem natural and peaceful (until those damned Nazis show up).

Sarah: What bothers me most about this film is the discordance between its two halves. The first act might as well be a cartoon for all its cheer and mugging to the camera. Then comes act two, which seems to say, "Hey, this is the real world. Let's focus on the real problems." But nothing in THE SOUND OF MUSIC resembles the real world at all, so why throw it in at the end?

Though the film does make me admire Julie Andrews and Austria more than before, I would be OK with never seeing it again. I think you have to fall in love with this film in childhood, and I missed that (being a child, that is), so to me this film is just annoyingly cheery.

Why You Should See It: The scene roughly halfway through the movie when Captain Von Trapp hears his family singing, softening his austere heart. Who cares if it's a complete fabrication? It's touching.