The Sound of Music

Interestingly, I grew up knowing the story of the von Trapp family but I did not watch “The Sound of Music” in its entirety until my teen years. Having said that, the film is important in film history and I enjoy it very much. The cast is well chosen and the themes in the film are very strong. The movie fits just fine in the list of films that have won the Oscar for Best Picture because of its screenplay, songs, acting and scope. The message of the importance of family love is very strong. Because this film is an adaption and because I am not very familiar with the stage play, the focus of this review will be mostly on the film itself.

The film obviously has many memorable moments. I can understand why they are memorable but some of these do not have as much of an effect on me as others. I am more interested in the themes of the film than anything else. As with "West Side Story", Oscar-winning director Robert Wise opens the film with helicopter establishing shots. These build up nicely towards the famous helicopter shot when we first see Julie Andrews thanks to their scope and to the musical score. The introduction of the abbey where we see nuns praying and worshiping is an important opening scene for the film because it contrasts Maria’s personality. She is well set apart from the others living there. The film uses themes that are part of what Joseph Campbell called “The Hero’s Journey”. One part of this is the hero feeling reluctance about the quest they must go on. They don’t feel like they can accept the challenge and Maria expresses this to Mother Abbess. Eventually, the hero does accept their destiny as it were. Campbell also talked about “crossing the threshold” which is a moment when the hero first feels out of place or first comes to realize the kind of path they are undertaking. In “The Sound of Music”, Maria as the hero experiences such instances during “I Have Confidence” and when the Captain summons the children with the whistle (funny enough, the song "I Have Confidence" is not in the play). In my opinion, the movie gets going once the Captain is introduced. Out of all the characters, he changes the most. He begins the film as quite antagonistic. Once the Baroness shows up in the film, we view him as more human than we had first supposed. One instance that deserves to be pointed out is after Rolfe has delivered the telegram to Max. We first hear the music of “Edelweiss” as the Captain is distraught by the German problem. We dramatically come to realize just how much of a patriot he is and how much he loves his country. It is touching. This leads to his change of heart when he hears the children singing. The children express his love for his country and he was not expecting something like that. He comes to understand that even though he has lost his wife, his children are not there to taunt him with the memory of her. They can preserve her. Maria has brought a familiar loving feeling back into the home and he is attracted to her because of this. We have two scenes between the Captain and Maria where their love develops and these scenes remind me of the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene. The first is after the children first sing “The Sound of Music” and Maria is on the stairs with the Captain below. The second is after Maria returns to the von Trapps and the Captain watches her from the balcony. This motif in these two scenes adds a bit of familiar romance. The Captain has now become fatherly again thanks to Maria but he begins to show his dashing side as well. I love how he adjusts his gloves before dancing with Maria. Go Captain Go. Thanks to the entr’acte and the intermission, the movie really feels like a play. This break in the movie allows us to worry whether everything will work out for our characters. This dramatic device of the theater is well used here in the film version. I also enjoy Robert Wise's use of silhouette in the gazebo scene with Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The lighting of that whole scene is extremely romantic and makes the acting so sincere. I love how Plumer is lit in blue while Andrews is more naturally lit. I also love how at one point their hands sparkle in the back light. By the time the Nazis show up, we care very much about the family. This is because of the affective use of character growth, romance and humor of the screenplay. After the Anschluss, we have genuine worry for our characters. I like how the family ends up singing in the festival as a way to delay the Captain’s “acceptance” of his commission in the Navy. The Captain is opposed to the children singing in public but ironically, he must use the festival in order to save his family. Of all the things he detests the most, the Captain hates Nazism. In order to save his family from the Nazis, he must let go of his other dislikes. He must even try to help Rolfe but not just so that his family can escape. The Captain sincerely does not want this boy to become caught up in Hitler’s world. He puts aside his past issues with Rolfe for the benefit of his family but also for Rolfe’s benefit. To think of anyone joining the Nazis is very sad for the Captain. This confrontation with Rolfe happens differently in the stage play and I like the movie versoin. The ending helicopter shot bookends the film nicely. There were many other changes made between the play and the film such as the setting of certain songs. I love that "Do Re Mi" for example shows us Salzburg and excelerates passage of time.

The cast and their acting make “The Sound of Music” enjoyable for anyone. Julie Andrews creates a character that is quite different from her Oscar-winning performance as Mary Poppins, even though both characters have a similar vocation. To me, the character of Maria is more like Andrews in real life than any other role of hers. I love her acting when Maria has to stand up to the Captain for the benefit of the children. Even though she did not win back-to-back Oscars, Julie Andrews’ performance in this film will continue to be more memorable than that of the actual winner for that year (she did win the Golden Globe however). Future Oscar winner Christopher Plummer is perfect as the Captain. He portrays antagonistic, fatherly and dashing quite entertainingly. He had a bad boy reputation before this film and I feel that this persona was helpful for the start of the story. His timing and reactions in the film are masterful. I love his acting in his first scene with Maria but Plummer’s best performance is preceding “Something Good” as he talks with Maria outside the gazebo (this is another song that only appears in the film version). I have heard the original track of him singing "Edelweiss" and I can not understand for the life of me why the filmmakers decided to dub over it. Plummer sings that song more than fine and I view that as a great loss. Peggy Wood as Mother Abbess did extremely well in that she creates such an image of wisdom. I am glad she was nominated at the Oscars too. I did not know that Richard Haydn who plays Max is the voice of the Caterpillar on Disney's "Alice in Wonderland". There are multiple moments in the movie when the children feel like actual brothers and sisters. This is a reason why the film is so good. The chemistry between Andrews, Plummer and the children make the story come alive.

As a fun fact, "The Sound of Music" and "Mary Poppins" have the same orchestrator: Irwin Kostal. In later years, he would work on many other noteworthy film musicals. One my favorite times watching this film was on the occasion of its 50th anniversary on the big screen. “The Sound of Music” saved 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy and the film fittingly won five Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Wise), Best Sound, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Score (Kostal). Other nominations I haven't already mentioned include Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. The movie also won Best Motion Picture Musical at the Golden Globes. After adjusting for inflation, it is third on the list of all-time box office hits behind “Gone with the Wind” and “Star Wars”. It is my favorite film from 1965, one of my favorite films based on a true story and one of my favorite Best Picture winners. The American Film Institute has included “The Sound of Music” in its list of the top 100 movies of all time. The film is in other AFI 100 lists such as those for love stories and inspirational movies. Three of its songs are in the list of the top 100 movies songs of all time with the title song as number 10. It is #4 on the AFI list of the top movie musicals as well. The themes used in “The Sound of Music” will live on due to their timelessness. The writing is well done, the songs are some of the best ever written, the acting is superb and the film shows some great locations. I don’t think that this movie will ever lose its appeal.

4.5 Stars out of 5