Best Picture: #38
Original Release Date: April 1, 1965
Rating: G
Runtime: 2 hours, 52 minutes
Director: Robert Wise
Quick Impressions:
I first saw The Sound of Music when I was twelve, and we bought a VHS copy of the 25th anniversary re-release. Apparently my aunt loved this movie and watched it at least once a year. For reasons I don’t entirely understand, this made my mom sick to death of it. I don’t think she had any aversion to the actual movie. It was just that her sister loved it so much that she started to hate it. My mother was like that. (She almost never drank alcohol, but the year we moved into a dry city, she constantly got cravings for wine with spaghetti.)
When I was a child, I remember every single one of my cousins exclaiming to me in shock at some point, “Sarah, you’ve never seen The Sound of Music?!” My mom was like, “They certainly saw it at their house!”
I didn’t watch Mary Poppins either until I was about seven, and it was never my favorite. My mom insisted that Pete’s Dragon was more watchable, and I believed her.
So I was that rare oddball who was introduced to Julie Andrews by watching Victor Victoria. My grandma loved that movie, and watched it all the time when I was little. I may not have sung “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and “My Favorite Things” like most little kids, but I knew every single word to “Le Jazz Hot.” We’re a weird family. What can I say?
At any rate, because of my mother’s resentment of my aunt’s love of The Sound of Music, I didn’t see it until I was twelve, but when I finally did see it, I liked it (like most people. I mean, who doesn’t like The Sound of Music? Christopher Plummer when he was making it? I can think of no one else!)
My daughter liked it, too. In fact, she liked it more than My Fair Lady. She ranked The Sound of Music #11 and My Fair Lady #15 of the 38 Best Picture winners we’ve watched so far. (I don’t know how she has kept up with those rankings! I can rank only about five movies before bursting into tears and giving up!)
I didn’t realize until this moment that my daughter also didn’t see this movie until she she had turned twelve (earlier in the month). I’m not sure why I waited so long to show it to her. It certainly has nothing to do with my aunt who (until she recently passed away) lived in another state. Maybe we were just busy watching other things. (She does love Julie Andrews, though. She was a huge fan of the Netflix series Julie’s Greenroom.)
The Plot:
In 1930s Austria, young Maria plans to be a nun, but she doesn’t seem to fit in at the abbey. For one thing, she’s never there. She’s always singing, climbing trees, running off into the hills, and dashing back late for mass. The Mother Abbess considers her case and decides that it might be best for Maria to go out into the world for a while to pray about her vocation. To ensure that Maria has a place to stay while away from the abbey, the reverend Mother has found her employment as the live-in governess for Captain Von Trapp, a stern, strict military man and widower with seven incorrigible children and a whistle to keep them in line. Though Maria finds the captain’s disciplinary methods off-putting, she soon falls in love with the children. Maria teaches them to sing, which as it turns out they can do almost miraculously well, then takes them parading joyously all over town wearing the drapes, climbing trees, picnicking in the mountains, and falling in the lake. This is all well and good until the stern captain returns home with his sophisticated bride-to-be-to-be, the Baroness. Initially, Captain Von Trapp is very angry at Maria for letting his children noisily wear the drapes all over town, but when he hears the sound of the music they are singing, his feelings toward her begin to change. What will never change is that he is an Austrian patriot who refuses to give his allegiance to Nazi Germany.
The Good:
Probably the best thing about watching the film this time was hearing my daughter compare me to Maria as she leads the children on a jubilant spree in and around Salzburg, bringing magic to their childhood. I don’t have the looks or talent of Julie Andrews, and I certainly don’t have the boundless positivity and courage of the fictionalized Maria, but how wonderfully encouraging to be seen that way by my child! To be fair to myself, I am frequently found running around manically, wearing unfashionable clothing, tripping here and there. And in my own mind, life is a delightful montage of exciting locations because I lack the geographic sense to keep track of where I am properly. Though I may not have the world’s best voice, I sing as I do most other things, quite ineptly but with great enthusiasm. And you can bet that if I lived a stone’s throw from the Alps, I would always be outside, frolicking in the mountains. As it is, each spring, I never tire of crawling through wildflowers trying to get the perfect picture of any bee who will linger a moment to pose.
So hearing my daughter compare me to Maria was both flattering and reassuring. I’m glad she’s having a happy childhood. Helping to create one for her is one of my major life goals, but I’m never quite sure if I’m pulling it off. (They would throw me out of a convent for sure, though. I am terrible at making my bed, and I can never wake up early enough in the morning.)
My daughter has definitely never compared me to anyone so delightful before. That alone makes me enjoy the early scenes of the film even more than I always have. Julie Andrews makes singing all over the countryside with wild abandon look so fun. I’m glad to know we’re having fun here, too.
Actually, I think my favorite aspect of this movie–something I didn’t properly appreciate when I was twelve–is the way it’s shot on location, in and around Salzburg. Maybe the grandeur of this achievement never registered with me in the past because I don’t usually watch this film back-to-back with previous Best Picture winner My Fair Lady. Unlike my daughter, I strongly prefer My Fair Lady. (Its themes just interest me more.) But I will admit that the 1964 winner gives us nothing but claustrophobic soundstages and flowers that look artificial. The Sound of Music actually transports us to the real Austria, and it makes the country look so lovely and inviting.
When you combine the beauty of outdoor Austria with the voice of Julie Andrews and the songs of Rogers and Hammerstein, it’s pretty hard to go wrong. (I do like The Sound of Music about twenty million times better than director Robert Wise’s previous musical project West Side Story, and the reason is in large part the always delightful Julie Andrews.) The grouchy snark of Christopher Plummer is pretty great, too. The captain’s pointed lack of enthusiasm pairs perfectly with Maria’s joyous mania for life. The children all sing beautifully, and as the oldest, Liesel, Charmian Carr makes her character just as compelling as any of the adults in the cast. (When we sang along to “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” as children, my sister and I noticed in mock horror that Carr’s blue eyes seemed to glow and to lack both whites and pupils. This is not the case in the HD version I just watched. Though still quite striking, Carr’s eyes now appear much less out-of-this-world.)
And this time around, I also truly enjoyed the performance of Eleanor Parker as the Baroness. (I despised her as a child. I wasn’t being fair. I can see that now.) Though not in the movie much, Richard Hayden also makes a mark as somewhat unscrupulous music promoter Uncle Max. I never knew until just now that Angela Cartwright who plays Brigitta also played Penny Robinson on Lost in Space and is the younger sister of Veronica Cartwright from The Birds and Alien. (I see the family resemblance. I just never made the connection before.)
As a child, my favorite part of the film was the nuns at the abbey. I’m not sure why. (We weren’t even Catholic at the time!) I just liked them, and I still do. They’re a very vivacious group of nuns. Despite their protestations, if they really acted like they do in the movie, then I’m sure Maria would have gotten along just fine there, too, in time.
Best Scene:
My daughter looked so touched and overjoyed when Maria returned from the abbey to join in the children’s song. How could I not like that part best? I’m also quite partial to the moment when Maria first meets the captain. She’s so awkward, tripping in, mistaking the butler for the master of the house, making quite a fool of herself in general. And yet she actually does have confidence, a strong enough sense of self to stand up to the captain and tell him how she feels about his whistle blowing. The character is hard not to love, relatable in bumbling, yet admirable in courage.
Best Action Sequence:
“So Long, Farewell” delights me to watch because every time I see it, I anticipate its reprise.
The second time this song is sung leads to what may be my favorite part of the movie now. Strangely, when I was young, I didn’t like the entire second half of The Sound of Music because all of the conflict stressed me out. Watching again now, I’m not sure why I felt that way. Everything moves at a brisk pace, and the scenes after the festival are the most thrilling and satisfying part of the movie.
I love the moment in the spotlight that the other nuns get near the end of the film.
Best Scene Visually:
The “Do-Re-Mi” montage when Maria and the children learn to sing all over town is pretty delightful to watch because of the gorgeous, ever-shifting scenery. The earlier number, “I Have Confidence” is great for similar reasons.
Best Song:
When I was young, my favorite song was “Maria.” I found the nuns so charming. (And one of them is Marnie Nixon! It’s not often we get to look at her while she sings in a musical. Off camera, Nixon performs the star female part in so many classic musicals–The King and I, West Side Story, My Fair Lady. It’s nice to see her get a role on camera for once!) I used to love the idea of joining a convent, though I’m sure I’d make a much worse nun than Maria. As I said before, I’m not disciplined. Also I have no formal voice training, and I know nothing about car engines. I do think it would be fun to live with a bunch of women, though, especially if we were always singing entire songs about each other. Who wouldn’t enjoy that?
My mom also liked one of the songs in the convent best. She was a big fan of “Climb Every Mountain,” because the Mother Abbess (nominated for Best Supporting Actress) is Peggy Wood who played Naomi in one of Mom’s favorite films, The Story of Ruth. (Wood is actually dubbed by Margery MacKay, but my mom didn’t know that.) Incidentally, my daughter liked the use of shadow in the staging of the song and wondered about its significance. As I learned afterwards, apparently this was done to conceal the fact that Peggy Wood had trouble matching her lip movements to the recorded vocals.
All of the songs in The Sound of Music are catchy. In fact, despite the fact that I know all the songs from My Fair Lady backwards and forwards by heart, I managed to force myself not to sing along to them. I had no such luck here. Before I knew what was happening, I was skipping through the living room, singing out, “So, a needle pulling thread, la, a note to follow so…”
Probably the prettiest song is “My Favorite Things.” The scene surrounding it is great, too.
The Negatives:
One of the best things about The Sound of Music is that you watch knowing it’s based on such a dramatic, exciting true story. And it is based on the memoirs of the real Maria von Trapp. But I was horrified to learn recently that the real story of the Von Trapp family was not quite as thrilling as the one depicted on screen. I guess in real life they just boarded a train and left town. Where’s the drama in that? Yes, I know, I know, the details of the escape are embroidered, but the Nazis are real. I’m not trying to diminish the natural drama of the period. Still the iconic opening number, the inspirational song of the Mother Abbess–what’s the point of all that without the dramatic escape at the end? But I suppose I’m not truly critiquing the film here. Instead I’m criticizing real life for not being as well crafted as the show.
As a child, I remember being truly disenchanted with the second half of The Sound of Music. In fact, my irritation began with “The Lonely Goatherd,” and then after intermission, I sort of lost interest in the whole show. I was never very interested in Captain Von Trapp. I found the Baroness’s antics needlessly distressing. I didn’t see how it was much of a happy ending to have to run away from your home because the Nazis won’t leave you alone. I didn’t like the second half of Mary Poppins, either. (I love Dick Van Dyke, but I could do with about fourteen hours less of “Step in Time.”) Based on this, I used to joke that I didn’t like the second halves of musicals because they contained “too much dancing and conflict.”
But watching the film this time, I almost liked the second half best. I found myself more drawn to Captain Von Trapp than I have been in the past, possibly because of an appreciation for Christopher Plummer’s other work. My daughter, who loves Knives Out, was absolutely stunned to realize Captain Von Trapp is also Harlan Thrombey. Plummer’s performance is easily my favorite in Knives Out, and his snarky, cynical, vaguely depressed Captain Von Trapp really spoke to me as an adult.
I also found a greater appreciation for Eleanor Parker’s Baroness than I had as a child. After all, one can hardly blame the woman for not being thrilled to see the man she’s been dating for some time abruptly fall in love with the governess right before her eyes, out of nowhere and just as she’s hoping to receive a marriage proposal. Yes, she’s not great with children, but she tries. Sort of. And even though she plans to send the kids away to boarding school, she doesn’t seem to be scheming to steal their father’s money or plotting to kill them or anything dire like that. (As potential 1960s movie stepmoms go, she’s much more palatable than Vicky in The Parent Trap.) The way she tricks Maria is, perhaps, a bit despicable, but ultimately she ends up doing Maria a favor and speeding the romance along. I do think it’s extremely foolish to plan to marry a man with seven children without first having formed some kind of real relationship with the children. I do think when you’re in a relationship with a father, you’re also in a relationship with his child (or children) and failure to realize this will cause much harm to either the romantic relationship or the child (possibly both). But the Baroness isn’t really so bad. Her scheming interference, in fact, seems somewhat defensible given that she’s trying to hang on to a relationship that means something to her. For all she knows at the start, Georg is just one of those men who constantly has insignificant affairs with members of the staff. And when it becomes apparent that what he has with Maria is something more than that, the Baroness does bow out graciously. Granted, in some ways, he gives her no choice. (In fact, in every way he gives her no choice.) But she could be more vocally spiteful. (As we watched this time, I kept thinking, “Didn’t the Baroness used to be much worse when I was a kid? Does she become a Nazi late in the movie?” I don’t know what movie I’m thinking of! That doesn’t happen in The Sound of Music!)
As a child, I was never thrilled with the song “The Lonely Goatherd,” either. I found it slightly obnoxious, silly, unnecessary and momentum breaking. Watching this time, I thought, “What an astounding feat of puppetry!” Maybe I just like everything better as I age.
The weirdest thing was that the aspect of the story I used to dread–the coming Nazi threat–now filled me with the greatest delight. As I watched, I eagerly anticipated the family’s escape. I was excited for my daughter to experience for the first time the riveting action that comes late in the film. One thing The Sound of Music does quite well is give us reprises and echoes that put a new and more significant spin on lighthearted material we have already enjoyed in the first half of the movie.
So all the things I used to dislike about The Sound of Music didn’t bother me at all this time. My only small bit of disappointment came from the realization that the true story was not as perfectly neat and expertly crafted as the musical.
Overall:
The Sound of Music is an iconic classic, and I can’t see why anybody wouldn’t like it. I can easily see why you might not love it. It’s not my favorite musical either, but it is a wonderful film with fantastic songs, a charming lead performance by Julie Andrews, and a wonderful, rousing storyline about not giving in to the Nazis. If you haven’t seen it, you really should watch it at least once.