Details
Movie Description
Shot in Salzburg against the majestic Bavarian Alps, THE SOUND OF MUSIC is considered one of the greatest screen musicals ever made. Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Robert Wise), the film, based on a real family and their true events, tells the story of a young postulate, Maria (Julie Andrews), who, after proving too high-spirited for the Mother Abess and other nuns, is sent off to work as a governess to seven unruly children. The Von Trapp family is run, in military style, by the seemingly cold-hearted Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), a lonely widowed naval officer. Seeing how badly he and his children need companionship, he proposes to the Baroness Schraeder (Eleanor Parker), a calculating, mutual friend of beloved family friend Max Detweiler (Richard Haydn). It is the baroness who soon realizes that it's Maria--with her warmth and love for the children--the captain really loves. It is nearly bliss for the newly formed family who loves to sing together--except for the cloud looming over their beloved Austrian horizon: Hitler is ascending to power, forcing Von Trapp to decide whether to join the Nazi party--which he loathes--or force his family to leave their home forever. One of the most memorable scores ever written (by Rodgers and Hammerstein) and breathtaking performances by Andrews, Plummer, and the seven children mark this classic as one of the world's most favorite films.
Synopsis
This classic musical set amid the splendor of Austria's Alps chronicles a young governess's budding romance with her employer and the family's daring flight from Nazi rule. Academy Award Nominations: 10, including Best Actress--Julie Andrews. Academy Awards: 5, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Sound, Best (Adapted) Score, Best Editing.
Film Notes
Much of the footage was shot in Salzburg, where director Robert Wise spent 11 weeks filming against the backdrop of the majestic Bavarian Alps.
The performance scene at the Salzburg Festival was shot in the spectacular Felsenreitschule, or the Rocky Riding School.
The musical ran on Broadway for three and a half years, starring Mary Martin
as Maria.
Marni Nixon, who plays Sister Sophia in THE SOUND OF MUSIC, has lent her vocal cords to many film stars. Nixon's singing voice was used in place of Audrey Hepburn's in MY FAIR LADY, for Natalie Wood's in WEST SIDE STORY, and for Deborah Kerr's in THE KING AND I. Her brief role as Sister Sophia in this film marks her first onscreen appearance.
Industry Reviews
"...Beloved..." -- Rating: A
Entertainment Weekly - p.61 - Steve Simels (01/20/1995)
"...Great, gaudy entertainment..."
Entertainment Weekly - Wook Kim (09/08/2000)
"[I]t's wonderful....Julie Andrews is irresistible..."
Total Film - Daniel Webb (02/01/2004)
4 stars out of 4 -- "[T]he collaboration takes on a serious edge, making it one of the precious few old-school musicals in which the action doesn't grind to a screeching halt every time a song starts."
Premiere - Peter Debruge (12/01/2005)
5 stars out of 5 -- "Julie Andrews' 1965 heroine is hard to beat...combining innocent enthusiasm with comic timing and a soaring soprano voice."
Empire - Anna Smith (10/01/2007)
Quotations
"Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens...these are a few of my favorite things."--Maria (Julie Andrews), singing to the children
"Do, a deer, a female deer. Ray, a drop of golden sun. Me, a name I call myself. Fa, a long, long way to run."--Maria and the children, learning to sing together
"Edelweiss, Edelweiss, every morning you greet me. Soft and white, clean and bright, you look happy to meet me."--Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), singing to the children (a song now used as the Austrian National Anthem)
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