The Sound of Music
THE SOUND OF MUSIC (U)
D: Robert Wise
20th Century Fox/Argyle (Robert Wise)
US 1965
172 mins
Musical
W: Ernest Lehman [based on the book by Howard Lindsay
& Russell Crouse; musical by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II]
DP: Ted McCord
Ed: William Reynolds
Mus: Irwin Kostal
PD: Boris Leven
Cos: Dorothy Jeakins
Julie Andrews (Maria), Christopher
Plummer (Captain Von Trapp), Eleanor Parker (The Baroness), Richard Haydn (Max Detweiler), Peggy Wood (Mother Abbess)
Musicals may be a dead genre nowadays but during the
1960's they were still hugely popular, proved by the fact that The Sound Of Music became the biggest box office hit of all time when it had its theatrical run, ending a 26-year record
held by Gone With The Wind. The soundtrack was also a huge seller, still holding records to this very day due to such enormous sales.
The film itself is still held in high regard by its
fans and still manages to engage new generations due to the inescapably memorable songs and the good performances of its cast.
The story follows a trainee nun who becomes a
governess to the Von Trapp family in the Austrian countryside, falling in love with the widowed Captain Von Trapp, teaching his children how to sing and escaping with them to avoid Nazi
persecution.
The film is not without some flaws. The first being
the length, which goes on at least half an hour longer than it really should. Another gripe would be that it seems to state that a woman's place is to look after the house and children,
rather than having a life of her own, but perhaps this is simply due to the period in which the film is set and the year in which it was released.
Love it or hate it, it's a film which is impossible to
avoid.
8/10
