LUCY BURDETTE: I hadn't paid much attention to the news that THE SOUND OF MUSIC is celebrating its 60th anniversary until my neighbor mentioned she was going to our local theater to see it on the big screen. I'm not lukewarm about this musical--I adore it! So I immediately signed on to the neighbor posse. We got there a half hour ahead in case the place was mobbed (it wasn't) and settled in with popcorn.
https://youtu.be/q0y-CuV1SI4
I love this show so deeply! It was the perfect antidote for the bad news the world keeps throwing at us. I love the way the romance develops--such a great example of show don't tell. The Captain's patriotism is inspiring, the escape is epic, I love those nuns from beginning to end, the depiction of stepfamily dynamics...well, not so realistic:). I do have some lingering questions, such as why oh why did they give Julie Andrews that horrendous haircut? And what is Maria referring to when she sings she might have had a wicked childhood?? Her family of origin is never mentioned--what shaped her into the spunky woman she grows into during the movie? Would the baroness really have bowed out so neatly once Maria returns to the von Trapp household? She strikes me as more of a fighter than that...
I must have seen this not long after it came out in 1965, but I was also cast in our high school rendition as Brigitta. (That probably accounts for a bit of my adoration...)
Here's my pal Joel Silidker (RIP) playing the Captain...
Are you a fan of the show? Have you seen it recently? Is there a different movie you feel even more strongly about?
ps On a different subject, if you might want to listen to the audio version of my first advice column mystery, it's on sale for $7.50 until November 1.
https://www.audiobooks.com/
Oh, I agree with you, Lucy . . . "The Sound of Music" is absolutely amazing. [I hadn't realized it was celebrating its sixtieth anniversary, though . . . .]
ReplyDeleteAlthough I haven't seen it recently, I remember going to the theater with a group of friends from our neighborhood . . . the cast, the story, the music . . . it's all just perfect.
One of my all-time favorites, too. Maria is boilerplate for the plucky, resourceful, cockeyed optimist, isn't she? And everything about the film is stellar: gorgeous scenery, good-looking actors, luscious songs, romance, comedy, heart-stopping dramatic moments. What's not to love?
ReplyDeleteJust don't take it as a completely true story. My best friend's daughter-in-law is a Von Trapp descendant. Her grandmother was one of the kids, although I don't know which one. The film took a lot of liberties with their actual story, which wasn't quite as cinematic, but still a fantastic family history. But every one of the family members I know are incredibly talented and brilliant.
I adore it. Watch it every Christmas. And she has the haircut because she is entering the convent! No vanity allowed. Story wise the captain says he fell in love with her immediately but we don’t have a single club of that until she sings with the kids
ReplyDeleteIn 1965 my older sister was 16 and I was 6, my little sister 4. The eldest taught us little ones "Edelweiss" and somewhere we have a reel-to-reel tape recording of the three sisters singing it. Needless to say, I love this movie. The film is entirely unconnected from the real story —— which is available in nonfiction books, starting with Maria's THE SOUND OF MUSIC: The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (1949). For one thing, the music the family made as a choir was religious. I too have a friend who is a granddaughter of one of the original girls. However, the film is delightful and thankfully, my husband enjoys it also. We can always rewatch it.
ReplyDeleteFor a fun few minutes, watch the Sound of Music flash mob dance in the Antwerp train station in 2009. It's terribly grainy but for those of us who adore the film, it's still moving. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k (Selden)