The Sound of Music (1965)

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Howard Lindsay (book) &
Russel Crouse (book) ...

Release Date:

29 March 1965 (UK)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Family | Musical

Tagline:

...the more you see it, the more it becomes one of your favorite things!

Plot:

A woman leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to a Naval officer widower.

Plot Keywords:

Children | Governess | Austria | Nun | Convent

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Julie Andrews	...	Maria
Christopher Plummer	...	Captain Von Trapp
Eleanor Parker	...	The Baroness
Richard Haydn	...	Max Detweiler
Peggy Wood	...	Mother Abbess
Charmian Carr	...	Liesl
Heather Menzies	...	Louisa
Nicholas Hammond	...	Friedrich
Duane Chase	...	Kurt
Angela Cartwright	...	Brigitta
Debbie Turner	...	Marta
Kym Karath	...	Gretl
Anna Lee	...	Sister Margaretta
Portia Nelson	...	Sister Berthe
Ben Wright	...	Herr Zeller

Also Known As:

Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

174 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm prints) | Stereo (some 35 mm prints) | DTS 70 mm (70mm re-release)

Certification:

Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Iceland:L | Ireland:G | Spain:T | Germany:6 | West Germany:6 | Malaysia:U (DVD) | USA:Approved (certificate #20734) (original rating) | Canada:G (video rating) | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Norway:7 (original rating) | Norway:A (DVD rating) | Peru:PT | Singapore:G | South Korea:All | Sweden:11 | Sweden:Btl (re-release) | UK:U | USA:G (re-rating) (1969)

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Robert Wise Productions

Trivia:

The singing of Peggy Wood (Mother Abbess) was dubbed, as she herself declared that she was too old to handle the vocals.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the song "Do Re Mi" when Maria and the children are riding in the carriage, you see the same store fronts several times as the carriage passes by.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Maria: [singing] The hills are alive with the sound of music / With songs they have sung for a thousand years. / The hills fill my heart with the sound of music. / My heart wants to sing every song it hears.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mad About You: I'm Just So Happy for You (#1.6)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

Morning Hymn

In My Personal Top-Ten of All Time

Has Julie Andrews ever appeared on film more beautifully than in this film? Has she ever sung with such richness and gusto as is captured here? As a big fan of hers, I can watch this musical over and over and just sigh.

Wise and his cinematographer have photographed Andrews in a manner that no other director has--even her husband. Watch the scene where Maria watches the Captain sing Edelweiss with the kids. Wise turns her into a gauzy angel. It is a fantastic moment among hundreds that this movie contains.

I am firmly in a camp that says Julie Andrews was completely, utterly, and regrettably robbed when the 1965 Oscars were handed out. She embodied Maria Von Trapp, wholly and with every fiber of her being (just watch the scene in which she races the boys in a segment of "Do-Re-Mi"; she runs at the camera with utter abandon here, no holding back. Or consider the shot at the end of this song, where she places her hand atop her head--it's as if even SHE can't believe she's hitting that note).

The Julie Christie performance that beat Andrews is now all but forgotton. "The Sound of Music," however, lives on and on.

"The Sound of Music" is a bit bittersweet for me, given that audiences tastes would soon turn away from big-budget musicals in general and Julie Andrews specifically. But what a legacy it (and she) have left!