The Sound of Music (1965)

[AgathaC]

I know it’s not “cool.” It’s not edgy. It’s cheesy. It’s ripe for parody. But I don’t give a damn. After at least 50 viewings, you could plop me down in front of it and I would watch start to finish and be perfectly happy.

I spent a significant portion of my childhood worshipping at the altar of Julie Andrews, so it’s no surprise this is a favorite. As a child, I loved the songs and the puppets and funny parts. As an adult, I can appreciate the scenery, the orchestrations and the performances. And the romance. Six-year-old Agatha definitely didn’t “get” the Laendler scene.

In college, my choir did a tour of Central Europe, including Salzburg. We kept it together so as not to seem like total nerds, but you get a groups of choir kids in Salzburg and, yeah, we were quietly geeking out.

Anyway, I realized it’s turning 60 next year and thought surely there are others who have warm memories of this one.

[Spartan Girl]

Julie Andrews is the GOAT. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

My feelings toward The Sound of Music are the same I have about 1942's Random Harvest:

Let the haters sneer. I love this movie and think it's wonderful.

One is free to mock this movie until they're blue in the lips, but The Sound of Music was made with absolute love. The setting, the sets, the iconic shots, the visual storytelling, the acting, the songs, everything comes together gorgeously. Robert Wise has some mediocrities on his resume, but when he was good, he was incredible. 

Julie Andrews is enchanting, of course, but I confess I mostly watch for Christopher Plummer (RIP). He was so ding-dang dashing and handsome, and who could forget this scene?

 

[AgathaC]

Aww, @Wiendish Fitch, I love Random Harvest, too!

As a teen, I finally learned to “appreciate” Christopher Plummer. Oh my.

You’re right — everything just fits. One thing I appreciate is how everyone involved worked to take the “treacle” out of it. A documentary I saw addressed that directly — for the creative team and actors that was one of their priorities and I think they succeeded. Having seen the stage version, yeah, it could have been bad.

One thing that is interesting is how in some ways, they downplay the political element. It’s still a major part of the story, of course, but, as I recall, in the stage show, the main reason the Captain and the Baroness break up is their political differences. (He’s extremely anti-Nazi and she’s more just do what you have to to get along.) I prefer the movie, which plays up the Captain’s feelings for Maria as the motivator and not a political disagreement.

And I love that the children became a real family and are still close decades later.

When I watched it earlier today, I was reminded of a tiny moment I love. They’re singing “Do-Re-Mi” at the festival, Nazis all around. In a closeup on Julie Andrews, she sets her jaw in a way where you can just see her thinking “Bring it on, MFs.” Love it.

[Spartan Girl]

34 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Julie Andrews is enchanting, of course, but I confess I mostly watch for Christopher Plummer (RIP). He was so ding-dang dashing and handsome, and who could forget this scene?

 

I’m ashamed I didn’t bring that up first! 

[andromeda331]

I don't like musicals so I didn't watch the Sound of Music until I was an adult. I was very surprised that I loved it. The family, the fun, the nuns, the romance, and of course Julie Andrews. 

[Browncoat]

I love this movie so much.  My mother loved it, too -- we played an instrumental version of the title song at her memorial service.  My grandmother also loved it -- her favorite scene was near the end, when the nuns hold out the engine parts to the Reverend Mother.

[tearknee]

Of the whole cast just Andrews and five of the kids plus Rolfe are left (Dan was younger than Charmian in RL).

Heather Menzies and Pamelyn Ferdin decided to insult Anissa Jones in a 2016 thread on FB that they contributed to. I never liked Menzies, anyway. Although Karath remains my least favorite.

[overtherainbow]

It's my comfort movie too. I used to watch it and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang multiples times every year. Never could get into Mary Poppins for some reason, though. 

I was obsessed with Christopher Plummer as the Baron. The My Favorite Things scene remains my favorite. 

[Macbeth1966]

I love this musical so much.  I staged a play with my best friend when I was 6 years old.  Staging the play meant we took turns singing the different songs.  It was great.  I have very fond memories of the musical and I will always love Julie Andrews.  

[Shannon L.]

It was on once a year for the longest time and I never missed it.  I just love the songs.

I grew up in Vermont about an hour away from where the family settled.  It's beautiful area. They opened the Trapp Family Lodge there and, of course, the gift shop had music boxes that played Edelweiss, even though the song was actually made for the movie--it's not an old Austrian song.  

[Fool to cry]

 

 

[Browncoat]

7 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

grew up in Vermont about an hour away from where the family settled.  It's beautiful area. They opened the Trapp Family Lodge there

I stayed at the Trapp Family Lodge a few years ago.  One of the nights I was there, they showed the movie with a prologue from the real Maria.  It was quite lovely.

[MissAlmond]

On 12/1/2024 at 3:25 AM, tearknee said:

Heather Menzies and Pamelyn Ferdin decided to insult Anissa Jones in a 2016 thread on FB that they contributed to

Why on earth was Heather Menzies and Pamelyn Ferdin still salty about the long-gone from this world Anissa Jones in 2016?

[tearknee]

4 minutes ago, MissAlmond said:

Why on earth was Heather Menzies and Pamelyn Ferdin still salty about the long-gone from this world Anissa Jones in 2016?

Someone asked Pamelyn about her thoughts on AJ (as they were only a year apart) and it went from there.

[MissAlmond]

34 minutes ago, tearknee said:

Someone asked Pamelyn about her thoughts on AJ (as they were only a year apart) and it went from there.

Strange. Considering Jones died at age 18, any interaction Heather and Pamelyn most likely had with AJ was during their child acting days. Then again, I read Pamelyn Ferdin openly accused parents whose daughter was killed by a coyote actually murdered her. So maybe I shouldn't be surprised. 

[tearknee]

59 minutes ago, MissAlmond said:

Strange. Considering Jones died at age 18, any interaction Heather and Pamelyn most likely had with AJ was during their child acting days. Then again, I read Pamelyn Ferdin openly accused parents whose daughter was killed by a coyote actually murdered her. So maybe I shouldn't be surprised. 

Both Heather and Pamelyn were.... lights are on but nobody's home as you write.

[hypnotoad]

I actually had never seen this movie until a few years ago i caught it on the big screen during a flashback cinema showing. I enjoyed it and was shocked at how many of the songs I knew!

 

 

Edited December 3 by hypnotoad

[Irlandesa]

I thought this movie was so boring as a kid for some reason and I usually loved musicals.

Then I went to Salzburg, Austria when I was in college and we decided to take a Sound of Music tour which visited some of the external filming locations for the movie.  The night before the tour, we decided to watch the movie to refresh our memories so we'd remember some of the locations.  I ended up appreciating this movie so much more as an adult that it became a favorite of mine.  The love story was so good.  Plummer was so handsome and he and Julie had such terrific chemistry. 

I still get a little bored with the Nazi/Liesel parts of it but love everything else.

[andromeda331]

5 hours ago, hypnotoad said:

I actually had never seen this movie until a few years ago i caught it on the big screen during a flashback cinema showing. I enjoyed it and was shocked at how many of the songs I knew!

 

 

That was funny. 

[Dr.OO7]

Every year I look forward to the Sunday before Christmas,  when ABC airs it. (12/15 this year). It's amazing how watching a movie that has nothing to do with Christmas has become my favorite holiday tradition. 

[AgathaC]

16 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I thought this movie was so boring as a kid for some reason and I usually loved musicals.

Then I went to Salzburg, Austria when I was in college and we decided to take a Sound of Music tour which visited some of the external filming locations for the movie.  The night before the tour, we decided to watch the movie to refresh our memories so we'd remember some of the locations.  I ended up appreciating this movie so much more as an adult that it became a favorite of mine.  The love story was so good.  Plummer was so handsome and he and Julie had such terrific chemistry. 

I still get a little bored with the Nazi/Liesel parts of it but love everything else.

I never really cared much for the Liesl story and occasionally even skip Sixteen Going on Seventeen. Even as a hormonal teenager, I just got annoyed with her and her Hitler Youth poster boy.

[tearknee]

Being 21 and in love does that to her, though.

[Sarah 103]

12 hours ago, Dr.OO7 said:

Every year I look forward to the Sunday before Christmas,  when ABC airs it. (12/15 this year). It's amazing how watching a movie that has nothing to do with Christmas has become my favorite holiday tradition. 

Different pop versions of "My Favorite Things" get airtime during Christmas season, so there must be something I'm missing. I don't see it as a Christmas song, but clearly the radio stations do. My explanation for ABC airing it is that it's a classic family movie with multigenerational appeal. 

 

[Dr.OO7]

7 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

My explanation for ABC airing it is that it's a classic family movie with multigenerational appeal

It's the same reason they air The Wizard Of Oz.

[dewelar]

9 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

Different pop versions of "My Favorite Things" get airtime during Christmas season, so there must be something I'm missing. I don't see it as a Christmas song, but clearly the radio stations do.

This annoys me every year. Just because it happens to mention packages and mittens, I guess. Seriously, any song that even mentions Christmas (e.g., "River") or, hell, anything to do with winter ("Let It Snow", "Winter Wonderland", "Baby, It's Cold Outside", etc.) is automatically a Christmas song.

[Raja]

14 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

Different pop versions of "My Favorite Things" get airtime during Christmas season, so there must be something I'm missing. I don't see it as a Christmas song, but clearly the radio stations do. My explanation for ABC airing it is that it's a classic family movie with multigenerational appeal. 

 

There are some lyrics which pointing to the European northern hemisphere's wintertime thus the seasonal scenes maybe specifically "Doorbells and sleigh bells".

[EtheltoTillie]

I love The Sound of Music -- and Random Harvest. 

[Fool to cry]

I like Random Harvest too.

Screenwriter Ernest Lehmann's most brilliant change in adapting the stage musical was changing "My Favorite Things" being sung by Reverend Mother and Maria early in the story to Maria singing it to the kids during the thunderstorm instead of "The Lonely Goatherd".

Edited December 4 by Fool to cry

[AgathaC]

1 hour ago, Fool to cry said:

I like Random Harvest too.

Screenwriter Ernest Lehmann's most brilliant change in adapting the stage musical was changing "My Favorite Things" being sung by Reverend Mother and Maria early in the story to Maria singing it to the kids during the thunderstorm instead of "The Lonely Goatherd".

Yes, that was a great move — makes way more sense, I think.

[Fool to cry]