It’s time to break out the sugar or at least the Sweet n’ Low, and take another look at The Sound of Music. In the 1960’s my high school would always put on a musical, and Sound of Music was the only one I ever took part in. Granted, it was an extremely small part that consisted of only appearing as an extra in the ballroom party scene and later as a Nazi running across the stage, but it gave me a chance to attend practice and get to know the stage version pretty well.
It also hooked me into the film version, which had just been released the year before; thus, I had previously purchased a widescreen version. I’d only watched it one time, and I’m not sure when I would have dug into the “sugar bowl” to view it again until the new DVD version was released. It had some cool background features that showed a brief travelogue of Saltzburg and another 90 minute documentary on the making of the musical. The beautiful location footage and seeing Julie Andrews talking about how she wanted the director to assure her that they’d remove the overly saccharin parts hooked me.
I began the movie and was surprised how much I still enjoyed it. You may think me still crazy after all these years, but no matter because I’ll still have to watch it at least one more time with the commentary running. They may have removed some of the smaltz from the stage version, but there’s still plenty there. I really like how they split up the “Do Re Mi” song over various locations around Saltzburg, but the scene that has Julie and the seven children all happily singing and swinging their arms does seem a bit hokey. But that was the only scene that I felt was really forced sweetness.
I’m sure that most are familiar with the story that is based on the real lives of the Trapp Family Singers, with modifications as you can learn about from the background information on the DVD. We begin by seeing novice nun in training Maria (Julie Andrews) twirling and singing atop a mountain near Saltzburg and soon learn that she is not conforming to the expected rules too well. Mother Superior (Peggy Wood) sends Maria to act as governess for Captain von Trapp’s (Christopher Plummer) seven children. The Captain has lost his wife and lost his love of Life, and now attempts to run his home like a military camp. Of course, this will never work with the “rebel” Maria, so she soon wins the children over and teaches them to sing, to create puppet shows, and to have fun. It soon becomes apparent that Maria will have to choose whether she should continue as a Nun or decide to become a wife and mother to the von Trapps.
There’s also a rich baroness who has eyes for the Captain, and there’s the background of Nazi Germany threatening to take over Austria with the Captain making his anti-Nazi feelings quite plain. Oldest daughter Liesl also has a first love infatuation with a 17 year old telegram deliverer, who will join the Nazi party. Most of this is predictable fare that won’t challenge anyone to figure out what will happen next. But that’s not what Sound of Music is about at it’s heart.
It’s designed to pull at the heartstrings, and it does so successfully in a number of places. The one place that does get to me occurs immediately after the Captain arrives back home and Maria and the whole troop of children get dumped into the lake. Maria stands up to the Captain, contradicting his ideas of raising children and telling him things that he doesn’t know about his sons and daughters. I’m thinking, “You go, girl” as Julie lays into him, but then the big emotional moment comes. It’s actually the turning point of the whole movie, as we see the Captain transform completely.
We hear the children serenading the baroness with “The Sound of Music,” witness the Captain’s face begin to soften, and see him join in with his children. Even though I know it’s coming, it still brings a little dampness to my eyes because I do realize that music can work like magic to bring people together. It’s a little amazing that the Captain is changed so radically after the music therapy, but I’m willing to suspend belief and go on with the story.
Another part that I feel is effective occurs during the second version of my favorite song of the musical – “Edelweiss.” This takes place in front of some 2,000 Austrians with the Nazis looking on, as the Captain dedicates the song to his beloved Austria, which has just been taken over by Nazi Germany. Only Casablanca outdoes the symbolic musical warfare scene performed here, as the Captain gets choked up singing about Austria’s national flower and exhorts the crowd to join in. The Austrians heartily sing along as the displeased Nazis sink a little in their seats. It’s a brief moment, but I like the sentiment here.
I was also favorably impressed with the acting of the two leading characters. Julie Andrews absolutely makes the film work as well as possible, as there is a liveliness and naturalness when she is on screen. She seems to genuinely like the children and communicates this quite well. Even though he has fewer scenes, Plummer proves that he is equal to the task when called upon to show some chemistry with Andrews. This is an obviously G-rated movie, but you can still sense a few emotional sparks when Plummer and Andrews do the Austrian folk dance and later meet in the gazebo.
Don’t expect award-winning performances from the children. They are designed and choreographed to be cute and sweet. They talk about terrorizing past governess, but outside of a lame toad and pinecone trick, there’s no real mischievousness written into their scripts. Little Gretl’s lines especially seem unnatural, and Liesl’s “whee” after her first kiss from boyfriend Rolf also seems too staged. But I’m not going to get off on critiquing their performances. That would be like saying something nasty about puppies. They perform like . . . children, and they are most natural when reacting to Andrews.
Songs don’t slow the action down in effective musicals, as they either develop the plot or add character development. Most of the songs accomplish this; however, it’s stretching it to claim that the puppet show with “The Lonely Goatherd” does so. It’s a cute song and the puppet show diversion is clever enough to entertain without moving the story forward. Most of the songs have a natural transition to them as well. The one that most abruptly bursts into song occurs when Mother Superior suddenly belts out “Climb Every Mountain.” It’s a great song, but I have a quibble about the lack of a smooth transition.
Those who are familiar with the stage version will find a few of those songs missing, a couple new ones added for dramatic effect, and one major change near the end. Originally on stage we have Liesl’s young Nazi boyfriend see the von Trapp family in the graveyard but witness him tell his superiors that there is no one there. All I will say about the film version is that two of the Nuns have a humorous part in helping the von Trapp family escape over the mountain. You really didn’t think that the Nazis would capture them, did you?
This is a happy musical that will leave you smiling and singing afterwards. It’s not perfect, nor is it especially thought provoking. But the Austrian scenery is breathtaking, the children are cute, and many of the musical numbers are engaging and memorable. Sound of Music provides good family fare that can help promote music appreciation with children – the idea of singing as a form of therapy and just being in the same setting that Mozart came from can be a point of discussion.
Watching certain films often depends on your situation or your mood. Sometimes you may crave either a beer or a fine wine. Other times you may desire either regular coffee or a cappuccino. Occasionally you may get the urge to snack on a candy bar and get a dose of sugar. Director Robert Wise attempted to give the 1965 film version of Sound of Music a littler harder edge than the stage version. Watching it in the year 2000, I find that it is essentially still saccharin. Sound of Music is worth sampling when you need a dash of Sweet n’ Low.
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