The Sound of Music (50th Anniversary)

A round of applause for Robert Wise. What a career this guy had, starting out with RKO in the 1930s and finishing in the year 2000. Along the way he directed this landmark musical, another landmark musical (West Side Story), one of the great mid-century horror movies (Scorsese favourite The Haunting), allegorical sci-fi (The Day the Earth Stood Still), hard sci-fi (The Andromeda Strain), and epic sci-fi (Star Trek: The Motion Picture). Oh yeah, and he edited Citizen Kane to boot. The year is 1938. Maria (Julie Andrews) is sent from the abbey to become the governess at the Von Trapp mansion. The Captain (Christopher Plummer, full of the charm and menace that Michael Fassbender might these days display) is struggling to cope with his seven kids, following the death of their mother. The Captain commands the children with military precision. Maria, however, immediately puts aside adult things and reminds the family of the joy of play. Meanwhile, the shadow of Nazism is crawling across the land, its vile purity threatening to destroy their... well, nice purity. You know all the songs from Rogers’ & Hammerstein’s musical, even if you’ve avoided the film for the past six decades. It’s as comfortingly dated and surprisingly dark as ever. By “dark” I’m not talking about anything gothic or brooding – but nor is Maria a mere manic pixie girl. She is life, she is love, but as the nuns point out early on, she’s a complex character, full of contradictions. She wishes to love but also she seeks love. Andrews’ performance is very external but also very subtle: when she’s pushed out of the household by the cruel Baroness (Eleanor Parker), the sense of bereftness isn’t in a song, it’s in Maria’s eyes. The Sound of Music is a film about, amongst other things, light and darkness and the power of positivity. And it dares to make a grey area of what positive forces actually are. Love, for example, isn’t presented as some divine power that transcends all boundaries: indeed, it is love that almost forces Maria away for good; and it is Liesl’s (Charmian Carr) love that almost destroys her family. Faith, too, is not enough – indeed, the one time we see her praying Maria is irreverent. But what is never in doubt is the power of goodness; of good intentions. This is the compact between the Von Trapps and their new mother, and regardless of the machinations of state, they’ll always have each other. The Captain makes an impassioned appeal to the people of Austria to feel that togetherness – but, as the Von Trapps march lonely over the mountains, we’re left with a slightly sad feeling that what’s being annihilated through the Holocaust is the possibility of a love universal. A perfect musical? As close as. The sinisterly saintly children will at times test even the cutest of viewers. Edelweiss, for all its repeated relevance, is a bit of a dud. And the tempestuous Climb Ev’ry Mountain is inertly staged. But I’m nitpicking. This is pure cinema: vast, dramatic, humorous, complex, and beautifully staged and choreographed. And it sounds just swell. You can glimpse the highlights in the trailer but there’s no substitute for watching Andrews stride into the hills and blast the clouds away. It’s enough to make you feel alive.

Some parts dark scenes and job to see the nuns

What a superb set to give the family a wonderful version of this classic film. The audio is incredible with the picture seeming to be much sharper than I can recall previous viewings having ever been. A family tradition to watch every christmas, that this set makes it even better - thanks for the upgrades!

An amazing movie and I would definitely recommend you watch it.

There has been a lack of SOM on the television recently so I succumbed to buying the disc. Arrived well packaged and having the added return to the venues that were used was an added bonus. Pleased with the purchase

Great Transfer of a wonderful Movie!

very good and at a very good price

An absolute joy! It was worth the 14 year wait for the 4K Blu-ray