The Sound Of Music

The Sound of Music is a 1965 film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews in the lead role. The film is based on the broadway musical The Sound of Music.

The musical originated with the book The Von Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp. It contains many hit songs, including "Edelweiss", "My Favorite Things", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", "Do-Re-Mi", "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" and "The Lonely Goatherd", as well as the title song.

Trivia

* Many people believe "Edelweiss" to be a traditional Austrian song, or even the national anthem. In fact the song was written for the musical and is little known in Austria.
* The musical itself is virtually unknown in Austria, except in backpacker's hostels in Salzburg, where it is screened daily on DVD. The Ländler dance that Maria and the Captain shared was not performed the traditional way it is done in Austria.


The film version was filmed on location in Salzburg as well as Hollywood studios.

Part I: In Salzburg, Austria, Maria, a woman studying to become a nun, is sent from her convent to be the governess to seven children of a widowed naval commander, Captain Georg Ritter von Trapp. The children, initially hostile and mischievous when given care and made aware of the fun of life come to like her, and Maria finds herself falling in love with the captain. He was soon to be married to a baroness but marries Maria instead.

Part II: The Nazis take power in Austria as part of the Anschluss, and attempt to force Captain von Trapp back in service. Unwilling to do so, during a singing performance in a guarded theater, the whole family flees and walks over the mountains to Switzerland.

The film, which was released in 1965, was named Best Picture of the Year. Robert Wise won an Academy Award for Directing for the film, which stars Julie Andrews as Maria and Christopher Plummer as Captain von Trapp. Hammerstein died before the film was made, and two of the numbers added to the score were written solely by Rodgers: "I Have Confidence" and "Something Good", while three secondary songs were cut from the score and others were shifted to different scenes. The film grossed over $158 million at the North American box office. Adjusted for ticket price inflation this is the equivalent of $911 million at 2006 prices, putting it third on the list of all time inflation adjusted box office hits according to boxofficemojo.com. [1] The soundtrack album on the RCA Victor label has sold over 11 million copies worldwide.

The film has since been seen on television and (re-)released on VHS and DVD for its 40th anniversary. When Plummer did not re-join the rest of the cast for a 40th anniversary re-union in New York, reports said Plummer was distancing himself from the movie. The reports were fuelled by a comment from the President of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Society who said "[Plummer] used to refer to it as the 'Sound of Mucus'". As Plummer took part in interviews and commentaries for the DVD version of the 40th anniversary, and is overwhelmingly positive about the experience in those recordings, it is difficult to know where his feelings truly lie.