“The hills are alive with the sound of music.” And thus a classic was born. Since its release in 1965, The Sound of Music has delighted and thrilled as many audiences as those who find it treacly and overwrought. But, love or hate, the sheer artistic merit on display–ushering in the last gasp of the Old Hollywood musical–is unparalleled.
Young novice Maria (Julie Andrews) is perceived as flighty and clumsy by the sisters at her monastery. Hoping to give Maria a taste of life before taking her final vows, she’s tasked with becoming the governess to the seven unruly von Trapp children. Maria tries hard to get the kids to like her, but finds them highly regimented and stifled by their overbearing father, Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer). Thus becomes a battle of wills between the pair which eventually turns to love. But the arrival of WWII in Austria threatens to put the von Trapps very lives at risk.
It’s easy to see why this has become a holiday staple over the last sixty years. Director Wise and Andrews each do their part to create a narrative filled with optimism, hope and romance. The audience meets Maria as a novice more content to lollygag outside, singing on hilltops. The older, more experienced nuns don’t judge her for that, but fear the lifestyle of being a nun is one she isn’t suited to. As they sing, “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” The role was a hot one for actresses in the 1960s, with Doris Day, Anne Bancroft and Shirley Jones being a few of the names thrown out, but none of them could have made Maria who she is better than Andrews.
Andrews brings a spritely liveliness to Maria. Her bright, chipper demeanor never feels false, just optimistic. In the third act, when the von Trapps are trying to escape the Nazis, Andrews takes the optimistic and covers it in a hard sheen, conveying strength and safety for the children as they hide in a cemetery. Andrews may be the star of the show, but she’s complemented by a cadre of equally amazing talents. Christopher Plummer takes the taciturn widower–a role he wasn’t particularly happy about–and crafts a man stricken by grief but who welcomes a second chance at love with Maria because of her warmth and backbone. Eleanor Parker brings a cool, regal beauty to the Baroness, the other woman trying to keep Captain von Trapp for herself. And then there are the seven child actors, all of whom manage to stand apart from each other.
The Sound of Music’s songs have entered the popular consciousness, from “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” to “Do-Re-Mi” and “My Favorite Things” (weirdly enough commonly associated today with holiday toy ads). This is a musical of the “they randomly burst into song” variety, the songs never detract from the main narrative and cinematographer Ted D. McCord gives them such movement and spoke, particularly as the kids and Marie gallivant through the city singing “Do-Re-Mi.”
The third act is easily the most dramatic of the movie. The Third Reich, lingering in the background from the movie’s beginning, takes center stage, with the von Trapps committed to leaving. The Sound of Music, at its heart, is a movie about the loss of a way of life, and a family that simultaneously loved and mourned it.
The Sound of Music remains a classic sixty years later for good reason. Everything about the movie is pitch perfect, from the score, to the composition, costumes, production design, and acting. Musicals would continue to be made in Hollywood for the next decade after, but few ever hit the heights of this. The hills remain alive with the sound of music. Highly Recommended.
Which public library collections should include The Sound of Music?
The Sound of Music is worth carrying in collections focused on classic film, Old Hollywood musicals, MGM musicals, Oscar-winning films and Best Picture nominees, or essential pieces of American cinema. It can also be placed in curated collections focused on WWII depictions on film, musicals or Broadway adaptations. The movie is possible to show to all ages. Libraries that purchase popular titles or just want a foundational set of movies to have on hand would also do well to carry this.
What academic subjects or media education courses would benefit from this film?
The movie can be used to examine the way American movies depicted the rise of Nazism in WWII. This can be used in connection with classes teaching about the Hollywood musical (and its collapse), star system, and filmmaking in the 1960s. It can be utilized as a tool for music classes or for government classes examining the role of cinematic propaganda.