The Sound of Music (film)
| Original poster by Howard Terpning | |
| Directed by | Robert Wise |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Robert Wise |
| Written by | Howard Lindsay Russel Crouse (Libretto) Maria von Trapp (Autobiography) Ernest Lehman |
| Starring | Julie Andrews Christopher Plummer Eleanor Parker Richard Haydn |
| Music by | Richard Rodgers (music/lyrics) Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics) Irwin Kostal (Score) |
| Cinematography | Ted D. McCord |
| Editing by | William H. Reynolds |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | March 2, 1965 (US) March 29, 1965 (UK) |
| Running time | 174 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8.2 million[1] |
| Box office | $286,214,286[1] |
The movie version was filmed on location in Salzburg, Austria; Bavaria in Southern Germany; and at the 20th Century Fox Studios in California. It was photographed in 70mm Todd-AO format by Ted D. McCord. It won a total of five Academy Awards including Best Picture and displaced Gone with the Wind as the highest-grossing film of all-time. The cast album was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
In 2001, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry as it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
| This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (December 2011) |
Maria's life suddenly changes when a widowed Austrian Navy Captain, Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) writes to the abbey asking for a governess for his seven children. Mother Abbess asks Maria to take the position on a probationary basis; previous governesses, though, have not lasted long. She is worried about what awaits her at the von Trapp household, but is determined to succeed ("I Have Confidence").
Maria, upon arrival at the von Trapp estate, finds that the Captain keeps it in strict shipshape order, blows a whistle, issues orders, and dresses his children in sailor-suit uniforms. While they are initially hostile to her, they warm to her when she comforts them during a thunderstorm (“My Favorite Things”). Liesl (Charmian Carr), the oldest, who is "Sixteen Going on Seventeen", sneaks into Maria's window after a secret meeting with a messenger boy, Rolfe (Daniel Truhitte). At first she is adamant that she "doesn't need a governess", but Maria offers to be her friend, and she acquiesces. Maria teaches them how to sing ("Do-Re-Mi") and to play, sewing playclothes for them from discarded drapes in her room.
The Captain entertains a visit from a lady friend, Baroness Elsa Schraeder (Eleanor Parker), a wealthy socialite from Vienna, along with mutual friend Max Detweiler (Richard Haydn), who is intent on finding an obscure musical act to launch at the upcoming Salzburg Music Festival. The Captain becomes aware that Maria has been taking the children on picnics and bicycle rides, climbed trees with them, and taken them in a boat on the lake adjoining his estate. When the boat capsizes, Maria and all of the children (wearing their clothes made from the former curtains) fall into the water. The Captain turns his wrath on her and Maria begs him to pay attention to the children and love them, but he orders her to return to the abbey.
When he discovers the children performing a reprise of "The Sound of Music" for the Baroness, he changes his mind. Maria has brought music back into his home, and he begs her to stay. Things get better at the household. She and the children perform a puppet show ("The Lonely Goatherd") that Max gave to them. He announces that he has entered the children in the Salzburg Festival; the Captain, however, forbids their participation. Maria and the children insist that he sing a song, knowing that he used to play and sing with a guitar, and he agrees ("Edelweiss").
At a soiree thrown in Baroness Schraeder's honor, eleven-year-old Kurt observes guests dancing the Laendler, and asks Maria to teach him the steps. The Captain cuts in and partners her in a graceful performance, culminating in a close clinch. At that moment, she breaks off and blushes. The children perform "So Long, Farewell" to say goodnight to the guests, receiving enthusiastic applause. The Baroness, jealous of Maria, convinces her to return to Nonnberg.
Maria leaves the estate and returns to the abbey, where she keeps herself in seclusion until Mother Abbess gently confronts her, urging her to "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" in search of God's will for her. At this command, she returns to the von Trapp family, finding that the Captain is now engaged to the Baroness. However, he breaks off the engagement, realizing that he is in love with Maria. He meets Maria in his gazebo and they declare their love for each other ("Something Good"). The two wed in an elaborate ceremony at the Salzburg Cathedral, with many of Austria's elite, as well as the nuns from Nonnberg Abbey, in attendance.
While the new couple is away on their honeymoon in Paris, Max grooms the children to perform in the Salzburg Music Festival, against the Captain's wishes. At the same time, Austria is annexed into the Third Reich in the Anschluss (actual date was March 12, 1938). When the Captain returns, he is informed that he must report as soon as possible to the Nazi Naval Headquarters in Bremerhaven, to accept a commission in the German Navy. He is opposed to Nazism, and stalls by insisting he must perform with his family that night in the Salzburg Festival, now politicized and showcased as a Nazi event under the patronage of Hans Zeller (Ben Wright), recently appointed as the Nazi Gauleiter. Zeller agrees, but orders the Captain to depart immediately after the performance. The choreography of the final song, "So Long, Farewell", allows the family to leave slowly, a few at a time, and as the winners are announced, they flee. At first they hide in the abbey, but are discovered by Rolfe (who had joined the Nazi party), who threatens to shoot the Captain despite being visibly scared of having to do so. The Captain unsuccessfully attempts to persuade Rolfe to join them; he calls for his lieutenant instead, and the von Trapps flee again. The Nazis are unable to pursue them, as the nuns have stolen their spark plug wires and ignition coil. The final shot shows the von Trapps climbing over the Alps into Switzerland, as "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", reprised by a choir, swells to a grand conclusion.
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