The once and future ultimate feel-good movie!

Rating: Null/10 (28 September 1999)

I've been reading some of my fellow correspondents' comments on what a musical sugar plum "The Sound of Music" was and what inferior songwriting talents Rodgers and Hammerstein were. And my reply is simple: C'mon, nay-sayers! Whistle me, without having to think about it, any three Andrew Lloyd Weber or Stephen Sondheim songs. Ha! I thought you couldn't!
It's true that, as musicians, Rodgers and Hammerstein may not have been in the same league with Gershwin, Berlin, or Bernstein. But none of those worthies had the consistent knack for honest sentiment that Rodgers and Hammerstein did. That's why all of their shows, including "Sound of Music," remain constantly popular and constantly revived, by both professional and non-professional groups. And that's especially why the movie version of their last show together, "The Sound of Music" remains a favorite of so many people after so many years, including yours truly.
Because this is where all the elements come together. Gentle humor, love, honest sentiment, hope in the face of adversity. They're all here, and then some. And that marvelous cast is what made these qualities come alive. Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Peggy Wood, Eleanor Parker, and Richard Haydn were never better then they are here. And the actors playing the children were natural, effortless charmers, one and all. Add to this the beautiful on-location photography in Austria, Robert Wise's dead-on direction, and Ted McCord's beautiful camera work. I ask you: How could anyone NOT like this movie?!?!?
Take that, nay-sayers!