The opening shot

Rating: 8/10 (29 September 2006)

Firstly, the opening shot is magnificent: aerially gliding over snow-capped mountains, through valleys and streams, and finally setting on an extended forward rush toward Julie Andrews twirling about the hills. It strikes a triumphant opening chord as a marriage of form to content, as we are being granted witness to a person's burgeoning awareness of the world around her. How can she and the camera help but sing? Her first moments and interactions with the Von Trapp family seem staid by comparison, but Wise's typically astute craftsmanship and the contrasting approaches of Andrews and Plummer to their roles proves quite fascinating. And I must mention the subplot of encroaching Nazism, which yields some brilliantly executed suspense sequencesit doesn't get much more nerve-wracking than squatting behind a tombstone with the Von Trapp family as they're being tracked by the dogs and searchlights.