A Peak of Hollywood: The Sound of Music

Rating: 8/10 (15 October 2018)

The Sound of Music is a legendary while heartwarming movie about story of a governess(nun), Maria, living in Captain von Trapp's house with seven children. This movie is based on a Broadway musical also called The Sound of Music of 1959. Because of the success and fame from the memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta von Trapp and the Tony awarded musical by Richard Rodgers, director Robert Wise and his team started the staging and filming of the movie version of The Sound of Music in 1960. The movie starred actors like Julie Andrews, who plays Maria, Christopher Plummer, who plays Captain, Richard Haydn, Eleanor Parker and so many more. The film released on the second of March in 1965 in the U.S. Because of the fantastic production and music, the movie became the highest grossing film of 1965 and one of the highest grossing film of all time. As of today, the film has grossed almost 1.3 billion dollars.
The Sound of Music is considered one of the best family movie of the 1900s. It is remembered by many people from different decades, countries and ages. The story starts with Maria, casted by Julie, signing on the hill about how she really likes the nature and life in the countryside of Austria. This scene is one of the prettiest scene in the movie. With the calm and relaxing background, it captures the energy of the actors and the film itself from the beginning. Maria is called to take care of Captain von Trapp's seven children. Captain, casted by Christopher, tells Maria all about the rules that she has to comply living with his children, such as marching around the house and going to bed on time(almost like military practices). This part of the movie captures the rigid routine and education of the 1940s. This also briefly brings out the setting of World War II. When the Captain is away to Vienna, Maria starts secretly taking the children to play and to sing. During this part of the movie, songs like "Do-Re-Mi" has born and ingrained on decades of people. Apart from just being relevant to the Broadway and Hollywood's community, schools has begun teaching children the songs from the movie for so many years too. In a party, Maria finds out that they might be in love with each other. Therefore, she flees back to abbey without telling the von Trapp family. The chemistry between Maria and Captain is very magical in the movie. The way Julie acts as a shy but adventurous girl in that love relationship could win her any awards for a leading actress. After a while of confessing their loves, Maria and Captain get married. Unfortunately, in the same time, Nazi Germany has taken over Austria and Captain is forced to serve in the navy under the Nazi. This part of the movie is very much tied to the history. It also conveys a conflict to the story which leads to a lovely singing scene by the von Trapp family. Because Captain is loyal to his country Austria, he plans on fleeing away. From playing in the Austrian show as the of the "von Trapp Family Singers," they somehow find an escape. The story ends with the family climbing the mountain to escape the country. Even though it is not a particularly happy ending, the family is still able to stay together in the end. To me, this is the best way to end the movie because it ends with an open ending which gives audience an opportunity to think about both the ending and the movie in general.
The Sound of Music is a multi-nominated and awarded movie. They received several Academy Award nominations while winning five of them: including the Best Picture and the Best Director. The story plot is wonderful because it is a lovely family story. The actors in the movie are really phenomenal too. Most of the actors are little kids but they show the talents and potentials of being good actors. Not only they have to sing, they also have to act in the same time. My favorite part of the movie is when the children sing the song "Farewell" in the party because they show both the fun and professional part of being actors. I also really admire how the youngest actress shows the shyness but also the stubborn part of her character throughout the movie. The leading, Golden Globe awarded actress Julie Andrews is fantastic in the movie from the start to the end. She shows the openness and happiness of Maria with her acting flawlessly. Besides, with the support of tunes like "Do-Re-Mi," "Sixteen Going on Seventeen," and "My Favorite Things," the movie soundtrack also was ranked as number one album of the year in Billboard 200. The Sound of Music is also listed as the fifty-fifth greatest American movie according to American Film Institute. I would highly recommend this movie because of the production, artistry and chemistry among the actors. As the Library of Congress had once commented, "The Sound of Music is culturally, historically and aesthetically significant;" it is a movie that everyone must watch no matter what their ages are.