The Sound of Greatness

Rating: 10/10 (2 April 2014)

The Sound of Music was my choice this year to replace the boring super bowl game.
Every year I pick one movie (or sometimes a couple) to watch while everyone else on planet Earth watches the super bowl. I thought, after previously buying this on BluRay and having it for some time without having watched it on BluRay, I thought it just perfect for that Sunday, February 2nd. (Oh, and in case you were wondering, my other yearly tradition was fulfilled earlier in the day when I watched Groundhog Day on BluRay.)
Despite my intentions, i.e. replacing the "manly man" sports programme with a musical, this movie was an absolute JOY to watch. Every second, every frame, every scene, every songfrom beginning to end had be on the edge of my seat. (And yeah, I did sing out loud the songs.) Now, this is only my second time ever seeing this and I'll get into my first time many, many years ago later. So, it was almost like me seeing it for the first time, again.
It did help that the BluRay transfer was nothing short of a miracle. It made it look pristine, brand new and possibly even better than its initial release nearly 50 years ago. (I say possibly since I wasn't around for its first run.) Every inch of the screen (and mind you, I don't even have a TV that can give me the best BluRay offers – 720dpi) was immaculate.
But, then again, so was the movie. I am not one to look for flaws in this movie, but an hour in, I had to pause myself and think: this movie has no flaws. Everything worked. To put it in 2014 terms: Everything *was* awesome.
That said, I will say this, despite me granting this 5/5 stars (or 10/10 on IMDb's scale) and calling it nothing short of a masterpiece, I guess there was one tiny bit where it slowed down, towards the end, when it got serious. It had to, so it's not necessarily a flaw, per se, but it also didn't necessarily mesh with the previous nearly 3 hours.
Honestly, it pains me to say one word against this fine piece of art. It was so magical, so wonderful, even the thoughts going through my head as I write this are filled with joy. I loved this movie. The music, the acting, the surprises and the humor – and amazingly, there was a lot more than you would expect, especially jokes that hold up today.
If you haven't heard the story by now, it was a story of a nun that didn't belong until she was assigned the status of governess of seven children of a widowed father pre-WWII in Austria. There, she warms their hearts, unfreezes the father's and discovers herself. We're just blessed to go along with her journey.
I hope you've seen this movie before. If you have, see it again. If you haven't, you must see it. Above all else, to either group of individuals, go out and buy a BluRay player (assuming you haven't already) and then buy this movie. Even cold. Buy it on BluRay and relish in the beauty and wonder of The Sound of Music.
* * * Final thoughts: I was born 9 years after this movie's release. Hard for me to believe that as I now think about it. I grew up, or at least into mid-teens, listening or hearing the songs from the soundtrack which I loved. I didn't necessarily associate the songs from the movie, until
I cannot remember when, but our local movie theatre chain here in Phoenix, AZ, Harkins, played this movie for twenty-five cents as some kind of anniversary of the movie theatre chain. (Prices from when both the movie and chain opened.) I thought: well, I've never seen it, it's considered a masterpiece and why not view it on the big screen for the first time?
Almost immediately in the movie, during the opening credits, they play an instrumental medley of multiple of the movie's songs. I sat up instantly thinking "Oh! I know that song! I didn't know it was in this!" and repeated that thought a couple more times. It was then I was thoroughly excited to see the rest of the movie.
While the movie, songs, etc, didn't disappoint, the print did. It was an original print filled with scratches, a pink tint – many discolored scenes and cuts. There was an unintentionally laugh out loud scene for me when Julie Andrews was on one side of the room and suddenly the movie jumped to her on the other side. I remember thinking: "I didn't know they could teleport way back then!"
I gave the movie the strong benefit of the doubt (of the original print in the projection booth.) I really did like it a lot.
Fast-forward maaaybeee two decades to two months ago today. I watched it for the second time. I don't want to say it was the perfect quality of the BluRay disc, but I fell in deep love with this movie more than I can express in these words above.
The gorgeous disc did help, that is. And not every BluRay comes out half as good as this one did.
So, please, if you're even remotely interested in this, or want to reclaim that initial feeling you got from your childhood seeing this, BUY THIS ON BLURAY. You will not regret it.