The Sound of Music

Rating: 10/10 (6 June 2006)

It has been hailed as the greatest musical of all time, it has been on TV every year (especially at Christmas), and it is still one of the most seen films in cinema, based on the hit Broadway musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein (composer by Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II), from Oscar winning, and Golden Globe nominated director Robert Wise (The Day the Earth Stood Still). The film begins with the spinning and singing "The Hills Are Alive" from Maria (Golden Globe winning, and Oscar and BAFTA nominated Dame Julie Andrews). She is the nun sent by Mother Abbess (Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Peggy Wood) to the Von Trapp family to become the new governess, mainly to look after the seven children of Captain Georg Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer). As the story goes, Maria falls in love with the wonderful children, Georg turns from grouchy to cheerful, and of course, he and Maria get married. The film is not all happy though, it is after the wedding that you are reminded of the time period the film is based in, World War II, where Georg refuses to be part of the war, and the concluding scenes have the family escaping the Nazis through the monastery. It won the Oscars for Best Film Editing, Best Music for Irwin Kostal, Best Sound and Best Picture, and it was nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design, and it won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy. "Do Re Mi" was number 88, number 64 for "My Favourite Things" was number 64, and "The Sound of Music" was number 10 on 100 Years, 100 Songs, other songs include "(How Do You Solve a Problem Like) Maria", "Sixteen Going On Seventeen", "The Lonely Goatherd", "So Long, Farewell" and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain". Dame Julie Andrews was number 6 on The 50 Greatest British Actresses, the film was number 4 on 100 Years of Musicals, it was number 26 on The 100 Greatest Christmas Moments, it was number 27 on 100 Years, 100 Passions, it was number 18 on The 100 Greatest Family Films, it was number 2 on The Ultimate Film, it was number 41 on 100 Years, 100 Cheers, it was number 55 on 100 Years, 100 Movies, it was number 43 on The 100 Greatest Films, and number 2 on The 100 Greatest Musicals. Outstanding!