An Exhaustive DVD Package and a Pristine Print Should Satisfy Fans of This Indisputable Musical Classic

Rating: 9/10 (13 April 2006)

It's downright sacrilegious to say anything critical of this 1965 musical classic, and I have to admit I still love the movie like almost everyone else I know. Between the postcard-perfect Austrian scenery captured by Ted D. McCord's vibrant cinematography and the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein score, it's an irresistible entertainment with Julie Andrews ideally realizing the role of Maria, the young Salzburg novitiate nun who may be too independent to become part of the order. She is assigned by the abbey's Mother Superior to become a governess for the seven mischievous children of retired Navy Captain Von Trapp. The rest of the plot focuses on the burgeoning romance that develops not only between Maria and the Captain but also between the two principals and the children.
A romantic triangle arises in the form of a Baroness who has her talons in the Captain until she realizes she cannot manipulate the inevitable, but the bigger conflict comes with the encroaching Nazi regime who attempts to strong-arm Von Trapp to serve in the Reich. A closer examination of the 174-minute movie really shows an odd imbalance to the narrative. The lighter first half is all told from Maria's perspective, and consequently, this is where most of the memorable songs are performed. After the intermission, Maria is pushed to the background when the Captain becomes engaged to the Baroness and then later when things heat up between him and the Nazi officials. Even though the story makes sense as presented, I've always thought this strange given the build-up of the story as Maria's personal odyssey.
But no matter as the songs are beautifully staged and choreographed by Mark Breaux and Dee Dee Wood, in particular, the joyous Salzburg montage used for "Do Re Mi", the unintended slumber party for "My Favorite Things", the simplicity of the Captain's rendition of "Edelweiss", the gauzy gazebo duet "Something Good", the puppy love pas-de-deux in the same gazebo of "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" and of course, the how-can-it-be-topped opening title song. Besides the transcendent Andrews (is it a wonder why we all fell in love with her back then?), Christopher Plummer is far more dimensional as Von Trapp than I remember from my youth. Not only does he capture the sternness, but he brings a saucy sense of humor and fey quality in his performance. Looking regal the way Hollywood stars used to, Eleanor Parker plays the Baroness not so much as a vindictive man-handler but more as a convincingly insecure woman too comfortable with her exalted status in life.
In stock roles, Richard Haydn provides comic relief as the cagey impresario Max, while as Rolfe, Daniel Truhitte, in his only movie role, transforms from smitten bike messenger to cold Nazi youth in record time. As the Mother Superior, Peggy Wood brings calming assurance, though her dubbed performance of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" is a tad too operatic for my taste. The children are all well played, though I tend to think of Charmian Carr as a bit too Ann-Margret-kittenish as Liesl, especially as her singing voice does not sound remotely Tyrolean. Flaws aside, major credit should be given to director Robert Wise, who already performed similar chores on "West Side Story" and has somehow mastered the art of pacing such a marathon musical story. Wise's frequent collaborator, screenwriter Ernest Lehman, adapted the original stage book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse with wit and heart and manages to tone down the innately saccharine tone of the story.
The 2005 40th anniversary two-disc DVD package is obscenely full of extras which should satisfy the most persnickety aficionado. Still looking great at 70, Andrews provides brief introductions to both discs. First things first, the 2005 restoration effort and the transfer on the DVD have yielded a superb print, and it will not disappoint any fan of the movie. There are two commentary tracks, one done by Wise in a rather perfunctory fashion, the other a more anecdotal account by Andrews, Carr, Dee Dee Wood and the real Maria Von Trapp's youngest son Johannes. Then there is a very informative, 63-minute making-of documentary produced for the new DVD, "My Favorite Things: Julie Andrews Remembers" which thoroughly discusses the history of the Von Trapp family, the Broadway incarnation and the complicated transfer of the stage show to screen  even though a number of participants provide recollections, not just Andrews.
There are also two charming looking-back interview sessions. The first is a 20-minute conversation between Andrews and an especially acerbic Plummer, who seems to be ridiculing the original Maria in the Broadway version, stage legend Mary Martin, for her reputed megalomania. The second is a 33-minute group discussion among the seven actors who portrayed the Von Trapp children, all looking decidedly middle-aged (their ages now ranging from 47 to 62) and showing a friendly compatibility with one another in their remembrances. There is also a 22-minute featurette showing Carr revisiting the Salzburg locations, providing a history of the city and even joining in on The Sound of Music bus tour (I've done that one, too).
Another short focuses on the current phenomenon of the sing-along screenings of the movie, this one a massive event at the Hollywood Bowl complete with extravagantly costumed viewers. Also included are a fascinating A&E Biography special of the real Von Trapps, a text-driven demonstration of the restoration process, and a real howler  scratchy screen test footage of an 18-year old Mia Farrow sounding particularly tone-deaf in her audition as Liesl (I only wish they had similar footage for others who auditioned like Richard Dreyfuss, Kurt Russell and the Osmond Brothers). Lastly, there are a number of trailers and an exhaustive photo gallery. Whew. This really defines what a complete DVD package is all about, and in this case, it's perfectly justifiable.