Rating: Summary: An all-time favorite! Review: As a child, when you watch movies, you tend to pay more attention to the wonderful colors, and more importantly, the things the actors do to make the audience laugh. As a child, most of a movie's dialogue goes unnoticed, but then you grow up and, watching those movies as an adult, they tend to lose a little of their luster. Which is what makes "The Sound of Music" such a glorious movie experience: the magnificent music and antics of the actors area delight for younger ages, while the moving and emotional true story of a woman who changes her life and the lives of those around her is one of the most empowering stories ever told. It makes smooth transitions from joyous to serious, boasts handsome performances from some very talented actors, and is helmed by a director who knows what the material requires and provides it amply. Based on a true story, Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical is given the big-screen treatment, beginning with the infamous opening sequence featuring the singing voice of actress Julie Andrews as she belts out the title song, set against beautiful Austrian vistas and scenic landscapes. While Maria (Andrews) sings of bluebirds and hills, the nuns residing at the convent are puzzled as to how to solve a problem like Maria. The solution seems simple: send her away to live in the von Trapp home, owned by Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), who is now a widower with seven children. At first, the children are up to their usual nanny-burdening antics, but one night, during a powerful thunderstorm, they warm to one another and quickly become friends. Even Captain von Trapp, who is put off by the unorthodox way in which Maria allows the children to frolic, begins to warm to her new way of handling them, as well as warming to her himself. Maria soon must come to terms with her mutual feelings for him, and that, coupled with the Nazi-Germany movement in Austria, may put the happy family in jeopardy. Let's face it: everyone knows every song from this movie, most of them by heart, all of them at least by name. The title song, "The Hills Are Alive," fits the opener quite nicely, and, combined with such upbeat songs as "My Favorite Things" and "Do Re Mi," the movie takes on a lighthearted and cheery feel that will no doubt keep children intrigued and maybe even singing along. Other songs, such as "Climb Every Mountain," which closes the film, give the movie a serious feel for moments that require such a tone. The story is also very intriguing, even in its final third act. There is a nice progression throughout the movie of things going from good to bad, bad to worse, and then ending on a final note of majestic happiness. As with any musical, the songs match the tone, though none so beautifully as this movie. Julie Andrews will forever be remembered for her role as Maria, her lilting voice and caring nature carrying the movie along for many stretches of time. Her chemistry with actor Christopher Plummer, who plays Captain von Trapp, is magical. Plummer's character is well-rounded and stern, softened later by the newfound love in his life. The child actors are especially fun to watch, each of them portraying a different stage of life, from teenager to toddler. Director Robert Wise seemed an unlikely choice to direct "The Sound of Music," but after seeing it, I don't think anyone else could do a better job. The movie is as majestic as the mountains that surround the characters, and as moving and involving as any motion picture you'll ever see in your lifetime.
Rating: Summary: Sound of Music stands on it's own Review: This is a great classic. I bought it for my Mother because she likes the movie so much. The songs in it are catchy, and it has a nice love story. It also includes kids. A great family movie when there are really none these days. By the way after my Mom watched this version she was glad to see the extra footage. She was really happy to have it.
Rating: Summary: Same Planet...Different World Review: The Sound of Music is a perennial classic if not a masterpiece in cinematography! Those who rated it "poor" because of its dribbling sentiment and overbearing cuteness forget that they live in an age of growing cynicism. They only believe they have outgrown this film because they can no longer relate to its beauty. The DVD is superb!
Rating: Summary: Though I hate to admit it Review: I love musicals!! it's probably the drama student in me but I really love musicals and this one by far topps my list. followed close second by Annie but this movie/musical has it all!
Rating: Summary: A triumph of DVD technologies... Review: I always watch DVD movies through my laptop, enjoying better visual quality than on TV set. When this DVD was loaded and played on my laptop, I couldn't help suspecting that my eyes had something wrong. The video quality was so enhanced that the film looked so dfferent from what I've seen on TV. So much accustomed to the video qualities of the 1960's movies aired on TV, that I felt a little awkward and uncomfortable with its vivid full-fledged colours, but fortunately, my eyes adapted themselves quickly to its colours, as the film ran on. With a supplement disc, this DVD version is a "must-have", if you are real fans of musical movies. To me, this DVD is the first one that is constantly inducing me to buy a DVD player and widescreen TV to enjoy the full benefits from DVD technologies.
Rating: Summary: Absolutely Perfect Review: I can't understand how anyone could ever dislike this movie. I admit that it can be quite the spoonful of sugar to take, but you still can't walk away feeling bad. I get chills the moment that the film opens. Having visited Salzburg (and yes I did take the SOM tour) it's as beautiful today as it ever was. Of course there are mistakes; for example the opening scene is not shot on the top of the Untersburg, but on the next mountain over and at the end the family is actually walking towards Germany instead of away, but who cares. It's beautifully filmed. The music is incredible and uplifting. The story is cute. The characters and enjoyable. It's one of those perfect films.
Rating: Summary: The weakest R&H Musical Review: Lets start with the story, I never really thought there were any austrians that really hated the nazis for the _right_ reasons. the story is boring, its not even funny, and its very nice that julie andrews sings the songs herself but its not enough. the movie is too long. The songs are good but not as brilliant as Oklahoma!,Carousel,South Pacific , etc.. I Gave it 3 stars and not one because of "Do Re Me".
Rating: Summary: Good musical, BUT... Review: I have to admit, my girlfriend likes it better than I. The scenery is breathtaking, but the musical itself is only good... NOT excellent. A far, far better musical is "My Fair Lady" just for sheer entertainment value. The dialogue is better, the plot is more interesting and well developed, and the lyrics are far more mature. But I do like the "Sound of Music" and all should have it for a wonderful family experience. "My Fair Lady" is better appreciated among adults...
Rating: Summary: An outstanding edition of a timeless motion picture Review: "The Sound of Music" has never looked as good as it does on it's 2 disc DVD incarnation. The audio and video is strickly tops all of the way. The extras cover every detail of the history of Maria Von Trapp, the show, and so much more. A Telegram from Daniel Truhitte is a nice little extra on disc 2. Also if you want to do a sing along with the film then simply bring up the wonderfully done english subtitles. As a great companion piece I also recomend that you purchase the DVD "The Sound of Movies," since, it will only add further to your enjoyment of this classic film.
Rating: Summary: A true DVD masterpiece. Review: Seeing this DVD brought back the wonderment and excitment that I had when I first saw this movie. It was simply marvelous, the "extras" enchance the watching experience, and the movie itself is flawlessly redone to make it visually wonderful. The ability to skip scenes back and forth was wonderful for when I had to leave the set. I really recommend that you buy this DVD, it will bring the magic back all over again.
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