The Sound of Music (1965)

The Sound of Music

• I’m gonna try not to make this too long, because if I were to write everything I wanted to say, you’d be reading this for the next 3-5 business days. So I’ll attempt to summarize my thoughts, which probably won’t happen, but whatever. This film helped make up my childhood, and I probably watched it around 40 times. I had every song memorized, I would dance along with certain scenes, and I had the soundtrack on CD which I never stopped listening to (it’s a wonder it took so long for me to come out, the signs were all there). I was also quite infatuated with Captain von Trapp and his pure aura (and still am). So yeah, I was rewatching this a LOT. It’s been a couple years though, so I finally rewatched it, which was long overdue. It’s still just as perfect, which I knew it would be, and it’s not just one of the best musicals ever made, and not just one of the best depictions of the resistance against fascism ever made, but it’s one of the greatest FILMS ever made. It’s objectively a 10/10 and universally loved. Despite the three hour runtime, the story flies by and provides so much emotion, romance, and laughs, while still being a complete horror film at the same time. The display of the Nazi’s takeover is realistic and scary, but it’s intertwined with a beautiful, humorous drama/romance with an insanely strong musical aspect. I mean, I’ve never met anybody who doesn’t know at least one of the songs from this, that’s how iconic this is. There’s also a great look into trust, faith, and identity. A lot of major themes are explored, but done so in a digestible yet mature way. To me, it’s so cool how this can be shown to younger kids, and then it’s like “oh look there’s some Nazis”. It takes sensitive, dark topics but molds it to be presented to all ages. It really is one of the best anti-fascist films ever made, as I already said. The last thirty minutes are so gripping and horrifying, and even though everything works out in the end (well, at least for the von Trapp’s), the message is delivered and you just want to go make radical change for the better. The cast is fantastic and helps accentuate each theme. Julie Andrews (queen!) should’ve taken that Oscar, Christopher Plummer is stunning and stoic, and each child has their own personality. It’s one of the best cast films ever, with truly memorable performances. The soundtrack is among one of the best in film history, probably a top five for me. Rodgers and Hammerstein are simply geniuses. Just the scene alone of Captain von Trapp singing “Edelweiss” to the Austrian crowd was enough for this to win Best Picture. The visuals are sharp and vivid and better than most films that come out nowadays. There’s great focus on each character, and of course on the environment and architecture as well. Chef’s kiss. I could keep going on, but I’ll stop here because I’ve rambled on enough. It’s a perfect film and there are literally zero complaints to make about it. I would recommend everyone see it at least once before they die. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go watch it now!