Robert Wise has transformed the delightful Rodgers and Hammerstein musical stage production of "The Sound of Music" into a magical film in which Julie Andrews gives an endearing performance in the role of Maria, the governess.
The 20th-Fox release will be one of the movies' all-time hits, one of the all-time great pictures. It restores your faith in movies. If you sit quietly and let it take, it may also restore your faith in humanity. It does this with infectious wit, with consistent gaiety, with simple and realistic spirituality, with romance of heartbreak and heartmend. This is set against the most beautiful scenery you have seen in your life. The Sound of Music is quite a picture.
Best movie ever made and I’m not exaggerating. Many people have childhood nostalgia for it but I watched it as an adult and the impact it had on me was enormous regardless. Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer are two of the greatest to ever do it!
"The Sound of Music" is a musical that still shows us there is hope in the darkest of places in the world. Robert Wise created such a mesmerizing piece that reinvented the musical genre of 1960s. Julie Andrews, she is just a joy, conveying enough doubt beneath that brisk, clean exterior to stop her character becoming a prig; her comic timing and the way in which she convinces in her relationships with the children are so understated they can be underrated.
The Robert Wise production is a warmly pulsating, captivating drama set to the most imaginative use of the lilting R-H tunes, magnificently mounted and with a brilliant cast headed by Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer which must strike a respondent chord at the box office.
Robert Wise's adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical still has a little soul in its bones, with its reactionary nature tempered by Ernest Lehman's supple screenplay, and its elephantine running-time eased by a set of songs that lodge in your system like hookworms.
Though Director Robert Wise (West Side Story) has made capital of the show's virtues, he can do little to disguise its faults. In dialogue, song and story, Music still contains too much sugar, too little spice.
Miss Andrews, with her air of radiant vigor, her appearance of plain-Jane wholesomeness and her ability to make her dialogue as vivid and appealing as she makes her songs, brings a nice sort of Mary Poppins logic and authority to this role, which is always in peril of collapsing under its weight of romantic nonsense and sentiment.
This 1965 hit is the sort of film that reeks of emotional Muzak, the most elemental responses programmed right into the scenario. Every audience sniffle and tear has been taken into account.
Going to count this as my first viewing because it had been about 10 years since I've seen this movie. WOW. This movie is so incredibly good. It is even better than I remembered it being.
After 44 years of avoiding The Sound of Music, I finally relented and watched it. I had been bracing myself for an onslaught of saccharine sentimentality, convinced that the film would be a sugar-coated overdose. To my amazement, I found myself not just enduring it but actually enjoying it, albeit with some significant reservations. Julie Andrews' performance is the film's shining light. Her talent and charm elevate a narrative that could easily have been dismissed as painfully sweet and unrealistic and single-handedly save The Sound of Music from being consigned to the realm of utterly mediocre tosh. Andrews brings depth and warmth to the character of Maria, making her scenes truly enjoyable. However, the film as a whole is excessively sugar-coated, often teetering on the edge of being cloying. For instance, the characters are almost too wholesome to be believable, such as the children who seem to have no flaws or the nuns who are portrayed as saintly figures. The plot is laden with an idealistic view of the world that feels outdated and overly simplistic, like the way the family's problems are resolved so neatly. The musical numbers, while iconic, sometimes feel forced and overly sentimental, such as the 'Do-Re-Mi' sequence, which seems to be inserted for the sake of a catchy tune. While I can appreciate the film's place in cinematic history and its appeal to many, it didn't entirely win me over. Should I be fortunate enough to live into my late 80s, I may give it another watch, but for now, once is enough. The Sound of Music is a classic, but one that I can only mildly recommend, primarily for Julie Andrews' outstanding performance. The film's excessive sweetness and idealistic view of the world may not resonate with everyone, and its musical numbers, while iconic, may not be enough to carry the film for some viewers.
This is a reasonably fun musical. Its well known for being a classic and certainly I was aware of most of the songs, from mentions/references on TV shows and the like. I quite liked the cinematography towards the start and its a fairly pleasant watch I suppose but I did feel it went on a bit too long and I also felt unconvinced by how long it took into the plot for the obvious **** Germany issue to be brought up, given its set in late 1930s Austria. The songs are relatively catchy I suppose but it was a bit too 'chocolate box soppy' for my personal preference. Its a light and somewhat enjoyable watch, which I can understand why some people may really like but its no more than an ok watch for me personally, hence my rating. I would only recommend it if your interested in it as a historical/musical period drama watch.