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Maria Augusta von Trapp (front) and five of her children.

Photo via picryl.com

‘The Sound of Music’ (1965)

By Samuel Cheng

Published 10:45 PDT, Fri August 18, 2023

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Music, comedy, drama, The Sound of Music has got them all. Released on March 2, 1965, The Sound of Music easily tops the chart in terms of the best musical film of all time.

The classic film was directed by Robert Wise, who is notable for directing West Side Story in 1961, The Sand Pebbles in 1966 as well as being the film edit of Citizen Kane in 1941.

The Sound of Music is based off of a memoir written by Maria Augusta von Trapp, the wife of Georg von Trapp and the mother of their seven children. It is not to be confused with the second oldest daughter—Maria Franziska von Trapp.

The von Trapp Family, also known as the “Trapp Family Singers” was an Austrian singing group that was created by the former Austrian naval commander Georg von Trapp. The couple and their seven children performed as a unit during their active years.

The group gained popularity during the interwar period. They achieved the peak of their fame when they performed in the United States, where they decided to permanently relocate due to the outbreak of World War II in Austria.

In the film, Georg von Trapp was played by Christopher Plumber and Julie Andrews starred as Maria, a woman in the abbey that was studying and training to become a nun.

The opening of the movie starts with Maria casually wandering across a peaceful, green meadow singing. The director, Robert Wise, smartly sets the tone for the movie as well as displaying a strong contrast between Maria’s personality and the stereotypical expectations of a nun.

Due to the lack of discipline and order, Mother Abbess sends Maria to be the governess of the von Trapp family. The captain von Trapp raises his children through the means of military style discipline and strict rules following the death of his wife. This results in the seven children becoming rebellious and extremely naughty, which drove the previous governesses crazy.

Unlike the previous governesses, Maria treated the disobedient children with patience, love, and care. Through it all, Maria was able to win the hearts of the children, and ultimately, the captain.

It was not long before the Nazi decided on an Austria Anschluss. They had named von Trapp to be the new naval commander and ordered him to be commissioned immediately. With the help of Mother Abbess and other nuns, the von Trapp family successfully escaped under the nose of the Nazi Germans using a music festival as a decoy.

The incorporation of the musical element in combination with the traditional filming aspects sparked a new chemical reaction in the musical classic. The soundtracks, the singing, actors and actresses were phenomenal in doing their part to perform as well as act, all at the same time.

Films of similar nature would often times forcefully incorporate songs in a scene where it is rather unsuitable. However, The Sound of Music had seamlessly merged the songs with the plot of the story. It is almost as if the actors and actresses are merely singing their lines or conversation versus performing with an orchestra.

The soundtrack album was also released in 1965, selling more than 20 million copies worldwide, making it one of the most successful soundtrack albums of all time. It topped the number one spot on the Billboard 200 in the United States in 1965, and it remained on the chart for 238 weeks.

The film nonetheless, was met with an extraordinary amount of success. It was ranked the number one box office film in 1965 after merely four weeks. It raked in 286.2 million of revenue with a measly 8.2 million budget.

Moreover, it collected many accolades and awards along the way. The American Film Institute ranked The Sound of Music as the 55th greatest American film of all time and the fourth greatest film musical.

The Sound of Music was tied with Doctor Zhivago with five awards, and ten nominations at the 38th Academy Awards in 1965. It brought home best picture, best director, best sound, best film editing and best music, scoring of music, adaptation, or treatment.

At the 23rd Golden Globe Awards 1966, The Sound of Music was crowned the best motion picture—comedy or musical, and best actress—comedy or musical as well as scoring a spot in two other nominations.

The Sound of Music is a timeless classic that can be enjoyed and revisited by people of all ages. It serves as one of the predecessors and pioneers of modern musical genre films.