Region: 1
Video: Letterbox for TV
Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
  Dolby Digital Stereo
  Dolby Digital w/ 4 channels of sound from a 2-channel stereo mix.
  Dolby Digital w/ 5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers & 2 surround channels for the rear speakers
Language: English, French, Spanish
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Weight factor: 1 item(s)

Plot Synopsis

One of the most popular movie musicals of all time, The Sound of Music is based on the true story of the Trapp Family Singers. Julie Andrews stars as Maria, a young nun in an Austrian convent who regularly misses her morning prayers because she enjoys going to the hills to sing the title song. Deciding that Maria needs to learn something about the real world before she can take her vows, the Mother Superior (Peggy Wood) sends her off to be governess for the children of the widowed Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer). Arriving at the Trapp home, Maria discovers that her new boss is cold and aloof, and his seven children virtual automatons-at least, whenever the Captain is around. Otherwise, the kids are holy terrors, as evidenced by the fact that Maria is the latest in a long line of governesses. But Maria soon ingratiates herself with the children, especially oldest daughter Liesl (Charmian Carr), who is in love with teenaged messenger boy Rolf. As Maria herself begins to fall in love with the Captain, she rushes back to the Abbey so as not to complicate his impending marriage to a glamorous baroness (Eleanor Parker). But the children insist that Maria return, the Baroness steps out of the picture, and Maria and the Captain confirm their love in the song "Something Good." Unhappily, they return home from their honeymoon shortly after the Nazis march into Austria. Already, swastikas have been hung on the Von Trapp ancestral home, and Liesl's boyfriend Rolf has been indoctrinated in the "glories" of the Third Reich. The biggest blow occurs when Von Trapp is called back to active duty in the service of the Fuhrer. The Captain wants nothing to do with Nazism, and he begins making plans to take himself and his family out of Austria. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Editorial Reviews:

Unabashedly sentimental and a box office smash, The Sound of Music (1965) became the last old-fashioned blockbuster musical before the seismic shifts of the late 1960s and 1970s. Faithfully adapting the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway hit while opening it up for the screen, director Robert Wise made the most of the story's Austrian settings by shooting in pristine color on location in and around Salzburg. Beginning with the helicopter shot of Julie Andrews's hill-top performance of the title song, Wise matches glorious Alpine landscapes and Salzburg sites with exuberant songs, while the romantic moments are set in the more intimate yet still picturesque Von Trapp garden house. The puppet show, an important moment in Maria's romance with Von Trapp, also becomes another beautifully executed set piece in itself. Andrews' acting is as laudable as her singing, and her presence charmed even those reviewers critical of The Sound of Music's sweetness; the audience adored it to the tune of record-breaking grosses. Nominated for ten Oscars, The Sound of Music won five, including Best Picture, Director, Sound, and Adapted Score. None of the 1960s musicals that followed it came close to matching its popularity. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide