8/10/2023 0 Comments Audio file spy music![]() Parker developed a devout cult following after this role. The elegant, perfectly coiffed Parker is particularly delicious as Maria's chief romantic rival, getting some of the film's best zingers and delivering them with biting understatement. Despite having their musical numbers snatched away from them, they make up for it with droll, sophisticated humor. Richard Haydn as Max and Eleanor Parker as the flamboyant, haughty Baroness provide wonderful catty relief. As for the Seven Little Foys, I mean the Von Trapp children, they are adorable and perfect in their own ways too, whether they are marching or singing, creating their own individual personalities by film's end. I can't think of anyone more suitable for this role either. Christopher Plummer is all seriousness, handsomely patrician, and quite a catch for anybody.much less a nun. She gives the most wholesomely appealing musical perf since Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz." To actually make you forget Mary Martin in the Broadway role takes some doing and she does it effortlessly. Andrews is cutely silly, cutely stubborn, cutely astute, cutely shattered and cutely.well, cute. But now certifiably bankable, she proved she could handle this dream role. Thank heavens for her Oscar-winning "Mary Poppins" the year before or we might have gotten Julie LONDON instead! After all, Andrews did lose out on "My Fair Lady" the year before. Try and think of anybody better than jubilant, crop-haired Julie Andrews as a postulant nun who has gorgeous pipes, can make play clothes out of curtains, can set up and operate marionette shows at the drop of a hat, and is confident enough to convince a man that a failed nun is ideal marriage material. Every scene is done with total enthusiasm and total commitment, and the performers who are telling the story are pitch-perfect and picture perfect. But again, the characters play it straight all the way. The script is undeniably trite and probably the film's weakest link. If the songs don't transcend the script (which they didn't prior to the 70s), they certainly transcend the mood. ![]() The songs work because they come straight from and aim for the heart, not the head, which is exactly the place the viewer should be coming from when watching this movie. Or two people declaring their love in a moonlit gazebo. Or the kids working up a clever little ditty to leave their formal party guests when its time for bed. Or the 16-year-old going on 17 squealing with delight after receiving her first kiss. Or the Mother Superior's soaring number that unknowingly forewarns Maria to head for the hills (I mean, mountains) before the Nazis escort them elsewhere. Or the austere Captain Von Trapp (the meticulous Christopher Plummer) turning to butter after hearing his brood sing in perfect harmony for the first time (with no prior lessons even) and joining right in. It's hard to resist Maria prancing about, pillow-fighting with a bunch of knee-highs and gushing about her most favorite things. The utter joy and sincerity of the cast who sings the infectious, hummable tunes, which are backed by extremely moving orchestrations and an exceptionally beautiful score. Almost every one of them is absolute drivel. The panoramic Salzburg background complements and never intimidates or takes away from the characters or their story (like the other R & H extravaganza "South Pacific.") That in itself is an incredible feat. I'm not in Kansas anymore.or L.A., anyway. From the first moment Julie Andrews flails her arms and circles around on that beautiful sunny hillside singing the rousing title song, I know I'm being swept away to another world. The extremely well-produced blockbuster has gorgeous, eye-popping scenery. Why is it still considered the most popular musical of all time? Well, first of all they spared no expense. I find myself going for a tub of rocky road ice cream and Rodgers & Hammerstein's immortal classic whenever the real world gets to be too much. But after all this time, it still remains a guilty pleasure. ![]() ![]() So why is it one of my favorite musicals? OK, go ahead. Providing more sap than a forest full of Vermont maples, it has coy, silly songs, an inane, innocuous script, and unbelievably sugary characters. 1965's "The Sound of Music" is everything a bad musical should be.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |