The Sound of Music is the film adaptation of the memoirs of Maria von Trapp, step-matriarch of the outspoken musical Austrian family who defied Hitler and fled their homeland. Maria (Julie Andrews) begins the film as a flighty young postulent (nun-in-training), one who is happy and sings all of the time, but gives the other nuns absolute fits. The Mother Abbess (Peggy Wood) begins to think that the Abbey is not the place for Maria and an opportunity arises. Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), widowed Naval officer, has a need for a governess for his seven children and Maria is sent to fill the position. Maria is shocked at the militant way Captain von Trapp treats his children, making them wear uniforms, calling them with a whistle and not allowing them to play. The children, themselves, having run off a number of previous governesses, set about making life miserable for Maria, but her good-natured ways and joyful demeanor soon win them over. Maria and the children spend most of their time frolicking about and singing, something their father previously forbade because of his now departed wife, but soon embraces once again.
The more time she spends with the family, the deeper her feelings grow for all of them, including the Captain, who feels the same way, although neither will admit it. When von Trapp announces he will soon marry a Baroness from Vienna, it seems Maria is destined to return to the nunnery, but her love for the family intervenes and she returns.
In the meantime, Hitler's regime is encroaching more and more on Austria and it is becoming more difficult for von Trapp to reject Hitler's offers to serve under him. Having gained a bit of notoriety for their family singing act under Maria's guiding hand, they are asked to perform at a festival and they hatch a plot to escape Austria using their now famous tune, "So Long, Farewell," as a bit of a swan song to buy them time to flee. They escape by crossing over the snow-covered mountain tops in the grand tradition of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" and their legend lives on today.
I can remember being a young child and waiting for that one time every year when The Sound of Music would air around the holidays. Now, you can simply pick up The Sound of Music: 45th Anniversary Edition and not only have the movie restored to absolute perfection, but you'll also have a DVD copy, plus a bevy of special features that cover anything and everything about this film, the family and the songs that have since become musical standards. Special features are fairly deep, in that they include vintage films made about The Sound of Music, sometimes 1-1.5 hours long, various radio and TV specials and interviews, retrospectives and reunions with the cast, sing-along options and so much more. The Blu-ray version has three special features of specific note: Your Favorite Things: An Interactive Celebration is a way to view with film packed with added options. You can choose to watch the film with a pop-up video styled fact box that appears every few seconds with trivia about the movie, cast, family, area it was filmed, production, etc. You can also choose to see behind-the-scenes photos pop up that include production stills, publicity, and more. You can also have a location quiz going to test your skills. Finally, you can watch the movie in Sing-Along mode where the words will appear, karaoke style, at the bottom of the screen when song comes on. This mode is also available separately as its own special feature. Each of these can be turned on by themselves or mixed and matched. The second special feature of note is called City of Song. Here, the gorgeous vista of Austria is layed out before you and points of interest relative to the filming of the movie are marked. By clicking on one, you can watch a snippet of video with background on the location, choose to see photos associated with it and just get additional all-around info. There are three points of view on the map to go through and a number of locations for each map. Finally, there is the Musical Stages feature where, similarly to City of Song, you can select points on the stage (modeled after rooms in the von Trapp home) that will offer you in-depth info on the von Trapp family following their escape, the movie in general, the stage adaptation, the songs of the film and the resoration process. There are three stages available here with a number of points of interest in each one. The three of these special features contain a treasure trove of info and were really fun to explore, adding so much value to this Blu-ray release.
Aside from these, you can see from the list that there is quite a bit packed in here. I really enjoyed the reunion of the actors who played the von Trapp children, as it was so cool to see what they are doing now and how they look. There are two commentary tracks, one from Director Robert Wise and one mostly with Julie Andrews, but from time to time, other cast members pop in, along with Choreographer Dee Dee Wood and Georg and Maria's grandson, Johannes von Trapp.
I know I've gone on and on, but truly, this is the ultimate version of The Sound of Music to own. There are upwards of 10+ hours of special features included, plus a stunning restoration of the film and with the grand vistas of Austria, I wouldn't want it any other way. Many kids of today may not have seen this film, but I'll bet they know songs like "My Favorite Things," "The Hills Are Alive," and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" and the songs sound spectacular here. Do yourself and your family a favor and invest in the Blu-ray version of The Sound of Music: 45th Anniversary Edition as it deserves a place in every home movie collection. Highly recommended.
