The Sound of Music is an American Classic. Who doesn’t love the music, the character of Maria, the Captain, the Baroness, the children and even the funny lady that takes a dozen bows at the end of the performance towards the end of the movie. The film is rich in color, charm, intrigue, romance, conflict, and resolution. Everything is resolved and everyone sings his or her way into happily-ever-after. What more could you ask for? Nothing, and that is why it is an American classic.
Way before DVD and even VHS, we had to wait for the Sound of Music to come on television. It was always a Sunday night and something we looked forward to all year. We popped up the popcorn, gathered as a family and sat memorized hoping each time we watched it that Maria would come back to the children and the Captain.
My favorite scene was when Maria and the Captain went into the location tente and sang that beautiful duet. That was the climax of the movie. All was right in the world. The rain was falling lightly but they were safe inside their location tente without a care in the world. The soft focus cameras reiterated the sense of closeness, romance, and perfection.
Why don’t they make movies like that anymore? Would people watch them? Would they be box office hits? History has shown that family friendly movies often do better at the box office than slashers and filth but still they pour out dribbly movies after dribbly movies, too bad. Most of the top 20 grossing movies of all times had ratings less than an R.
We will always have the Sound of Music to remind us of a gentler time, when movies were made to enlighten, uplift, and add beauty and romance to a cynical world.