Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #56 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-11-13
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 2.20:1
• Formats: Box set, Digital Sound, PAL, Special Edition, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 165 minutes

Synopsis
Shot in Salzburg against the majestic Bavarian Alps, THE SOUND OF MUSIC is considered one of the greatest screen musicals ever made. The film, based on a real family and their true events, tells the story of a young postulate, Maria (Julie Andrews), who, after proving too high-spirited for the Mother Abess and other nuns, is sent off to work as a governess to seven unruly children. The Von Trapp family is run, in military style, by the seemingly cold-hearted Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), a lonely widowed naval officer. Seeing how badly he and his children need companionship, he proposes to the Baroness Schraeder (Eleanor Parker), a calculating, mutual friend of beloved family friend Max Detweiler (Richard Haydn). It is the baroness who soon realises that it's Maria - with her warmth and love for the children - the captain really loves. It is nearly bliss for the newly formed family who loves to sing together - except for the cloud looming over their beloved Austrian horizon: Hitler is ascending to power, forcing Von Trapp to decide whether to join the Nazi party - which he loathes - or force his family to leave their home forever. One of the most memorable scores ever written (by Rodgers and Hammerstein) and breathtaking performances by Andrews, Plummer, and the seven children mark this classic as one of the world's most favourite films.

Customer Reviews

See I do like these types of movies
Having given one star for "Gone With the Wind" and three starts for "Breakfast at Tiffany's" friends were acusing me of not liking "girl flicks". Whatever that means.

Well I enjoyed "The Sound of Music" enormously. So there. I admit I hadn't seen it for years and it has sat for some time on the shelf before I watched it but I have to say I thought it had stood the test of time really well.Julie Andrews' voice was so effortless and perfect and the sheer magnificence of Salzburg was such a great background to the story. (Unfortunately, my holiday tape of Salzburg was taped over by my daughter when she was two - I ended up with the Smurfs - perhaps an excuse to go back).

And the special features, especially the real life story of the Familie von Trapp, were of real interest. A great film and a great edition.

VON TRAPPS RULE
This shouldn't need a review. To have missed The Sound of Music you would have to be dead, living in a cave or mad.

Those old classics belting out bring back so many memories. I was dressed in curtain material as a child and although i lived in Essex, i yearn for Alpine valleys.

10 out of 10 for this one.

40 years on and they're still alive with the sound of music
Maria and the Von Trapp children still sound good after all these years. There can hardly be a person on the planet who either owns a television or lives within 20 miles of a cinema and who doesn't know the story of The Sound of Music. Although I haven't been a fan of musicals until quite recently, I did watch and enjoy this film when I was a child, several decades ago. It's great fun and I can quite understand its popularity. Watching it again was lovely and very nostalgic. The restoration people have made a fine job so that the picture and sound quality are excellent. The special features are a considerable bonus and there's a long list of them as you can see from Amazon's 'Product Details' section above. The item on disc 2 that I found especially interesting was the 'Biography' programme about the real Von Trapp family. The real Maria was an astonishing character and far more complicated than the film version. It seems that she had an absolutely hellish childhood and the horror of it furnished her with a couple of darker facets to her personality than might be guessed from a familiarity with the film version of Maria - which all just adds to the fascination of the Von Trapp story.

If you haven't seen the film or haven't watched it for some years, give yourself a treat: watch it and get soppy, sentimental and uplifted ... and have a bit of a sing too.