The Sound of Music (1965)-Revisit Paramount Summer Classic Film Series

 

You already know a few of my favorite things, so I will spare you my singing about them and instead praise Julie Andrews for singing about a few of her favorite things. The Sound of Music is one of those films that inspires both love and derision from film aficionados. Cynics object to the sugary take on the Von Trapp family story. They would say the children are too upbeat, the songs are treacle, and the pretty people facing Nazis is a misuse of History. I'm cynical about a lot of things, but "The Sound of Music" isn't one of them. This is just a joyful experience with Sweet Moments, terrific staging, and some of the best songs of the 20th century.

The movie is a love story, but it is not just a story about a love between a man and a woman. Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews portray the adults who fall in love in perilous times and difficult circumstances. There are however still seven children who also need to fall in love, at first with a governess and finally a new mother. The way in which Maria wins over all of the children, by exhibiting more patience  than is imaginable, and singing about their very needs, makes for a great story. Don't forget it's also a story about people who love their country, and see it being torn apart by the events of the day. I can understand if you don't like "The Sound of Music" because you don't care for musicals, or if Julie Andrews just isn't your cup of tea, but if you don't like this movie because of the themes or the story( which for the most part is true), then you are missing the point. And I feel sorry for you because you're going to lead a less fulfilling life.

The exuberance of some of the dancing sequences, which really aren't about dancing at all but just about children playing at being adults, is part of the fun. The world is full of people who don't like it when kids appear in movies, they should probably stay away from this as if it were the plague. I on the other hand am perfectly content to try to remember the names of each of the children, like Maria does when she says her prayers. By the way, I didn't forget Kurt. 

The synchronization between the helicopter shot and the introduction of Maria on the hillside is a miracle a filmmaking at the time. Today it would be accomplished with drones and computer adjusted shots. Yet it wouldn't be any better. A lot of sequences go on for a while, without the heavy editing of a director who is trying to hard to show off. Robert  Wise knows exactly what he is doing when telling this story. It may have moments of suspense in the Final Act, but it is not a thriller that requires Quick Cuts and close-ups of sweaty faces. This is a character piece with music, something that Wise has already shown he can handle.

Once again I cannot recommend highly enough seeing a film like this on the big screen with a receptive audience. This was one of the family films for the Paramount classic summer film series, and there were plenty of families there to experience this film on its 60th anniversary. The world is a better place for it.

Mary Poppins Paramount's Summer Classic Films Series

 

There is nothing so wonderful as embracing an old friend that you have not seen for years, and discovering all over again, why you loved them in the first place. There were two screenings at the Paramount Theater yesterday, and no it was not a double feature. In the evening we were seeing "The Road Warrior" but first up, we went downtown early so we could enjoy "Mary Poppins" on the big screen. It was an absolute delight and a good tonic to help overcome the dreck that is "Barbie". While  both "Mary Poppins" and "Barbie" are fantasy films, one is a delivery system for a ambiguously described political point of view, and the other is an entertainment who has as it's purpose bringing people together instead of driving them apart. 

I never read any of the Poppins books, so other than the references made in the film "Saving Mr. Banks", I can't speak to the fidelity of Walt Disney's film to the source material. I can say that Julie Andrews' interpretation is not all sweetness and light, in spite of the clip of her duetting with a bird perched on her finger. She may not be the hard as nails character that appears in the original stories, but she still has a stern visage at times, that said, it does alter in the right circumstances.  This may account for why she won the Academy Award for this picture, that and of course her musical talents.

The structure of the film does tend to be very episodic, moving from one musical number to the next. The numbers however do advance the storyline indirectly and lead us to the final evolution of Mr. Banks as a more engaged and attentive father. I was impressed by all of the performers but I was surprised by how well Michael Tomlinson stands up next to the two leads. He has a strong voice and his exuberance in the closing number is the satisfying exclamation point that this film is looking for. 

 You might think that some of the old style special effects and humorous moments would fall flat with today's audiences and children. We are supposedly more evolved now than we were almost sixty years ago. I however, heard laughter repeatedly, in the right spots, and the audience was eating up some of the funny lines in the script. This was not a jade group getting hipster joy out of nostalgia. This was an audience of families who were sharing something that they could each relate to in the same way.  The three year old in front of us was having his first visit to a movie theater, and except for moving onto his Mom's lap in the last hour of the film, was quite taken with what he was seeing. As was I. 

The film looks wonderful and the long animated sequence was delightful. Even though Dick Van Dyke is hamming it up at times, it was all in the way of entertaining us, not in showing off. When as Mr. Dawes Senior, he pratfalls slightly with his cane and steps, everyone knew it was meant to be funny and responded in a manner befitting the moment, we all laughed together. Maybe part of the joy I felt was because there was nothing divisive about what we were seeing. This film made me want to revisit the sequel that came out just a few years ago, which I enjoyed immensely. It is a happy thing when a film prompts you to stick with a character, way too often, that is a mistake, but in this case, Mary Poppins is timeless.