The Best Musical in the World

Alyssa Slusher

Professor Weihe

English 1121-95

November 1, 2012

Final Draft

The Best Musical in the World

"Do a deer a female deer, Re a drop of gold sun, Mi a name I call myself, Fa a long long way to run, So a needle pulling thread, La a note to follow So, Ti a drink with jam and bread, and that would bring us back to do, do, do, do." The Sound of Music aired in the year 1965. It was set in Austria in the 1930's. The movie is a biography, drama, family, musical, and a romance. There were three main actors in this film. The three were Julie Andrews (Maria), Christopher Plummer (Captain VonTrapp), and Eleanor Parker (The Baroness). The director was Robert Wise. Wise has directed other popular movies like West Side Story and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The film won five Oscars, twelve awards, and had another eleven nominations. The Sound of Music has a four-star movie rating. The Sound of Music does a stupendous job of creating a cute love story mixed with a musical, has a very noticeable character development, is interesting and catchy, but it incorrectly portrays the true story behind the movie.

The movie begins with Maria, a nun, living in an Austrian convent. Maria does not fit well into the nun life. She was sent to the VonTrapp's to be a governess by her Mother Superior. When Maria arrives at the house, she finds the children to be very rude and unwelcoming. She finds the father as very strict and uptight. She then realizes that she needs to help this family come back together. After only a day the children begin to love Maria. Maria loves them to, but there is a problem. Maria found herself falling in love with Georg, who has engaged. Since Maria did not want to ruin Georg's engagement she decided to go back to the convent. Maria eventually came back because the Captain's fiancé left him and the children begged her to come back. Georg and Maria then married, and the family fled Austria because of the war. It ends with the family climbing over a hill singing and carrying suitcases.

The Sound of Music was based off a true story of the VonTrapp family. It went along with the book, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. However, there was a lot of information that was incorrect. First, in the movie it states Maria came to the family to be a governess. She actually came to be a tutor for the youngest daughter, Maria, who was recovering from the Scarlet fever. Secondly, it states the family fled Austria right after Georg and Maria married. In reality, the family fled the country eleven years after Georg and Maria married. In the movie, it was a love story focused on Georg and Maria, but the "real" Maria married Georg because of her love for the children. In an interview with Maria VonTrapp by Joan Gearin, she stated, "I really and truly was not in love. I liked him but didn't love him. However, I loved the children, so in a way I really married the children....[B]y and by I learned to love him more than I have ever loved before and after." In the movie, there were only seven children. The real VonTrapp family had ten children. In the film, Georg is depicted as a strict and unloving parent. In real life, Georg is a gentle and loving parent who loves music.

The Sound of Music does an amazing job in catching a huge audience. Fifty years after the movie premiered it is still a popular known movie. People are still singing the tunes that were in it. These include: "Do Re Mi", "The Sound of Music", "My Favorite Things", "You are Sixteen, Going on Seventeen", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", and "Edelweiss." Anyone who knows about The Sound of Music probably knows most or all of the words to these very famous songs.

The Sound of Music has remarkable qualities to it that make the film successful. According to James Plath, "It's a film that's joyous and buoyant, a feel-good movie that's by turns funny, musical, and dramatic." First, it has great actors and actresses. Julie Andrews is a hugely famous and successful actress. In fact, one year before she played the role of Maria she won an academy award for her role in Mary Poppins. Julie Andrews has an amazing voice in the movie. Her voice is what makes the movie even better. People love hearing the sound of her voice and how powerful it is. According to Rachel Heller, "She is a triple threat. Julie Andrews can act, sing, and is an author." The other actress who helps make the film is Eleanor Parker who plays the Baroness. Parker is not as famous of an actress, but that does not mean that she is not as good of an actress. Parker does an amazing job in portraying a mean woman who is engaged to the man of seven children when she doesn't even like children. Christopher Plummer, the Captain, also does an amazing job in his role. He depicts a very stern parenting