The Sound of Music is the film which I did my film 202 Bibliography project on

One of the most popular genres throughout film history has been musicals. It is said to been greatly liked because of the enjoyable predictability and delightful music. This book describes the themes and importance of musical films in Hollywood. Ever since The Jazz Singer in 1927 Broadway musicals have been transformed into Hollywood masterpieces. The Jazz Singer was not only the first full length feature with sound but Al Jolson, the main character, sang a few songs for the film too. This paved the way for the great achievement of musicals in the Hollywood film industry. 57 musical movies were released in 1929 and 77 in 1930. However, in the last 40 years the number of musical films has greatly decreased due to separate interests. But of films made in the last 40 years, the musical films have become the most commonly recognized.

The Sound of Music serves as an example of these extremely popular musical films. The book acknowledges that this Broadway hit won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1965. Several thematic agents lead to the production of a Broadway musical into a film. One aspect which the book states as a thematic agent is fictional geography. The Sound of Music fits into this theme because of its setting in Austria. Explaining film history and the variety of themes throughout musical’s past, sets a distinguished image of the time in which The Sound of Music was release in theaters and gives us an incite to the future of Hollywood musical films.

Although The Sound of Music was a huge hit in the box office and rescued 20^th Century Fox from complete failure, the film did have many flaws. Even though the film did exceptional in foreign countries other than the US, in both Austria and West Germany the movie was quickly discontinued. This article goes into great detail about the specific failures of this film. First, a box of Jaffa oranges was placed in the background in one of the scenes which represented the movie’s repressed historical storyline and caused a great disruption among citizens. Jaffa was a country founded by western allies in World War II in response to Germany’s Nazi party. It was no surprise that the German’s rejected The Sound of Music due to the long running history between Germany and America in the film industry. Also, Germany did not support cultural imperialism by the US. On opening day in Germany, the German manage for 20^th Century Fox decided to cut out on third of the film to the audience. He ended The Sound of Music at the wedding and opted not to screen the actual ending of the von Trapp family escaping the Nazis. The last scene of the movie also is questioned for its ambiguity. The family is climbing the mountains to escape the Nazis however, in actuality the mountains that they are climbing border Germany and not Switzerland making it seem that the family is heading in the center of Hitler’s army rather than escaping. This article analyzes the German and Austrian response to The Sound of Music and shows the film in a negative manner which is an unusual position to take due to the great success of this American feature.

The movies can easily persuade a country’s audience to positively or negatively stereotype other races or nationalities. International cinema, including the US, continues to stereotype the Nazis when dealing with German and Austrian history. Austrians are often wrongly associated with the Germans because they speak German. However this is not entirely true. Although Germany and Austria share similar pasts and languages, they have two separate forms of leadership. Before 1918, Austria’s Habsburg monarchy was the source the Austria’s international cinema history as seen by foreign countries. After years of misinterpretation, Austrian directors who fled the Nazis began to make what they thought were accurate depictions of Austria in the 60s and 70s. However, these films often became extremely controversial in Austria. For example, The Cardinal was a film about an Austria that was not able to escape from its imperial past and underestimates Hitler’s power. Another example is Julia which is a film about an awful Civil War in 1934. One movie that was greatly appreciated internationally was The Sound of Music. However, it seemed unrealistic due to the fact that most Austrians have never seen the collection of fictional images shown throughout the film. Heimatfilm was a popular Austrian and German genre that was used in The Sound of Music. The genre “ranged from provincial dramas that highlighted the idyllic countryside and emphasized conservative and Christian social value”(1). Also used was Bergfilm in the movie which is German Romantic way to express nature’s purity with beautiful opening and closing mountain scenes. This movie has had an enormous effect on the rest of the world and their opinions of Austria and its past.  

This article takes a look at Hollywood film in 1965 and how it has evolved into the production company it is today. During the year 1965 Hollywood was breaking into new realms and was beginning to conquer the global market. Throughout the 60s movie censorship greatly diminished and movies like Advise and Consent were produced where there are multiple shots of gay bars and other homosexual innuendos. The difference in today’s society is clear. Often times there appears to be no limit to Hollywood film making and themes in movies do not seem censored. The loosened censorship laws in the 60s allowed The Sound of Music to portray the Nazis in the manner that was presented.

Another major theme that has been adjusted over the last 40 years is idea of hokum verse realism. Many films in the mid 60s tried to combine these two moods, however most failed miserably. The concept of fudging is when a film pretends to be “hard-hitting but shrinks from really facing the issues it raises”(42). The best example of this is an undeserved happy ending. Fudging is still a part of Hollywood features today and continues to surprise its’ audiences.

The star system has been consistently influential to the film industry for the past 75 years. One of the major changes in the star system over the last 50 years has been the increase in the international cast. The Sound of Music had several international cast members including Julie Andrews who is from England. The movie was also about a foreign family and their struggles in their homeland of Austria, which was a newer develop for Hollywood because the family was not American.  

The last thing that has greatly revolutionized in the last half a century is the use of realism in films. Settings have become a crucial part of the film and help to capture realism. The hills of Austria and the beautiful streets bring a realist aspect to The Sound of Music. Shooting outside studios has grown increasing popular since that time period and has brought us great cinematography films such as The Lord of the Rings movies.

             

This book describes how the Hollywood industry has overlapped with musicals since the beginning. It serves as an informative book for facts not only about The Sound of Music, but also about other Broadway musicals that have been turned into films. Within the second year of the Academy Awards two song-and-dance pictures accompanied the five selected films for best picture in 1929. In fact, the winner was The Broadway Melody which has been an extremely influential movie for the Hollywood musical industry. Since then, over 36 musicals have been nominated from the Academy of Motion Pictures for best picture of the year, including The Sound of Music. 

The Sound of Music, a 20^th Century-Fox picture, was produced by Robert Wise in 1965 based off the musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein which debuted in November of 1959. The Sound of Music had success instantaneously and is known as “the most popular movie musical of all time”(249). The film’s reliance on sentimentalism is said to be one of the main contributors to its’ enormous popularity. That year the film received ten Oscar nominations including Best Picture. Many critics of the time would have said that it was even lucky to have been nominated and did not even deserve that honor. Even though The Sound of Music has been one of the most popular musicals to date, the plot is said to be too emotion for the American audience of the time period.

The several of the aspects of the film caused critics to believe that The Sound of Music would not be popular. The characters, ranging from the von Trapp children to Julie Andrews character, Maria, and the rest of the nuns, all possess a positive quality to them which makes them appealing to the audience. Even the Hitler’s Nazis were portrayed in a humanistic way rather than in a barbaric fashion. Also, the numerous panoramic scenes of Austria’s countryside gave a sense of calmness and beauty to the audience. The dialogue was adjusted from that of the Broadway musical, adding in more gentle humor and new songs as well as deleting a few of the original songs from the Broadway version. One of the best aspects to this film was the DeLuxe color photography. This is greatly apparent at the beginning of the film with the aerial shot of the green hills and snow capped mountains in the background as Julia Andrews is shown running through the vast fields singing the opening number “The Sound of Music”. Although The Sound of Music was originally received poor reviews it has become not only one of the most famous musicals of all time but all one of the most famous films in the 20^th century.

 

This article examines not only The Sound of Music but also Mary Poppins and their association with political and social issues in the United States in the 60s. Even though both of these films have European settings and non-American actors, each address the major concern of changing gender roles at that time period in America. Patriarchal society was quickly transforming and can be seen
through films produced in the 60s. Women’s traditional domesticated role in the household was beginning to revolutionize and a new female ideology was forming. Throughout the 1960s the employment of women greatly increased and they also became more educated. The main character, Maria, in The Sound of Music is an example of an independent woman who is able to nurture and love children that do not belong to her symbolizing the female nature of motherhood. Maria is an illustration of the libidinal mother, which is an ideal mother who finds her passion in raising children and possesses motherly instincts that cause her to have unconditional love for the children. The author of this essay argues that the historical settings in both movies serve as a metaphoric reaction to contemporary social disturbances in the US. She assumes that most movies always have some relevant connection to the time period in which they were produced. In The Sound of Music, ideals of motherhood can be articulated through the comparison on Maria to the Baroness Elsa Schraeder. Also, this article brings up problems with the fathers of the time period, portraying them simply as disciplinarian figures rather than caring involved dads. At the end of both films each father establishes a place in the home and in a way limits the women’s power in the home. This article is able to form several conclusions about the changing definitions of the distinct roles of women and men during the 1960s through the analysis of The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins.

Rogers and Hammerstein are often known as the most successful partnership throughout theater history and their life story is told in this book. Though they both had individual careers in the beginning, after their first collaboration, Oklahoma! in 1943, they were inseparable. Their relationship was one of the most important contributions to their tremendous success. Coming from similar backgrounds and similar habits, it seems inevitable that Rogers and Hammerstein have been the most influential team in theater arts. Both were also extremely considerate men that showed each other as well as co-workers undeviating respect. The very last play that Rogers and Hammerstein produced together was The Sound of Music before Hammerstein pasted away in 1960.

The Sound of Music is originally based off a German film called The Trapp Family Singers. The book describes the process which Rogers and Hammerstein had to go through in order to produce this musical. First, in order to get the rights to production, permission was needed from the living members of the true Trapp family. After a year of searching for both the Baroness and her children permission was fully granted and Rodgers and Hammerstein were not only asked to write the script but be co-producers as well. Each song written by these men are heartfelt and expressive. For example, in the song “Climb Every Mountain” they do not simply state that every mountain will be climbed and every stream will be forded, both knew that life’s problems are never easy to overcome. Hammerstein was diagnosed with cancer in 1959 and was forced to find the bravery that was apparent in his writings. Rogers and Hammerstein continue to be the most influential men in theater production even though their careers have ended over fifty years ago.

Often when America has gone through a time of war the film industry also enters the war scene. Once World War II began, musical comedies ended and the majority of the industry started to make screenplays about patriotism and victorious soldiers. Especially in World War II, the main topic of these films was America winning the war. These musical films invigorated the musical industry and bought the American people back to see Broadway musicals. Audiences saw over four hundred war films for the duration of World War II. During the time of peace following World War II, Hollywood tried to bring back the achievement of the wartime genre. It unfortunately only worked for about ten years. However, in the late 50’s to early 60’s it seemed very few wartime movies had great success. It wasn’t until 1965, when The Sound of Music was released that the Hollywood industry saw some hope for lucrative films about war. This book suggests that war themed musicals have a long history and will continue thrive not only in time of war but in time of peace. Also, the book describes the great extent of the impact of wartime genre on the Hollywood industry as well as on Broadway. The Sound of Music serves as a great example to the tremendous success of a war musical turned into a Hollywood hit and has become an influential part of Hollywood history.

This book gives a complete storyline of the making of The Sound of Music from the true story in Vienna to the lasting impression the movie has had on the Hollywood film industry. There is a section that contains a biography of Robert Wise and explains how he landed the directing role of this unforgettable film. After the opening day on March 2, 1965, the New York Herald Tribune gave The Sound of Music an awful review saying that it was a movie for kids who “aren’t up to the stinging sophistication and biting wit of Mary Poppins”(174). However, after that one terrible review the movie’s reviews quickly turned around. Local papers raved about the instant hit. The Sound of Music reached number one at the box office in only four weeks and remained at the top for 30 of the next 43 weeks. Within the nine months of opening the movie had grossed over $50 million worldwide. People became avid fans and saw the movie repeatedly. Music was the first American movie to ever be completely dubbed into a different language, including the songs. In 1965 the film won almost every major movie award possible, including Golden Globes for Best Picture and Best Actress. The book then goes into great detail about the Academy Awards of that year and the massive publicity that The Sound of Music obtained. Even though Julie Andrew’s didn’t win the Oscar for Best Actress, she was overwhelmed with the films victories in the Best Director and the Best Picture of the Year categories. This book is extremely informative about the history of the film and gives you the inside scope to all aspects of the movie.

The Sound of Music is the film which I did my film 202 Bibliography project on

After producing The Sound of Music Robert Wise was able to direct and produce any feature in Hollywood and 20^th Century-Fox was able to invest in any picture it wanted to. Following The Sound of Music craze everyone in Hollywood was looking for the next musical hit. However, the industry quickly suffered with a large series of misfires. Star! was a prime example of these types of films. Since Julie Andrews was going to be the star in the movie and Robert Wise was directing the film, expenses were not a thought. In July of 1968 Star! had its world premium and over the next few months it appeared as though audiences forgot to show up and watch Julie Andrews in the theaters. The studio didn’t understand the public’s ideologies at the time. No one wanted to see Ms. Andrews play that type of part. She was supposed to be a mother figure with children to take care of. That’s what America was use to and they weren’t about to change their opinions about her after the huge success of The Sound of Music. Other movies that Julia Andrews starred in such as Victo/Victoria and S.O.B. never became as popular after her roles in The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. Her Hollywood image was captured in these two films and America did not favor her change. The failure of the films following the two hits just shows how much success The Sound of Music has had over the years and how much image means for a Hollywood star, even one as famous as Julia Andrews.