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Buy this DVD with Mary Poppins (40th Anniversary Edition) DVD ~ Julie Andrews today!

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When Julie Andrews sang "The hills are alive with the sound of music" from an Austrian mountaintop in 1965, the most beloved movie musical was born. To be sure, the adaptation of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's Broadway hit has never been as universally acclaimed as, say, Singin' in the Rain. Critics argue that the songs are saccharine (even the songwriters regretted the line "To sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray") and that the characters and plot lack the complexity that could make them more interesting. It's not hard to know whom to root for when your choice is between cute kids and Nazis.

Read our interview with Charmian Carr, who played Liesl von Trapp in The Sound of Music.

It doesn't matter. Audiences fell in love with the struggling novice Maria (Andrews), the dashing Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), and, yes, the cute kids, all based on a real-life World War II Austrian family. Such songs as "My Favorite Things," "Do Re Mi," "Climb Every Mountain," and the title tune became part of the 20th century Zeitgeist. In addition, The Sound of Music officially became a cult hit when audiences in London began giving it the Rocky Horror Picture Show treatment, attending showings dressed as their favorite characters and delivering choreographed comments and gestures along with the movie. So why resist, especially when the 40th Anniversary Edition is the best DVD yet.

The DVDs
As if the direct involvement of Julie Andrews weren't enough, the 40th Anniversary Edition of The Sound of Music is a must-have for fans because of the fond sense of nostalgia that will touch all but the worst cynic's heart. Andrews introduces both discs and contributes a commentary track on the film. It's a joy to hear her speak about the film (for example, she explains how she solved her dislike for the lyrics of "I Have Confidence"), and also heard are remarks by Christopher Plummer (who at one point refers to his being 48, which if true would mean his comments were made in about 1975), Charmian Carr (Liesl), choreographer Dee Dee Wood, and Johannes Von Trapp (the real-life Maria Von Trapp's youngest son, who admits that his father did have a whistle but claims that he was not as stern as portrayed in the film). Even with all those people involved, there are still significant gaps of silence, however. Retained from the previous two-disc editions is the commentary track by director Robert Wise, which during the musical numbers becomes an isolated score with no vocals. Also new are sing-along subtitles in English, Spanish, and French, which allow you to have your own sing-along at home. In addition, the film's remastering shows off a truer and much warmer sense of color.

On the second disc, Andrews participates in a new 63-minute documentary "My Favorite Things: Julie Andrews Remembers." But it's really a general making-of documentary with contributions from a number of principals, including director Robert Wise, who died in mid-2005 (not surprisingly, some stories are repeated from the commentary track and from the 87-minute documentary on the previous DVD). Andrews also shares a warm 19-minute sit-down with Christopher Plummer. Carr, who over the years has become the film's biggest advocate, narrates a new 22-minute documentary, "On Location with The Sound of Music," in which she revisits the places in Salzburg where the movie was filmed, and even joins one of the "Sound of Music tours" that have become a booming industry. And acknowledging another big industry, there's a 12-minute featurette on the sing-along phenomenon, focusing specifically on the audience, costumed and otherwise, that attended a sold-out Hollywood Bowl sing-along in 2005. Making special appearances at the event are four von Trapp great-grandchildren and all seven of the actors who played the children. Thankfully, those actors also appear in a 33-minute documentary "From Liesl to Gretl: A 40th Anniversary Reunion," in which they explain what they do now (many are still in show business) and share stories about the film, who was afraid of Christopher Plummer, and what they feel is their responsibility to the film's passionate fans. What's touching is how the group still considers themselves a family so many years later. Other material includes an A&E; documentary on the von Trapps, Mia Farrow's screen test for the Liesl role, and a restoration comparison.

What's Missing?
If you already own the previous two-disc editions, you'll want this 40th Anniversary Edition as well, but you might not want to toss those versions. Probably the most significant omission from this edition is the original 14-minute documentary Charmian Carr made in 1967, "Salzburg Sight and Sound." Carr's new documentary includes only a couple clips from the vintage piece. It's not a great work of art, but it's a notable loss and would have made a good contrast with the new documentary. In addition, the new making-of documentary is about 24 minutes shorter than the old one. Also missing are the audio-only features--the interviews, the radio programs, the Ernest Lehman spotlight--and the historical still gallery examining the history of Salzburg and the film. Granted, this material probably got the least play of any of the old features, but completists might want to hold onto their old discs for it. It would have also been nice to have screen tests other than Farrow's. Tests for all the children and for Christopher Plummer (including singing in his own voice before he was dubbed for the film) were included on Hollywood Screen Tests and Rodgers and Hammerstein: The Sound of Movies. Again, they're not critical but it would have been nice to have them all in one place. So maybe the 40th Anniversary Edition isn't the complete package on The Sound of Music, but it's the most satisfying edition yet, with enough new material to please even the veteran SoM DVD watcher. --David Horiuchi

Product Description
Shot in Salzburg against the majestic Bavarian Alps, THE SOUND OF MUSIC is considered one of the greatest screen musicals ever made. Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Robert Wise), 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 realizes 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 favorite films.

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Running Time 174 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

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507 Reviews 5 star:  (421) 4 star:  (41) 3 star:  (21) 2 star:  (8) 1 star:  (16)           Average Customer Review (507 customer reviews)		New! Amazon has customer video reviews     It's easy to shoot video reviews or life's everyday moments with the Flip Video camcorder.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   188 of 208 people found the following review helpful: The happiest sound in its best version yet!, September 7, 2000 By  "tomovieboy" (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews This review is from: The Sound of Music (Five Star Collection) (DVD) Reviled by some, beloved by many, consistently referred to as the most popular movie musical ever made, THE SOUND OF MUSIC more than fulfills the promise of its beautiful visuals and expert song numbers on home video via DVD. This edition tops the 1995 laserdisc by allowing the sparkling, exemplary design of its 70mm. Todd-AO frame to be exhibited with increased sharpness and resolution. The 4.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is powerful and clean, but since this film was originally mixed for six-track magnetic stereo, it's curious why the effort wasn't made by Fox to split the surrounds! Nonethless, the film sounds terrific. The extra features make this package a bargain at the price. Full length commentary by director Bob Wise, with the musical numbers presented sans vocals, is a great touch. And the two documentaries are beautifully presented; full of facts and bits of arcane information that any fan will truly enjoy. A great movie, and a great DVD rendition. More like this, PLEASE!   90 of 115 people found the following review helpful: Julie Andrews spinning on a mountaintop: it doesn't get any better, April 11, 2001 By  Jay Dickson (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews    This review is from: The Sound of Music (VHS Tape) It's been fashionable to make fun of THE SOUND OF MUSIC even before it came out, when, during its filming, Christopher Plummer reportedly referred to it sneeringly as "The Sound of Mucas." Pauline Kael's infamous vitriolic (and very funny) review of it sealed her reputation as one of America's grand culture mavens--and the film itself as soulless and manipulative. But this reputation is largely unearned. Certainly the children are at times hard to take, especially Charmian Carr, who seems simultaneously vixenish--"tooooooo wriiiiiiiite onnnnnnn"--and wholesome, as if she were a mutant hybrid of Ann-Margret and Doris Day. But the film is extremely visually inventive, especially in its contrasts of the cramped spaces of the Captain's villa and the beautiful open exteriors of Salzburg and the surrounding Alps. And most critics have overlooked that the film's scenarists have worked in an audience surrogate to sneer at Maria's goody-goodyness in the person of the Countess. Memorably played by Eleanor Parker, the Countess is given to all kinds of snide comments when things get too sugary ("My dear, is there anything you *don't* do?"). Best of all, the film has at its center the amazing Julie Andrews, who makes the best Maria imaginable. She really does make you believe in Maria's kindness and simplicity, and her love of the outdoors. In her two most iconic moments--spinning on the moutaintop during the title number, and leading the children at top speed through a footbridge during "Do Re Mi"-- her arms are characteristically spread wide, accepting the entirety of the beautiful world around her. And has anybody who has seen her ever forgotten how she closes "Do Re Mi," hitting that perfect "fa" as she leaps up the steps? This performance alone forever cements Andrews's status as an icon in world cinema.   41 of 48 people found the following review helpful: Fox slips up yet again... Not the way to treat this Beloved Classic, November 28, 2005 By  dooby - See all my reviews For some reason The Sound Of Music has never had any luck in home video release. It has never achieved the picture quality commensurate with its status. The 40th Anniversary Edition seemed like the opportunity for it to finally shine. Alas no. Yes it is a marked improvement over the previous DVD which image-wise was deplorable. But it is far below what we know is possible in film restoration today. What's good about the new SoM transfer? Well for starters they've removed the much criticised electronic edge enhancement which infuriated so many people in the previous DVD. This is artificial sharpening which looks good on small screens but produces halos around objects when seen on larger displays. The result is a slightly softer image but definitely an improvement over the old DVD. And they've made some effort at restoration. The picture looks visibly brighter. The color timing which was way off in the previous DVD has been partially corrected - but not totally. Skin tones which looked overly red previously, now appear closer to normal. However this color correction is haphazard. Some scenes have skin tones looking very natural, others still have that ruddy, sun-burnt look. The night scenes especially have skin tones taking on an ugly muddy-red appearance. In short, the color timing for the new DVD is inconsistent. Ironically, one drawback of the present color-correction is an overly-accurate representation of the original colors in some scenes - in the Edelweiss reprise at the Salzburg Folk Festival, Angela Cartwright's face (Brigitta) takes on a faint greenish-yellow hue under the stagelight. In the previous DVD this had been corrected to give everyone a uniform pink glow but not in the present DVD. It may be a truer reflection of stagelighting but it is not at all pretty to look at. So in terms of color-correction, in trying to please everyone, the technicians ended up pleasing no one. Black levels however are spot on. Level of detail is also fairly good, especially shadow detail in the darker scenes, definitely better than in the previous DVD but again below what we've come to expect of DVD transfers on the cusp of the Hi-Def era. This is especially so considering that SoM was shot, not on 35mm film like other movies, but on 70mm which should, if properly handled, enable us to see detail that would eclipse the very latest Hollywood productions, almost all of which are shot in 35mm today. Sadly it does not. Sound-wise, the THX Certified 4.1 Surround Sound of the previous DVD has been replaced by a 5.0 Surround. Note the loss of the .1 LFE (subwoofer). This won't make much difference as SoM does not make much use of the LFE channel but those using less expensive sound systems may end up losing the lower-most frequencies as the front speakers of these systems often cannot reproduce the lowest frequencies that will now be passed on to them. One also wonders why they did not use all 6 channels of the original Todd-AO soundtrack for this DVD. To find out in the Extras that they actually remixed the original 6 track audio into a new DTS soundtrack which we are not given here is only to add insult to injury. Apparently Fox is reserving the DTS soundtrack for its upcoming High-Definition version of SoM due out next year. The selling point of this 40th Anniversary Edition must be the Extras of which there are tonnes. What I appreciate most in the current set of Rodgers & Hammerstein Anniversary releases is the inclusion of a separate songs-only chapter list. I hope this becomes a feature for all future musicals. An interesting curiosity in this DVD is the ability to hear and sing along with the film in both French and Spanish with the appropriate lyrics appearing beneath much like in a karaoke-singalong. Although the French soundtrack was already present previously, this is the first time I've heard the songs sung in Spanish. There are hours of documentaries. I especially liked Charmian Carr's new documentary "On Location with The Sound of Music," and the children's reunion, "From Liesl to Gretl: A 40th Anniversary Reunion," where the now grown-up children reminisce about their time on the set and point out all the little bloopers they made onscreen. It's heartening to learn that they've all turned out very well indeed. Unfortunately with all the new Extras, some of the features from the previous DVD had to be dumped. By far the saddest loss was the exclusion of Charmian Carr's delightful 1967 documentary "Salzburg Sight and Sound". The Sound Of Music underwent a complete restoration in 2002 for its inclusion in the Academy Film Archive (A.M.P.A.S.). That 65mm restored print was first exhibited in early 2003. From the Film-to-Video restoration comparison included among the Extras, it would seem that this is the restoration used in the DVD. However it also shows how much more muted the colors on the film elements were even after restoration. It is only after the video transfer and color correction that the colors come to resemble what is seen here. The telecine color-timer was obviously over-enthusiastic with the color correction, pumping the colors up beyond what is natural. For those contemplating getting the 40th Anniversary Edition, do note that Fox has announced that The Sound Of Music will be re-released next year on its new Blu-Ray High-Definition DVD. That's where the new restoration will re-emerge, hopefully with a more accurate telecine transfer and the newly remixed DTS soundtrack. If you can, it may be wiser to wait for the next incarnation of this beloved classic and hope that Fox finally gets things right. Share your thoughts with other customers:  › See all 507 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews Sound of Music What a great movie. My 4 year old neice loves it and knows it word for word, song for song. I also ordered the soundtrack. Timeless. Published 8 days ago by Gilberte Cenkar Sound of Music I had worn my copy of the VCR out and was delighted to get the DVD - love it fantastic - Julie Andrews is fantastic Published 8 days ago by Anne Marenka the Sound of Music, 40th Ann. Edition The 40th edition of the Sound of Music is wonderful. The colors and sound are so real and of course the music is supurb... a great story. Read more Published 13 days ago by Edwin W. Mckinley Not Very Historically Accurate I am committing a sin here by reviewing a version that I haven't seen, but I wanted to make a comment or two about the movie itself for the one or two people who might never have... Read more Published 14 days ago by David L Hutchins Great buy I love this movie, and the DVD is great there are interviews f the actors that play the chuldren, the camptain and ofcourse Julie that I totaly love her, great buy if you are into... Read more Published 17 days ago by Rosario Quintero Wonderful Musical I resisted watching "The Sound of Music" for many years. The plot sounded too sickly sweet to me. Once I finally broke down and watched this movie from beginning to end, I... Read more Published 19 days ago by Lonnie E. Holder All time favorite has become even better! This has always been the all time favorite movie of my husband and I, we have watched it on video for years. Read more Published 1 month ago by A. Gehlke ENCHANTING! I have never been a fan of musicals. This was the first time I ever watched this film. I have seen small pieces of it, but never cared to watch it. Read more Published 1 month ago by MR. KNOW IT ALL ;-b Glorious!!! Hadn't seen the movie in, oh, 40 years or so and it took my breath away all over again. By now I have been to Salzburg and the surrounding countryside and so was able to... Read more Published 1 month ago by Amy Bruce The cheesiest, corniest yet funny and romantic movie of all time I just bought this version and haven't had time to play all of the special features, but there seems to be a lot of commentaries and less behind the scene videos. Read more Published 1 month ago by Gabby's Mom Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 507 customer reviews...

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