Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture

The Sound of Music (1965) directed by Robert Wise., my favorite director of all time, is without a doubt the best musical film ever made. Is it wrong to worship a film? Funny to say: The Sound of Music is my favorite film of all time; Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest is second; Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is third. The Sound of Music is the first film I remember watching as a child. The film impacted me personally. I simply cannot write down nor give you any reasons why I do not like the film. The Sound of Music is different and cannot be compared to any star-gazing musicals like Chicago, Oklahoma, Fiddler on the Roof, etc. The Sound of Music currently is the fourth best musical of all time, cited by the members of the American Film Institute, which the award is given every ten years. Gene Kelly’s “Singing in the Rain” holds the first place spot for greatest musical ever made. The Sound of Music had a merely budget of $8.2 million. Typically, any film over four million dollars was cited a big budget film, unlike today 2007 Spiderman holds the record as the expensive film ever made at nearly $257 million dollars, although, few experts can argue that the most expensive film ever produced as of today’s revenues is 1964 Cleopatra, with a budget of nearly $500 million dollars. The Sound of Music is credited as the film that saved 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy, after high production costs and low net gross for 1964 Cleopatra, which Elizabeth Taylor starred in. Don’t be fooled: The Sound of Music is eighty percent accurate and twenty percent inadequate. For example, at the end of the film when the Von Trapp family escaped Nazi oppression in Austria the family crossed through the mountains of the Swiss Alps. Technically, the real Von Trapp family took the train to Italy and later relocated to London then crossed over the Atlantic Ocean where they made a home for themselves in the New England countryside in Vermont. However, the adventurous, the amusement, the score, the irresistible songs, and the performances can only illuminate the horrors of Nazi oppression in Europe during the last golden age of the thirties. Director Robert Wise, also the only producer of the film, suggested the film to be shot entirely in the original concept the story in Salzburg because Hollywood stage production simply could not match the gorgeous landscape of Salzburg, Austria. As of 2008, more than ten million tourists visit Salzburg, Austria because, for one, it’s the birth place of immortal composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; secondly, to get first hand of the settings of The Sound of Music. Julie Andrews (Maria Von Trapp) did not win the Academy Award for Best Actress, loosing to rival British actor Julie Christie in Darling. Christopher Plummer (Captain Von Trapp) failed to get a nomination for Best Lead Actor. Although, the film walked away with the coveted Best Picture of 1965 and Robert Wise (Director) walked away with the coveted Best Director. Therefore, the thrilling and inspiration film, “The Sound of Music” has captivated dozens of generations of family uniting closer and celebrating the wondrous joy happiness. To me: “The Sound of Music” will indeed be the best film ever made in motion pictures.