THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Oh, if only I had had the 40th Anniversary Edition when I was a wee girl. I would have known that Christopher Plummer is absolutely lovely, and has a wonderful self-deprecating sense of humor.

I would forgo a plot summary for The Sound of Music, but a recent confession from one of my very best friends proves that it's necessary. She's never actually seen the movie. Can you imagine? I nearly fell over when I found out. I think my parents must have started propping me in front of the TV to watch it when I was just a lolling, googly-eyed baby, because I have no memory of life without it. My shock was twofold: Why hadn't she seen it, and how could she have avoided it? She just wrinkled her nose and said, "Aren't the Von Trapps Nazis?" Good grief! Sarah, this one's for you.

Maria (Julie Andrews) is a vivacious young nun who just isn't cut out for life in the convent. She likes to run and twirl and sing about the hills being "alive with the sound of music". The nuns sing a song about how "Maria's not an asset to the abbey", then send her off to be the governess of a widowed captain's seven children. Maria swings her suitcase and sings "I Have Confidence", but when she arrives at the Von Trapp estate, her bubble bursts. The Captain (Christopher Plummer) runs a tight ship, and fully expects Maria to fall in line. There are no friendly smiles, just a lot of surly looks, a frog in Maria's pocket, and a pine cone on her dinner chair.

Though taken aback by the militaristic atmosphere and blatant cheekiness in the Von Trapp household, Maria quickly wins them over with her feisty charm and plenty of singing. I can't believe I never realized this until now, but Maria and the Von Trapps are just the same—willful, stubborn, and full of beans. This is why she fits in so well their family! Even the Captain, who has been romancing the vile Baroness Schraeder (Eleanor Parker), falls in love with the sassy Maria.

Despite his bristly exterior, the Captain is an insightful and upright man with a broken heart. He desperately misses his first wife, and Maria reminds him of the life they once had. She convinces him to lift the no-music-in-the-house rule, and pretty soon they're putting on elaborate puppet shows about "The Lonely Goatherd" and the Captain is playing "Edelweiss" for the whole fam. Everything would be coming up daisies if not for that awful Baroness trying to get rid of Maria and those evil Nazi's taking over Austria. Ugh.

The amazing thing about The Sound of Music is that it is captivating at any age. When I was little, I loved the children and the songs, but not the mushy stuff between Maria and the Captain. Then, when I was about 15, I realized that the Captain was downright foxy. In college, I began to appreciate the moral/political aspect of the film. Finally the whole thing came together for me as three of the most addictive hours of film ever made. I watch the movie at least once a year, and practically drool all over myself every time.

Captain Von Trapp has long been a source of perplexity in my life. I remember lying on the living room floor in a patch of sunlight, listening to the soundtrack album, and looking at the cover art. I kept staring at the picture of the Captain, and wondering, "Is he a good man or a bad man?" He seemed pretty good-natured, but that horrible whistle, slightly mocking sense of humor, and stiff upper lip left me wondering. Besides, how could he put up with the Baroness? I couldn't have been more than four years old at the time, but I still find Christopher Plummer's performance absolutely airtight. I look for cracks in the veneer, and I just can't find them. Even when I realized the Captain is in fact a good man, I continued to wonder about Christopher Plummer. What would he be like in real life?

Oh, if only I had had the 40th Anniversary Edition when I was a wee girl. I would have known that Christopher Plummer is absolutely lovely, and has a wonderful self-deprecating sense of humor. Sigh. During the "Fireside Chat", Christopher reveals that he dances like a "ghastly cripple", and we learn why the Captain is smirking weirdly at Maria during the gazebo scene—he and Julie Andrews had been laughing hysterically because the lights were groaning and drowning out their dialogue! That's why the scene finally had to be shot in silhouette! And get this—Christopher calls Eleanor Parker a sweetie! After all these years of hating her, I'll be a monkey's uncle.

Other fabulous features include commentary by Robert Wise, Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, and Charmian Carr, cast reunions, documentaries, stills, trailers, sing-alongs, and Mia Farrow's screen test. The fun just goes on and on. With a movie like this, you don't want it to stop.