"The Sound of Music" Celebrates Its 60th Anniversary On March 02nd

February 21, 2025 - The much beloved classic movie musical, "The Sound of Music", celebrates its 60th anniversary on March 02nd. With it being first premiered on March 02nd, 1965 by 20th Century Fox. To commemorate the milestone, the Walt Disney Film Restoration team has spent nine months overseeing the digital scanning of the preserved film footage and cleaning up any dirt, warping, and other issues they encountered. With Walt Disney planning on releasing a 4K edition of "The Sound of Music" in both movie theaters and on Blu-ray later this year.

The original cost of filming the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, "The Sound of Music", was 8.2 million dollars with the film grossing over 200 million dollars since its initial release in 1965. "The Sound of Music" was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won five. Thereby solidifying its place as one of the most celebrated movie musicals in the motion picture industry. The movie stars the British film actress, Julie Andrews, in the lead role of Maria. With the directors selecting Julie Andrews for the lead role after screening parts of "Mary Poppins" in the Walt Disney Studios, prior to the release of "Mary Poppins" in movie theaters nationwide.

The plot of "The Sound of Music" is actually loosely based on the true story of the Von Trapp family singers, a well known concert group in the era prior to the onset of World War II. As Maria Kutschera, who was originally a nun, became the governess for the Von Trapp children. And after marrying the father of the Von Trapp children, Captain Georg Von Trapp, helped form the family choir. The Von Trapp's then escaped from Nazi occupied Austria and eventually settled in the United States where they operate the Von Trapp Family Lodge and Resort in Stowe, Vermont, to this day.

In the G-rated movie, "The Sound of Music", the whimsical Maria is portrayed by Julie Andrews who brings a new love of life and music into the Von Trapp home via charming melodies such as "Do a deer, a female deer; Re a drop of golden sun . . .", "Climb Every Mountain", "The Lonely Goatherd", and "Edelweiss". With "Edelweiss" being named after the scarce white flower that is found high in the alps and is the national symbol of Bulgaria, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Italy.

The movie, "The Sound of Music" was actually filmed on location in Austria. With many of the scenes being filmed in Salzburg such as the scenes filmed in the Salzburg Cathedral, the Leopoldskron Palace, and the Mirabell Gardens. The running time for the film is two hours and fifty-two minutes.

Luisa Reyes is an attorney in Tuscaloosa with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Judson, a master's degree in library science, and a law degree from Samford's Cumberland School of Law. She is also a piano instructor and vocalist.