Analysis of Sound of Music - 1965 - Robert Wise

The Sound of Music was released in 1965 and it is set in World War 2. The target audience for this musical would be families, or people of any age as the age certificate is PG, this could possibly mean, as some parts of the film contain violence such as guns and nazi’s, parents may not want their children watching it, it also contains some adult themes in it. The use of language is very well spoken and definitely in the style of a past era, as the children involved are more ‘speak when spoken to’ style. The visual style of this film, is quite vintage and is representative of when it was set, this is shown through the clothing and mise-en-scene.

The structure of this film is, again, Linear Narrative. This will make it easier, for the children who may watch it, to understand and it makes the overall film seem more like a real story and helps make the audience almost feel part of it as the story progresses through out the film. Having it as a Linear Narrative affects the audiences reaction to the film as it keeps them entertained chronologically, so no confusion. The exposition of the film is when all of the main characters meet, this is Maria, the seven children and The Captain. Maria is the children’s nanny and at first finds it hard to do her duties, however through the use of song, she finds a connection with them. There are a couple of Climaxes and Resolutions, the first is when Maria realises that she has fallen in love with The Captain and leaves to go back to the convent, without saying goodbye to the family. The resolution to this Climax is that Maria feels wrong for not finishing her duties to the family and goes back, letting The Captain know of her feelings for him, luckily he feels the same back. The final Climax, I think, is after the wedding between Maria and The Captain, and it is when rules of World War 2 were put into action and as The Captain did not agree with the new orders being made he decides to leave Austria with his family. However as this plan gets stopped by some Nazi Officers the family get into trouble. The Resolutions to this is that the family perform to a large audience, where the Nazi Officers are keeping an eye on them, and after they’ve finished performing, they make a run for it and luckily they get away.

The scenes that I am focusing on in this film are also focused around the ‘sad’ part of love, when the woman is alone and the contrast of when the couple are happier and everything is sorted out. The first scene is where Maria is alone by the lake, the codes used during this scene are simple, she is walking alone, about mid evening, the colours are dark, but the remaining light makes it go from a gloomy setting to quite romantic. There serenity of this scene is almost childish and innocent, with the use of a wide shot showing all her surroundings it shows her off as being lonely. The romantic atmosphere is encouraged again when The Captain walks out onto the balcony and watches Maria by the lake, with the use of no speech in this scene adds to its innocence, this peaceful scene is interrupted by The Baroness. However the scene then changes, again with the same surroundings as before, the music playing is a slower instrumental version of ‘The Hills Are Alive’, this is accompanied by a shot of Maria sitting alone and then The Captain walks into the scene, and the moonlight, being the only source of light, makes the surroundings seem very romantic and almost mysterious. The clothing worn by Maria is very feminine and is suited to the time set, this is the same for The Captain his is masculine and shows himself off as an authority figure. As they figure out their differences, the lighting changes from a pale white to a more bronze, pinky colour, representing love. This change of atmosphere in the scene, makes it go from childish to mature.

A theme in The Sound of Music, could be relationships and marriage. This is shown in the scene where The Captain says to The Baroness that he loves Maria but can not marry her, this represents the view of when the film was set because marriage was done more for prestige than for love. The drama created in this film would have kept the audience interested, almost like problem and then resolution and its entertaining for people to watch. There have been no sequels or remakes of this film, however like most musicals it has found its way onto The West End.