Tea, a Drink with Jam and Bread
The lights went down and the crowd got quiet as the movie was about to begin. This past Sunday I treated my wife and our friends to an afternoon of cinematic delight. Today’s theater going experience is all about the acronyms. Don’t believe me, just watch in IMAX, image maximum, very fancy. 3D, need special glasses for that third dimension. HD, 4K where does it end? It’s nice, if only for an afternoon, to watch a movie without any gimmickry. Apparently, to do that these days you need to wind the clock back. How far? Well as the projector clicked on and the images came alive on the screen, we found ourselves in Austria in the late nineteen thirties to learn how to solve problems for the main character – Maria. What I found myself enjoying really enjoying over the next three hours was the wonderful Sound of Music.
Fifty years from the film’s original release in nineteen sixty five we were entertained by a magical voice that can only be Julie Andrews. I lost count at the octaves she could sing in. I have to take a moment and be honest. I had never seen this movie from start to finish. I remember it being on when I was a youngster and my mom signing all the words. When I got older I tried to shy away from the movie altogether. “Oh that’s just a silly musical,” I would say. I am here to tell you now, I’m an idiot – as it relates to my previous decision to wander away from this movie. The verdict is still out on idiot like tendencies in other avenues. I can comfortably say this as a mid-forties man, I really liked this movie. All of my mom’s singing must have sunk in as I knew the words myself to more than half the songs. I still find it amusing how a regular conversation can turn into a full-fledged song – complete with choreography and full orchestra – and return to the original conversation like nothing ever happened. Although, my wife has asked similar questions during various action movies about how the lead could get him or herself out of precarious situations. Simple answer, it’s just a movie.
I went into the movie thinking I would be checking Facebook halfway through or making the Les Miserables mistake by leaning over to my wife, unbeknownst to me at a crucial moment, asking “how much longer is this?” FYI, never, ever ask this – ever. It was fun to watch Julie Andrews on screen along with identifying familiar actors like Anna Lee as Sister Margaretta that I recognized from General Hospital.
Okay, I used to watch GH. Yes, I referred to it a GH. Future blog post in the making – let’s move on. Where was I? The movie also has a young Nicholas Hammond playing Friedrich. Nicholas would go on to play Peter Parker in the seventies TV version of Spider-Man. Yes friends that is today’s fun fact.
I walked away from this film classic still singing the songs in my head. If done right, a movie can capture your imagination. It can place you in that particular time and space and make you feel as if you’re somehow a part of that world. Fifty years later, this movie did that for me. I have a feeling that will continue for another fifty. That should bring us back to so do la fa me do re.
