One segment of the show gave people of all ages an opportunity to share what the movie means to them. Listening to a deaf woman whose first hearing experience after receiving a cochlear implant was Julie Andrew's famous opening lines "the hills are aliiiiiiiiive with the sound of muuuuuusiiiiic", a nun whose inspiration came from Julie Andrew's interpretation of Maria Von Trapp, and a war veteran who watched the movie 120-something times when overseas to experience "wonderful, splendid peace"gave me a knot in my stomach of shared love and meaning for the movie. Rosie O'Donnell even made an appearance to share how the movie truly changed her life--she explained how how watching The Sound of Music helped her get over the loss of her mother--how she would imagine that the "singing, wonderful angel" would show up at her doorstep, fall in love with her father, and heal the sadness in her life. She thanked Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer for helping to save her life. I mean, how incredible is that?!
My affinity for The Sound of Music comes from my childhood experiences of the event of watching the film. It was something I shared with my three sisters-- which is why my sister called me to be sure that I knew to watch the hour-long tribute. When growing up, we curled up (usually with a honkin' bowl of ice cream) to watch our VHS taped recording of The Sound of Music from a TV broadcast in the early 90's together every Chanukah time, no doubt singing (and sometimes dancing) along, mimicking Julie Andrew's clumsy running with her guitar case in hand during "Confidence" and the famous hand-on-the-head at the closing note of "Do Re Mi". The few times I have tried to watch the film without them, it just hasn't seemed right. I can't help but think that my sisters' and my love for the music and singing came from the movie. We surprisingly didn't even have the soundtrack at home-- we had just seen the movie so many times that we knew everything by heart. And when it came time for high school voice class, we, like so many others, were already well-studied in the solfege (do re mi fa so la ti do!).
As a heartfelt fan, I can't help but think about how so many people grow to have a true attachment to movies. As I listened to the Von Trapp children singers (the real ones--great-grandchildren of the Maria Von Trapp) sing "Edelweiss" on Oprah over a slow-motion montage of clips from the movie, and chills ran up and down my arms, my stomach turned in nostalgic knots, and what's that? ... A tear or two welling up?, it hit home. Ha, wow. It's quite something, isn't it? How a film made so long ago about a time I did not live through can still hold so much meaning to a person and to a family? We all have our "favorites" for different reasons, which is I am learning is such a special thing. People can connect to the same "thing"-- a song, a movie, a book-- but for their own personal reasons. I think that is what helps make the world go 'round. It's what makes us each our own person, but gives us an outreach into something shared, beyond the people we know or have met. If you know me at all (or have been reading this here blog), you may notice a pattern of my favorite movies. 90% movie-musicals. Proclaimed (and classified as) in high school and proudly continued, I am a music geek. I know there are lots more of you out there, which gives me no shame. And which is why I dedicate today's entry to one of my favorites.
"Oh YES, that's it-- god bless Kurt!"
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| The reunited cast on Oprah, Thursday 10/28/10. (Oprah.com) |
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