Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The happiest sound in its best version yet!
Reviled by some, beloved by many, consistently referred to as the most popular movie musical ever made, THE SOUND OF MUSIC more than fulfills the promise of its beautiful visuals and expert song numbers on home video via DVD. This edition tops the 1995 laserdisc by allowing the sparkling, exemplary design of its 70mm. Todd-AO frame to be exhibited with increased sharpness and resolution. The 4.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is powerful and clean, but since this film was originally mixed for six-track magnetic stereo, it's curious why the effort wasn't made by Fox to split the surrounds! Nonethless, the film sounds terrific. The extra features make this package a bargain at the price. Full length commentary by director Bob Wise, with the musical numbers presented sans vocals, is a great touch. And the two documentaries are beautifully presented; full of facts and bits of arcane information that any fan will truly enjoy. A great movie, and a great DVD rendition. More like this, PLEASE!
Rating:  - Widescreen Woes
I bought this DVD the other day thinking that I would finally have in my possession my favorite childhood musical. While that wish partially came true, I must alert buyers that this DVD, while no doubt excellent, is not the classic that its being touted as. I, for one, am waiting for a more definitive version of the DVD to come out.The main problem with this is that the movie here is available ONLY on widescreen. While this is much preferred to certain audiences, I would much rather have the option of watching it on full-screen. I found myself squinting at the screen on occasion (and I have a large television, mind you) just to catch the details. Disc One was a complete letdown due to this. Also, and I'm not the first to say this, the color transfer is wretched. One would think that for this price you'd get an impeccable transfer, and this version leaves much to be desired. Disc Two is the real scene stealer. The easily navigable and user friendly format is appreciated, as is the 87 minute long documentary. Luckily the documentary has some scenes of the movie presented in full-screen, so that was a relief. All in all, this version of the DVD is not entirely satisfactory. In fact, after watching the movie on widescreen, I actually wondered if I should have bought this on VHS. And that really speaks volumes for the qaulity of this Disc. I fail to understand the multitude of reviewers who have heaped praise upon these two discs. To love the movie is one thing, but I do not believe that they love the way its been reproduced here. Highly disappointing, and not really recommended to DVD lovers who know their digital discs.
Rating: - Sensational Sound of Music on DVD
Although this picture has had numerous home video releases over the years from tape to laserdisc, this new DVD version is easily the best to date, offering a crisp, clear, pristine wide screen transfer that looks like it was filmed only hours ago, along with an excellent surround sound mix that is far superior to any previous release, 70mm six track theatrical prints included. The supplemental disc offers documentaries and enough extras to satisfy any Sound of Music junkie. The feature disc offers an audio commentary by director Robert Wise that is quite interesting and informative, but repeats much of the same information included in the documentary. Parts of it seem a bit rushed, perhaps because he doesn't speak over any of the musical sequences, which are presented without vocals to highlight the orchestral arrangements and allow one the opportunity to sing along. Wise points out where songs that were deleted or moved would have gone as compared to the original stage show, and one can see how such changes made the film adaptation superior. He also explains the technical aspects of shooting on location and how location shots were seamlessly matched with footage shot back in L.A. on stages. There were also a couple of scenes that were shot but later cut--it makes you wish they had included these outtakes on the supplemental disc of extras. There are some gaps in the commentary where only the movie plays--leaving you a bit hungry for more interesting anecdotes from Mr. Wise, but after over 35 years I guess his memory is as good as can be expected. The French audio track is fun--How strange to hear the familiar songs in French--not an easy task to translate a song like Do Re Mi which seems it wouldn't make sense in any language other than English. They did an excellent dubbing job--the voices are quite similar to the original actors' voices, and the woman dubbing for Julie Andrews holds her own. The 35 minute audio spot by screenwriter Ernest Lehman is extremely interesting, giving you a taste of what went on behind the scenes in the development of the production, from William Wyler's indifference to the film he agreed to direct despite hating the Broadway show, and prospective director Gene Kelly kicking Mr. Lehman out of his house and telling him to "shove" his screenplay. Actor Dan Truhitte also provides an "audio telegram" detailing his experience winning the part of Rolf and some personal anecdotes. But all we hear is his voice--a still picture of his present-day self would have been a nice touch. We also get some sound bytes of old radio interviews that are typical PR fluff but still an interesting time capsule. The video of theatrical trailers and TV spots is interesting but repetitive. They are almost all the same, with only subtle changes. For those interested in the location there is even a brief but detailed written history of Salzburg. All in all, this has to rate as one of the best and most complete DVDs ever released (despite those missing outtakes!) Fox did a terrific job, and should be commended for NOT offering the inferior pan and scan version of the picture usually shown on TV. This is one of those wide screen masterpieces that lose a lot when the original aspect ratio is altered. A must for all film collectors and Sound of Music fanatics alike.
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