The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the film The Sound of Music. Specifically it will discuss the music and theme of the film. The Sound of Music is one of the most classic Hollywood musicals, and is still a family favorite today, even though it was first released in 1965 to movie theaters. It is a heartwarming story that tells the story of the rise of Nazi power in Austria in the 1930s, and how one family coped with the historic and frightening events swirling around them.
             The film tells the story of the Van Trapp family, an Austrian family made up of Captain Georg Ritter von Trapp, his seven children, and their governess. Essentially, the story is true, it is taken from real occurrences, and the Von Trapp family was real. Maria, the governess was real, too. Her name was Maria Augusta von Kutschera, and she did belong to the Nonnberg Abby in Salzburg. However, the Abby sent her to the von Trapp's to help Captain von Trapp nurse his eldest daughter, who had rheumatic fever. She stayed a year, and the children loved her so much, they begged her not to return to the Abby. She and the Captain were married in 1927 ("The sound of music," 2008).
             Therefore, the story is essentially true, but the film took fictional license with much of the truth of the story. In reality, the family lost all their money during the 1930s because of the Depression, and they began putting on musical shows around Europe as a way to earn money. The Captain and Maria added two children of their own to the group. The group did win the Salzberg Festival in 1935, and did not leave Austria until 1938. They did not cross the mountains after the music festival, as the film portrays. Instead, "As if going out for one of their usual family hikes with knapsacks on their backs and dressed in mountaineering clothes, they left their house and belongings behind. They took trains through the Austrian Alps, crossing the border to It...