Tuesday, March 3, 2015

I don't supposed I'm used to dancing...

This post is part of Nathaniel's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" series in which the participants must post a single image from a movie he or she deems as the "best shot" for any particular reason.


It's very fitting for The Sound of Music to kick off the sixth season of HMWYBS since it's not only a classic film that was so beautifully shot, but it also celebrated its 50th Anniversary yesterday. Unfortunately, I actually didn't have time to re-watch the entire film, but this is the sort of film that literally every shot chosen would be a fantastic choice. My first thought was actually to pick the scene above with Maria getting caught by the nuns at the very start of the film. I'm just a big fan of Julie Andrews comical look and windswept hair juxtaposed by a line of judging sisters.


Then my next thought was perhaps something from my favorite song, which is weirdly enough "The Lonely Goatherd" (which my grade school class performed ages ago). It's a lovely and random diversion from the film proper with the kids and Maria putting on a puppet show for Captain Von Trapp, The Baroness, and Max. But there really wasn't any "best shot" possibilities during this sequence since most of my love for it is due to the fun song and the yodeling. Luckily there's a reprise of sorts later on...

Did you know that the beautiful instrumental music Maria and the Captain dance to a few scenes later in the film is a re-arrangement of the tune of "The Lonely Goatherd"? I actually never made the connection until recently and it just made me love that already great scene more. The scene, of course, is Maria and the Captain showing his kids how to dance The Ländler and is pretty much the turning point in the movie where Maria realizes she has real "falling in love" feelings for the Captain (and vice versa). The entire dance sequence is lovely and a highlight in a film full of them. My pick for best shot is towards the end of their dance with them not actually face to face...

Best Shot

I just really love the look of fear/realization/longing that's so clear on both of their faces. Look at him reaching out for her hand unseen afraid she might just take it, but more afraid she might not. It's such a small moment in such an epic film, but like both of them to each other, it's hard not to fall in love.

9 comments:

  1. I absolutely did not realize this about the music. thanks for sharing.

    I'm so surprised at how many people went with the Von Trapp courting sequences! but love your choice in particular.

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    1. Thank YOU for the wonderful series. I seriously think the entirety of blog would only contain awards season posts if it weren't for your HMWYBS. And yeah, I just love this dance sequence and finding the song connection was a treat!

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  2. YES! Great tidbit about the music, and I love this particular shot. The dance is my favorite scene in the film!

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  3. Nearly all the instrumentals in this film are interpolations of the songs - and they're really beautiful, too.

    I didn't realize until this viewing just how perfectly all the dance sequences are shot and edited. This one has the most weight to it, and it's a great example of just how great the performances are.

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  4. That is a brilliant choice! As many times as I've watched this I know I've seen this moment but it's never really struck me as it does captured here. That's the great thing about this series, it draws attention to unobserved gems buried in the whole of the picture.

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