Visual Index ~ The Sound of Music (1965) "Best Shots"

Each Tuesday night we ask anyone with a pinterest, blog, tumblr or what have you to post their favorite shot from a preselected movie. To kick off Season Six: The Sound of Music (1965) for its 50th Anniversary.

Unlike its obvious counterpart in belovedness, The Wizard of Oz (previously featured in this series) it was wildly popular from the day it opened. If you adjust for inflation it remains the third highest grossing film of all time after Gone With the Wind (1939) and Star Wars (1977). Like GWTW, its production trouble seems to have magically made it a stronger film rather than torpedoing it. Funny how fate works. For example Christopher Plummer's contempt for the project (he turned it down several times and loudly denounced it afterwards) bleeds through but affects the movie in surprisingly perfect ways, balancing the sweet with just enough sour. 

In short, it's one of 'Our Favorite Things'. 

Best Shots from
THE SOUND OF MUSIC

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Introducing... Fraulein Maria

Season 6 of "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" Begins!

The original premise of the Best Shot series was a short essay on ONE screen capture from a film, "best" being in the eye of the beholder, and thus the fascination since movies are communal but we see them individually. Everyone cheats with multiple shots and full movie reviews -  I'm the worst ! -- so In an altogether herculean effort to pare it back to the premise (*he begins to sweat*) I will only allow myself two screenshots today and one topic (gulp). For my sanity I've restricted myself to the film's first half, pre-intermission. We can always write about The Sound of Music again. 

Let's talk about the act of opening your heart up wide to fall in love, with all the risks that that entails... such as loving a movie that sophisticated cinephiles are not supposed to love, and loving a stranger who you don't yet understand. [More...]

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Top Ten: Horny For Horned Creatures

This top ten list is devoted to Madonna & her minotaurs since "Rebel Heart," the Queen of Pop's 13th studio album arrives in full this Friday.

The minotaurs in particular serve as horny inspiration for this week's top ten. What are the best horned villains, horned beauties or horny creatures from the movies? I was surprised to realize that we don't get that many. It was hard to find enough good characters. The movies haven't been big on the succubus, for example, as mythological fetishes go. TV has far more horned characters but that's thanks in most part to the demon happy and expansive Buffyverse. But we're talking movies. Sorry Hellmouth!

We'll make do with what we have. But please do shout out a favorite if you don't see it here. 

TOP TEN HORNED MOVIE CHARACTERS
after the jump...

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Curio: Introduction to Pinocchio

Alexa here with your weekly film curios. After I read Tim's post celebrating Pinocchio on its 75th anniversary, I wondered how I'd ever missed it, and more importantly, how I'd missed showing it to my 5-year-old, now a budding film buff. After all, we had read the Little Golden Book together many times, and it was even one of her favorite cartridges to watch on our vintage Fisher Price Movie Viewer.  She likes to play the short sequence of Pinocchio coming to life backwards and forwards and study each frame. (If you aren't familiar with this fantastic toy, read more here.  Any toy that involves hand-cranking a small Super 8 film is irresistible to me.)  

 

 Unsurprisingly, since investing in the DVD the film has been in heavy rotation around our house.  After the jump, some Pinocchio curios, vintage and handmade, to continue the film's 75th Anniversary celebration...

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Tweets o' th --Whew... That Week Is Over!

That was... a week, wasn't it? I mean to post this yesterday oops.  It began with the Oscars and then Madonna falling backwards downstairs onstage (I was so mad at the internet for only posting the fall and not the kickass performance that surely followed... why pretend failure when the story is actually a triumph of professionalism?) I skipped the whole white/gold blue/black dress debate online because every image seemed to be color manipulated (I saw both) so i didn't understand the fuss. Something happened with llamas that I missed. Anyway, some tweets I enjoyed this week...  

Still Alice is going to outgross Foxcatcher and Whiplash domestically. Doubt it ends the staleness of the 'nobody's seen it' jokes.

— Gumsandal Detective (@juvie_cinephile) February 28, 2015

I've seen Miles Teller in three movies. He's been in a terrible car accident in every single one. And in real life. That's... interesting?

— Sebastian Nebel (@SebastianNebel) February 24, 2015

Madonna, House of Cards, the Oscars, and The Avengers follow... 

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