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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...and we'll sing once more.

Lady Gaga Isn't the Only One Who Loves "The Sound of Music"

Be here a week from tomorrow for the season premiere of Hit Me With Your Best Shot when we look at the classic Julie Andrews... or, rather, the classic Julie Andrews in between her other classics. the one where she spins on a mountain top (though hopefully not everyone picks that opening scene)

If you've never played before it's easy. You 1) post your favorite shot from the movie somewhere. 2) Say why you chose it. 3) We link up. Here's the March schedule for the series every Tuesday night!

And dont forget to "like" TFE on facebook and sign up for our weekly newsletter which will start next week. Don't vanish post-Oscar because we do this all year round: lovin on the actresses, investigating the directors, and having fun with cinephilia.

After the jump excerpts from Lady Gaga's performance and fun tweets about it.

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In Two Weeks: "Best Shot" Returns!

Hit Me With Your Best Shot, our series celebrating our relationship to the image and the brilliant ways directors and cinematographers capture it to tell the story, returns in March. We hope you'll join us and spread the word to other cinephile friends. The more is truly the merrier with this season since we're looking at the same movie through multiple eyes.

Tuesday March 3rd THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
How do you solve a problem like Maria? You don't. You just fall madly in love with her and then hire her to mother your enormous brood. Celebrate the 50th anniversary of this Best Picture winner with us by choosing your best shot. We'll share links to all of yours at 9 PM

Tuesday March 10th PARIS IS BURNING (1991)
"O-P-U-L-E-N-C-E. You own everything!" but you don't need to own this movie to play along since its on Netflix Instant Watch. It's only one of the best documentaries and most important time capsules of all time. It schooled the world in drag and trans culture and vogueing and "realness" and balls and "shade" and "reading" long before RuPaul's Drag Race was a colorful pop culture phenomenon - hell, before anybody even knew who RuPaul was. 

Tuesday March 17th THE QUIET MAN (1952)
For St. Patrick's Day, we're off to Ireland with John Wayne & Maureen O'Hara. Winner of Best Cinematography at the Oscars [Amazon Instant | Netflix Instant] 

You're playing along for every episode this time. Make it your 2015 goal!