Each year we reflect on those special moments from the past year. I have so many they sometimes get lost in the hustle and bustle of my general life. Especially recently… the Remodel has completely consumed our lives [and my blog] for the last three months…

For welcoming in the New Year, I am snuggled up with a cup of Herba Tussin tea (to help my awful cough) and a warm blanket enjoying my FAVORITE MOVIE of all time…

Thanks, Hubby and The Offspring, for my WONDERFUL Christmas gift! The 45th Anniversary Collector’s Set of The Sound of Music… (only 250,000 copies were made, at least that’s what the box states – it’s Blu-Ray and DVD plus an anniversary soundtrack edition with songs my other copy doesn’t have, including Lea Michelle from Glee’s My Favorite Things reprise)

I actually watched it twice tonight (yep New Year’s Eve)… first in regular mode and second in My Favorite Things mode learning all different bits of trivia contacted on the Blu-Ray disc! 😀 (Including Sing-a-long captions… too bad I start coughing when I sing! Didn’t stop me though! 😆 )

I love, Love, LOVE this movie!!! 😀 It always makes me SMILE!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 I would soooo love to meet Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer!! They are my two favorite actors!!!! 😀

My recipe for happiness… take three hours (five if you stop to blog about it along the way 😉 ) out of your busy life and sit and watch The Sound of Music! You’ll feel so good inside!

I would like to share some of the trivia I learned while watching it the second time… (there’s a quiz at the end)

The Sound of Music trivia:

• The real Maria got into more trouble at the Abbey than Julie Andrews’ Maria.
• On opening night on Broadway, the real Maria was introduced by Mary Martin. The real Maria continued to make appearances on Broadway until the 1980s.
• The girl who played Liesel wasn’t 16 going on 17, she was 21 when cast for the part. The Sound of Music was her first professional acting part. It took her 15 takes to do her first scene – in sopping wet clothes – when Liesel climbed through Maria’s window.
• The real Maria was thrilled to have the handsome Christopher Plummer play her husband. Although, her husband was not has harsh as Plummer’s character.
• Christopher Plummer is the great-grandson of Sir John Abbott, former Canadian Prime Minister.
• This broke my heart – although Plummer recorded vocals and guitar his parts were dubbed. 🙁
• When filming began, the little girl who played Gretl was only 5 and could only film four hours a day. She had a crush on Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich). Years later, he took her to her to her first prom.
• In the movie, the music which Maria and Georg dance The Laendler in the garden is based on is the The Lonely Goatherd
• Juile Christie (Dr. Zhivago) beat Juile Andrews for the Oscar Best Actress… I think my Juile was robbed! I need to watch Dr. Zhivago to see if Julie Christie was really that much better.
• One hour and forty-two minutes into the movie is the intermission… yep, the movie is almost three hours long… ohhhhh but soooo worth it!
• In real life, Maria did not run away from the von Trapp family villa, when Georg proposed she went to talk with Mother Abbess. Mother Abbess gave her blessing and returned to Georg to accept his proposal.
• Peggy Wood was an accomplished soprano in her youth. At 74, she didn’t feel up to the challenge to sing Climb Ev’ry Mountain in 1964 and so Margery McKay sang it instead.
• During WWII, the Nazi’s commandeered the von Trapp villa. After the war, it was returned to the von Trapp family.
• I don’t like Baroness Scraeder (this wasn’t included in their trivia, but I needed to get that off my chest!)
• Did you know that Gene Kelly (yep the actor from Singing in the Rain) was approached to direct The Sound of Music?
• The song Something Good (when Georg goes to see Maria near the gazebo) was not in the original stage version. I love this scene! My heart flitters with joy… and it makes me smile!
• In reality, the events depicted in the movie happened over 12 years. There were 600 extras for that one scene.
• The real Maria and Georg were married in 1927.
• The real Georg refused to fly “the flag” on his house, too.
• The real Georg was 27 years older than Maria. He was 47 and she was 22.
• Georg also didn’t want his family singing professionally.
• Three events led to the von Trapps to leaving Austria: 1) Georg being “asked” to command a submarine, 2) the von Trapp Family singers were asked to sing at Austria’s new ruler’s birthday party (yeah… you know who), and 3) their doctor son was asked to replace a Jewish doctor who had been removed from his position. He told his family they could stay or leave taking their “faith” and “honor”. They unanimously voted to leave.
• The von Trapps performed for years at the Salzberg Festival for years before leaving Austria.
• The song Edelweiss was written for The Sound of Music and is not the Austrian national anthem. The actual Austrian national anthem is Land der Berge (adopted in 1947). Christopher Plummer didn’t like Edelweiss and told the directory that the song was sentimental, he also had hoped to do his own singing. Instead he was dubbed by Bill Lee.
• The real Georg didn’t sing with the family singers, but did play the violin.
• Of the 465 people to do the initial preview screening, 460 rated it “Excellent”. (what the heck were those other 5 people thinking?!?)
• Before the premier, the real Maria received a private screening… she was “indescribably happy”) 😀
• It originally cost $5.5 million to make the movie. By 1966 it was the most successful movie made.
• In reality, the von Trapps fled to Italy, not like in the movie to Switzerland. They said they were going on a hiking trip.
• The von Trapps eventually moved to America and opened a lodge in Vermont where it is still a successful tourist spot.
• Rolfe was a butt-head for blowing the whistle! ARGH! 🙁 I’m sure glad he didn’t shoot Georg! It would have made it a downer of an ending! Probably wouldn’t be my favorite movie then… 😉
• The real Maria became a US citizen in 1944.
• Other names the movie is known by:
  • The Melody of Happiness (France and Greece)
  • The Rebel Novice (Latin America)
  • My Songs, My Dreams (Germany and Yugoslavia)
  • Smiles and Tears (Spain)
  • Fairy Music Blow Fragrant Place, Place Hear (Hong Kong)

I wish you a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Quiz time… Do you know the five animals listed in the song “My Favorite Things”?