The Sound of Music (50th Anniversary 5-Disc Edition) [Blu-Ray]
Director: Robert Wise
Cast: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker
Release Date: Now Available on 5-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray & 1-Disc DVD
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Disc Rating: 10/10
Plot Summary:
A woman leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to the children of a Naval officer widower.
‘The Sound of Music’ is a timeless classic in the world of film, still incredibly well loved and respected today, fifty years after it was initially released upon the world. While I’m not generally a huge fan of most musicals, this Blu-Ray release actually marked my first viewing of the film and even though it may not be exactly my cup of tea, I can certainly still appreciate it for what a notable and monumental piece of cinema it is, but nonetheless, anyone here reading this surely knows all about the film itself already and is far more interested in what this Blu-Ray release has to offer so this review will focus mainly on that.
The 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray release of ‘The Sound of Music’ delivers truly impressive high definition video and audio presentations in addition to multiple discs worth of wonderful and entertaining, worthwhile bonus content including an All-New 60 Minute High Definition Documentary and many hours’ more (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below) on top of that. This is an incredibly impressive and detailed Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray release that will without any question be a definite must own for fans of the film.
VIDEO:
‘The Sound of Music: 50th Anniversary Edition’ Blu-Ray release features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 2.20:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks absolutely fantastic, especially for a movie shot fifty years ago and fans should be absolutely thrilled with this beautifully remastered high definition video presentation. It delivers rich, vivid colors and sharp detail that looks spot on down to each edge of the frame, even the fast moving and darker sequences and look phenomenal and never suffer from any noticeable artifacts or noise to speak of; it really doesn’t get much better than this in regards to HD video presentations for classics of this age.
AUDIO:
The 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray release features a wonderful lossless 7.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack which perfectly complements the overall experience of the film, most notably during the songs which is the one area where all seven available channels are provided an opportunity to really flourish, and that they do. This lossless soundtrack delivers admirably, immersing the viewer with these classic songs in the best quality available (at least to date) and it’s quite amazing just show sharp and clear it manages to keep these songs, while also making certain that the dialogue (usually contained mostly to the center channel) is always sharp, clear and at no time becomes inaudible in any way itself. As with the video presentation, this 7.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack gets top marks and is a truly impressive lossless multichannel soundtrack for a film of this age that should not leave fans disappointed in the slightest.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
‘The Sound of Music: 50th Anniversary 5-Disc Edition’ Blu-Ray release includes an incredibly hefty and impressive collection of fantastic bonus content, so much so in fact that it’s been spread throughout 3 Blu-Ray discs, therefore I’ll summarize the supplemental material as best as I can by disc.
Disc 1 includes the option of viewing the Feature Film with ‘Your Favorite Things: An Interactive Celebration’ utilized which provides you numerous options to add into the viewing of the movie as you see fit, including enabling Sing Along mode for all of the songs, pop up windows with fun and informative facts and much more, in addition to multiple Audio Commentary tracks featuring Director Robert Wise and Actors Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. You can also take your pick from all of the films included songs in ‘Music Machine Sing Along’ which features the option to view any and all songs in Sing Along mode at the touch of a button.
Disc 2 is dedicated solely to bonus content and therefore you’ll find quite the impressive helping of fun, informative and just downright entertaining bonus goodies for fans of this classic compiled on this disc. Included is ‘Musical Stages: Creating The Sound of Music’, plus ‘A City of Song’ (a Virtual Map of Filming Locations in Salzburg, Austria) in addition to ‘Vintage Rodgers & Hammerstein and ‘The Sound of Music Programs’, along with Interviews, Screen Tests, Photo Galleries, Rare Treasures and even more to dive into that is sure keep you occupied for quite some time.
Disc 3 is dedicated to a feature that is probably one of the most notable inclusions in the way of supplemental material included on this release, the All-New 60 minute High Definition Documentary ‘The Sound of a City: Julie Andrews Returns to Salzburg’ which is an event that fans of ‘The Sound of Music’ will absolutely not want to miss out on.
Disc 4 includes the DVD version of the Feature Film with a number of the first BD disc’s Bonus Content included as well.
Disc 5 is kind of a neat little treat that should please fans, it’s a CD Disc version of the 50th Anniversary Soundtrack for your listening pleasure wherever the road may take you.
