Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this time with special guest Síomha McQuinn, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.
This week, Robert Wise’s The Sound of Music.
Maria is a young woman lacking purpose and direction in her life. Exiled from a convent, Maria is assigned to work as governess for the von Trapp family, caring for seven children who recently lost their mother and are struggling to connect with their emotionally distant father. Maria strikes up an unlikely connection with Captain von Trapp, but the family soon finds their idyllic existence threatened as historical realities come to bear on Austria.
At time of recording, it was ranked 243rd on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.
Show Notes:
- Recorded 27st July 2022.
- Note: Due to the COVID-19 situation, this episode was recorded remotely. We suspect, going forward that a lot of our episodes will be until the crisis resolves.
- Follow Síomha on Twitter.
- Book tickets to see Síomha at The Dublin Fringe Festival, September 2022.
- See Mob Comedy at Wig-Wam.
- The Sound of Music at The Internet Movie Database.
- The IMDB 250 as it appeared at time of recording.
- Tour Scanner discusses the various Sound of Music tours in Salzburg, January 2022.
- Anna Russell at The Wall Street Journal considers the sing-a-long Sound of Music bike tour through Salzburg, May 2016.
- Adrian Wooldridge at The New York Times reports on President Ronald Reagan’s fandom of The Sound of Music, January 2006.
- Donnie Radcliffe at The Washington Post reports on President Ronald Reagan hosting an Austrian delegation to the tune of Edelweiss, March 1984.
- Joan Barthel at The New York Times considers the unprecedented success of The Sound of Music, November 1966.
- Tara Brady at The Irish Times considers the legacy and impact of The Sound of Music, June 2018.
- Tom Breihan at The A.V. Club considers The Sound of Music as a populist commercial smash, June 2019.
- Bill Carter at The Baltimore Sun considers the global popularity of Baywatch, July 1995.
- The Guardian considers the irony of the Austrian navy.
- Slate places the Austrian navy in its historical context, September 2000.
- Richard Round reviews The Sound of Music for The Guardian, 1965.
- Bosley Crowther reviews The Sound of Music for The New York Times, March 1965.
- Robert Stein writes to The New York Times about reports that Pauline Kael was fired for her review of The Sound of Music, September 2000.
- Justine Smith at Little White Lies considers reports that their reviews of The Sound of Music cost Pauline Kael and Joan Didion their jobs, May 2018.
- Todd Purdum talks to NPR about how Rodgers and Hammerstein changed American theatre, May 2018.
- Brooks Atkinson reviews the musical premiere of The Sound of Music for The New York Times, November 1959.
- Stephen Galloway at The Hollywood Reporter considers Cleopatra as an era-defining box office bomb, September 2019.
- Jeremy Smith at /film looks at how the release of Cleopatra almost bankrupt 20th Century Fox, July 2022.
- Bill Higgins at The Hollywood Reporter looks at how the box office failure of Dr. Doolittle almost killed 20th Century Fox, January 2020.
- Joe Riddle at Arkansas Online looks back on the release of Star!, September 2019.
- Andrew Rostan at Bright Wall/Dark Room considers the hollowness of Star!, April 2019.
- Matthew Kennedy talks to The Digital Bits about how Hello, Dolly! was “a well-dressed dinosaur”, December 2019.
- Lauren Putrino, Keturah Gray and Alexa Valiente at ABC News discuss the filming of the opening scene of The Sound of Music, March 2015.
- Julie Andrews offers her account of the famous helicopter shot that opens The Sound of Music, October 2019.
- Joan Gearin at Prologue Magazine considers the legacy and history of the von Trapp family, Winter 2005.
- Rob Weinert-Kendt at America Magazine considers how Rodgers and Hammerstein reshaped American identity, June 2018.
- Josh Spiegel at /film considers the legacy and impact of Oklahoma!, May 2021.
- Frank Rich writes at Vulture about how Oklahoma! became a formative text in terms of defining American identity, April 2019.
- Jesse Kornbluth at Head Butler considers John Coltrane’s My Favourite Things, April 2022.
- Jim Hatlerman at TV Insider considers how The Sound of Music became a Christmas classic, December 2020.
- Bill McQuillen at The Washington Post considers Christopher Plummer’s Captain von Trapp as an icon of fatherhood, February 2021.
- Kat Eschner at Smithsonian Magazine considers the real-life story of Maria von Trapp, November 2017.
- Gabrielle Hoyt at Hey Alma considers the famous gif of Christopher Plummer tearing up a Nazi flag from The Sound of Music, October 2019.
- Christopher Plummer’s original audio recording Edelweiss, March 1965.
- Melinda Taub at McSweeney’s considers The Sound of Music from the perspective of the Baroness, May 2011.
- Linda Holmes at NPR considers a critical reading of The Sound of Music, November 2013.
- Sophie Gilbert at The Atlantic considers whether Maria is the original “manic pixie dream girl”, March 2015.
- Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer reflect on fifty years of The Sound of Music with Vanity Fair, February 2015.
- Lee Adams at /film considers Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, April 2022.
- Brent Lang and Marc Malkin at Variety report on Julie Andrews declining her legacy cameo in Mary Poppins Returns, November 2018.
- James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly reports on Julie Andrews “secret” role in Aquaman, November 2018.
- Rachael Krishna at BuzzFeed reports on Pitbull’s cover of Africa for Aquaman, December 2018.
- Christopher Plummer talks to The Hollywood Reporter about his life and career, December 2011.
- Emily Langer at The Washington Post considers the life and career of Charmian Carr, September 2016.
- Zack Sharf at IndieWire looks back on HBO paying James Gandolfini not to star in The Office, July 2021.
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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: box office, christopher plummer, culture, Fox, julie andrews, musical, nazis, podcast, Robert Wise, síomha mcquinn, songs, The 250 |
the m0vie blog 
I’d dispute the categorization of Maria as the “original” Manic Pixie Dream Girl. I think Katharine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby beat her to the punch by nearly 30 years.
I’d dispute calling Maria the original Manic Pixie Dream Girl. I think Katharine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby beat her to the punch by nearly 30 years.