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I went to see this on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015, here in Vallejo, CA, at the CENTURY 14 VALLEJO, for the 2:00 p.m. showing in auditorium 5, 4th row ( counting from the front ), 8ht column ( counting from the left ). The price of admission was $8.50. And I bought a $1.00 medium upgrade on a free small popcorn ( movie-watcher e-mail reward coupon ), a $4.75 medium Mountain Berry Blast and a $1.50 Kernel Season's Cheddar-flavored Popcorn Seasoning at the concessions counter.
This is a 50th Anniversary presentation of a multi-Oscar winning musical classic.
Quickie Review: An Austrian naval war hero refuses to serve in Hitler's 3rd Reich and hatches an ingenious escape plan. Based on a true story.
There was quite a turn-out for this particular show. Mostly, the audience was comprised of the middle-aged and the elderly. They liked this movie and gave it a "Hands Clapper" ending.
I liked this movie, too. Go see this movie if you're into Musicals.
This movie was banned in Austria until recently because the Austrians didn't want anything to do with something that would remind them of their past.
This movie was banned in Austria until recently because the Austrians didn't want anything to do with something that would remind them of their past.
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I was about 6 years of age when I saw this movie for the first time in Kidapawan, Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines. Of course, at such an early age, and with English as my 3rd language, I wasn't able to fully appreciate the sweet simplicity, innocence and beauty of this movie. All that I could remember from this movie were the songs, I Am Sixteen Going On Seventeen, Do Re Mi and its title song, The Sound Of Music. And these songs were played over and over on the radio, which served me as a memory aid.
When I learned that this movie will be shown on its 50th Anniversary at select theatres, I knew that I would have to see it again to fully appreciate it. And I was glad that I was able to see it again. But, at the same time, this movie gave me a cause for worry ....
If you compare the movie dialogues back then to the ones that we are now subjected to, in the 50 years since this movie originally premiered, Spoken English has devolved into the current "trendy" vulgar vernacular in use not just by today's representative youths but by today's representative adults, as well! This is such a sad and worrisome commentary that I make based on my cinematic observation.
And even in today's G-rated movies, "Potty Humor" seems De Rigueur!
Where one goes, the other follows:
Written English, also, has fallen from grace. Today's folks don't seem to know how--or are too irresponsibly lazy--to spell ( or to even use "spell check" ) and use proper grammar and punctuation. Now, mind you, I'm not an English teacher--never had been and never will be. But Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation are educational tools that are taught in school and should be used conscientiously on a day-to-day basis. These are signs of a well-educated person. And one should strive to make a good impression of him/herself before others when one is writing a letter, a note, a text or an e-mail. Written English is different from Spoken English in the sense that its use must follow a stricter set of guidelines. For, you see, you are afforded the Luxury of Time to collect your thoughts and properly structure your sentences and paragraphs whenever you commit "pen to paper." In this way, your message or idea is presented in a clear and concise manner. To commit an error in writing due to laziness is almost unforgivable. And if you're ignorant of the Rules of Written English even though you went to school, why are you?
And none of today's youths seem to even know how to write a proper business letter! What they teach kids in school these days, I have no idea.
As I mentioned earlier, English is not my native language. And I was harassed and made fun of by my classmates, humiliated by my teachers and beaten by my own father for being such a slow and stubborn learner ( I had to go to summer school once and I flunked school twice ). I learned how to read by way of countless repetitions; and I learned how to write by paying close attention to how a sentence and a paragraph were structured, and why punctuation marks were chosen the way they were chosen.
In time, my valuable Learning Repertoire began to include Word Substitutions, Parenthetical Statements, Appositives, Modifiers, Prepositions and Transpositions. To this day, I still rely on these. They are my "fail-safe" go-to aids.
And none of today's youths seem to even know how to write a proper business letter! What they teach kids in school these days, I have no idea.
As I mentioned earlier, English is not my native language. And I was harassed and made fun of by my classmates, humiliated by my teachers and beaten by my own father for being such a slow and stubborn learner ( I had to go to summer school once and I flunked school twice ). I learned how to read by way of countless repetitions; and I learned how to write by paying close attention to how a sentence and a paragraph were structured, and why punctuation marks were chosen the way they were chosen.
In time, my valuable Learning Repertoire began to include Word Substitutions, Parenthetical Statements, Appositives, Modifiers, Prepositions and Transpositions. To this day, I still rely on these. They are my "fail-safe" go-to aids.
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