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BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Speaking of leading women, we caught up with actress Julie Andrews as "The Sound of Music" turns 50. The film won five Oscars and stands as the No.3 domestic box office champion of all time.
The hills are alive with the sound of a big, lucrative anniversary.
The 1965 Oscar-winning film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music" is celebrating its 50th birthday this year.
"This is a lovely moment to mark. I've been saying all along it's like a very bad joke because surely it was only 30 years ago - not 50. I feel I lost 20 somewhere along the way. A little thing called life got in the way," Andrews said.
The movie that popularized whiskers on kittens and warm woollen mittens isn't holding back on its golden anniversary: There are events, DVDs, books, soundtracks and screenings.
Other American movie musicals may be revered - "Cabaret" and "West Side Story," for example - but few are as beloved as "The Sound of Music." Andrews, 79, thinks she knows why.
"This one stuck because it was very well made with beautiful music and a lot of glorious assets like beautiful scenery and mountains and children and an adventure story and a love story and all of that," Andrews said.
To honor the milestone, 20th Century Fox is releasing a five-disc Blu-ray/DVD collection and along with a re-release of the soundtrack. The film will also be screened at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood later this month and over 500 movie theaters in April.
The musical and movie are a fictionalized account of the life of Maria von Trapp. They tell the story of a 1930s governess who teaches children to sing and falls in love with her employer, naval captain Georg von Trapp, as well as the family's flight to safety before World War II.
Not everyone is enjoying the film anniversary with the same fervency, with Andrews' 85-year-old co-star Christopher Plummer who played Captain von Trapp, previously calling the film "The Sound of Mucus."
Andrews doesn't begrudge Plummer and the two remained buddies. In fact, Plummer's less-than-earnest performance may actually have helped the movie.
"He gave it an astringency the film needed because it is a slightly saccharine story. He was so great in it and we stayed good, good friends," Andrews said.
The film won five Oscars and stands as the No. 3 domestic box office champion of all time, adjusted for inflation, following "Gone With the Wind" and "Star Wars."
But for Andrews, the 50th anniversary, for which she has endured hours of questions from journalists with her typical good humor, may mark the last celebration.
"People have been joking with me all along, saying 'You'll be back for the 100th.' The mind boggles," said Andrews.
A national tour of the musical led by Tony Award-winning director Jack O'Brien will launch in September in Los Angeles.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
