Plummer is kick ass in this film, him and his little fucking whistle. My favorite part of the film - which I rewind a couple of times - his when him and Julie Andrews are arguing on the terrace and he mistakingly calls her, "Captain". It's just such a telling moment and he plays it perfectly, still stoic but with a bit of "oh fucking hell" underneath. He's just such a guy that would never make too many mistakes or heaven forbid - lose his cool!

Speaking of cool (or downright frosty) I didn't think The Baroness was actually that bad. She had a stiff upper and was a quite a - if I can be muggle for a moment - pureblood. But she wasn't downright nasty. Manipulative yes. But she knew when to give over.

Julie Andrews singing. When I showed this movie to my husband the first time, he said to me, "She's a bell." Him being a musician, I knew what he meant and he didn't have to explain. Her voice is clarity. When I heard that the top notes of her soprano voice were gone and the surgery she had failed to restore it, it was little kick in the guts.

Anyway, I rambling now. But I was looking forward to this all week! But to end on a typical TB tenor:

Hey Quint, did you see your girlfriend's rack in S.O.B?

Nipplely!!

anyways..

Comfort movie is Evil Dead 2. Seriously

I loathe this movie. Every moment of it is torture for me. The only movies I hate more are "The Neverending Story" and "The Black Stallion."

Old tits, but Mary Poppins tits nonetheless.

I cry at the Elephant man everytime! All involved in that are amazing! amazing film!

And I declare this to be Christopher Plummer's greatest work.

"The Aunchlaus is coming, Admiral. The wise will rally to it early."

"Yes, and Im sure that you my dear friend will be the entire horn section."

"You flatter me, Admiral."

"Do I? how clumsy of me. I meant to ACCUSE you."

That and "I should like to sing for you a love song. It is about a love that we all share, and that I hope will never die." and then he sings their anthem.

Great great great moments in cinema. It should be required viewing for anyone who wants to work in movies.

that is all.

As for Rolfe, Austria was not yet part of the German empire. They had issued out their emissaries to Austria to propose that they consider joining Germany as they were, in their words, one people spiritually and culturally. Within Austria, private individuals began to rally up support for this move, and Rolf joined as well as a member of the Nazi Youth - a sort of Boy Scouts program for young men who wanted to be part of the party's agenda. It was no different than joining the Young Republicans or Young Democrats club in college. You were a gopher of sorts, but got to participate in a political movement you believed in.

As the movie progresses, Austria becomes part of the expanding German empire of their own will. A shotgun wedding to be sure, but not a military invasion and occupation. The loyal citizens were given authorities and positions of leadership, and the youth unions were made into a sort of police officer - the original "brown shirts". So in the cemetary, Rolfe is just a glorified eagle scout who was given a badge and a gun and made into a cop by the new government. He feels part of something, feels like a man.

But given a clear opportunity to show he is indeed 'one of them' he cannot pull the trigger and kill Georg. To which the Von Trapp patriarch says to him, "come with us, Rolfe. Marry my daughter. You'll never be one of them."

Rolfe has a choice - follow his heart and run away, or stay and be a part of something strong and powerful.

He chooses power and authority over love. His story is apocryphal, but one whose eventual destruction can be easily concluded. The moral of that sub-story is that we all are responsible for the choices we make as individuals. We cannot lay the responsibility of our actions on the shoulders of those who tell us where to go and who to arrest when things dont play out quite as they were promised.

The character of Max is also part of this tale. He's written as an old school hanger-on; Von Trappe's posse, so to speak. He's not of any wealth himself, but tags along with them to catch their crumbs. "I love the rich. I love the way they live." When the Aunschluss arrives, they're rich and powerful, and he plays his role for them as well. He knows their not exactly pious as the church choir, but thinks as long as he can keep his own nose clean, why not catch their crumbs? Its better than being a scrabbly peasant. We never see him actually leave, but we see him finally realizing that he must make a choice. He chooses to help the family escape. But he stays behind, even after being invited to go with them. We must conclude that his end was not happy, either.

Its something of a retelling of Noah's Ark, in a way.

That scene is just devestating. Since the viewer knows what the next 7-10 years are going to be like, the sense of dread and impending loss is overwhelming.-----later-----m