The Movie Journal

The Sound of Music (1965) Who said that schmaltz was such a bad thing? In the world of film, too much of schmaltz or saccharine is often viewed in a negative light. In 1965’s The Sound of Music , the film is practically running with sentimental/saccharine feelings…..and I love the movie every bit for that. This movie is viewed as the best musical of all time, and I can agree to that statement. The word that can describe the movie is joy. From the moment Julie Andrews popped on screen, waving her arms in the air against the beautiful mountain background and beginning the title song, a smile creeped upon my face and it stayed there for two hours and fifty-two minutes. The joy is infectious and each character has a sense of happiness despite the Nazis lurking in the background. This is the type of musical you’ll remember forever. I saw this movie once as a child and twenty years later, was able to sing along to such joyful songs like “Do-Re-Mi”, “My Favorite Things,” “Edelweiss”,...

Doctor Zhivago (1965) The 1940’s to the 1960’s was the era that was famous for the production of numerous epics, famous for its lavish production design, colorful performances, and a story that can be told on a large canvas usually with some sort of historical background. Unfortunately, the era of epics began to die down around the release of this movie, Doctor Zhivago in 1965. In fact, many film scholars call this film the “last great epic of this era.” That is not entirely true as films similar as Doctor Zhivago or Lawrence of Arabia or Ben-Hur springs up every once in awhile. But there is no denying, that epics began to die off as the Hollywood studios began to change the content into more of a modern America cinema. Ironically, Doctor Zhivago was the first epic I have watched from this era and it was the film that brought my attention to these popular films. For the most part, I very much enjoyed it. It took place in a historical period I am interested in-the Russian R...