Robert Wise directed The Sound of Music and decided that Christopher Plummer needed to be dubbed over? Or maybe it was the studio who made this choice? Whoever it was, it was a foolish choice now that we all know the truth of what Plummer sounded like as Captain Von Trapp singing “Edelweiss.”
When we talk about musicals that made many of us love the genre, The Sound of Music is often at the top of the list. The nearly three-hour story tells the tale of Maria (Julie Andrews) as she becomes the nanny to the Von Trapp children. Their father, Captain Georg Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) was a navy officer in the Austrian navy.
Throughout the film, he pushes back against Hilter’s power, eventually famously ripping up the Nazi flag and fleeing the country. A love story between Maria and the Captain, what is truly beautiful about this story in particular is how many of us fell in love with the art of musicals because of this story in particular. The fact that Plummer was dubbed over by Bill Lee in the original soundtrack for the 1965 film is fine, I suppose, but after watching this performance of Plummer on set, all I can think to myself is what man made this decision?
Part of the special edition features on The Sound of Music’s Super Deluxe Edition that has recently been released, the video is truly charming and made me instantly want to watch other films from Plummer’s filmography because he’s that talented and he’s so good singing and playing “Edelweiss” on his own! Beware, this video will bring tears to your eyes within moments of starting because if you, like me, love Christopher Plummer, you won’t be able to handle it.
We should have kept it this way!
Watching this video feels like being in the Twilight Zone because I kept waiting for a reason why it was dubbed. Was he off-key? Is there something so bad about this that they couldn’t possibly use his voice? No! It is perfect for who Captain Von Trapp is so I don’t actually understand the reason behind the dub in the first place.
Still, it happened. But thanks to the release of The Sound of Music’s Super Deluxe Edition, we now have Christopher Plummer singing “Edelweiss” to cry over. Personally? This is the version I wish were in the film. It’s sweet, beautiful, and a perfect look into how Plummer approached Von Trapp as a character. Plus seeing how charming Plummer was? It was a lot for those of us who loved Plummer as an actor from the moment we first saw him in The Sound of Music when we were younger.
So happy holidays, may we all do our annual watch of The Sound of Music this year and now know that Christopher Plummer would have killed “Edelweiss” if they had left this version in the final cut of the movie!
(featured image: 20th Century Fox)
