Julie Andrews explains how they filmed that famous meadow scene in “The Sound of Music”

By Amandamalamut

July 1, 2017

By Amandamalamut

July 1, 2017

Julie Andrews is one talented woman! Last night on The Tonight Show, Andrews regaled Jimmy with the story of how they filmed one of the most iconic scenes in The Sound of Music. You know the one: Where Andrews twirls around a gorgeous hilltop meadow in Austria, belting out the movie’s title song.

Andrews admits filming that scene wasn’t as easy-breezy as it looks. She and the crew definitely had some difficulty.

"We had this monstrous helicopter, had a camera man very bravely strapped to the side where the door would be. He had a camera strapped to him, he was strapped into the 'copter, and he was over like this," Andrews explained, making a motion of shooting downwards.

Whoa. That’s some serious movie magic! We knew shooting on location was tough, but this process sounds seriously intense. Fortunately, it worked.

"[The helicopter] started at one end of the field, and I started at the other, and we walked together. And honestly, this thing came at me sideways, sort of like this giant sort of crab coming at me, or a grasshopper or something. And then I’d come into view."

But how was Andrews able to sing over all that noise?

According to Andrews, that was a production in itself. She needed to hear the music in order to lip sync along. But the helicopter made so much noise, they had to blast the music so it could be heard. Andrews said she also had a difficult time keeping her balance. When the chopper came closer to get some shots, “the downdraft from the jet engines just flung me into the grass. So we did this about six or seven times, and I was spitting dirt,” she recalled with a laugh.

It’s really neat to get a behind-the-scenes look into The Sound of Music. Some of the most beautiful shots in movie history are probably the most difficult to get. It takes a lot of talent both behind and in front of the camera to capture our favorite scenes!