The hills are alive on DVD

And if you love it, you are going to flip over the 35th anniversary edition of this Academy Award-winner that became available on VHS and DVD Tuesday.

This exquisitely restored, high-definition transfer from the original 65 mm film source tells the fact-based story of Maria, the no-slouch novice turned governess, who married a widower with several children, taught them all to sing, and helped them escape from the Nazis.

The DVD sports a second disc to accommodate six hours of backstage tales and interviews with the actors, director and members of the original Von Trapp family on which the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is based.

Best of all, it's a terrific warm-up for the Sing-A-Long Sound of Music Tour planned for 2001 in which a host guides audiences into dressing up as the characters, and singing along and commenting on the action on screen.

So get your white dresses with blue satin sashes, sit back and enjoy.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. Directed by Robert Wise. Rated G. 175 min with six hours of bonus of DVD programming. VHS, DVD.