Julie Andrews has revealed how the spectacular hilltop opening scene of the Sound of Music took a week to shoot because it was filmed with a helicopter before filmmakers had drones at their disposal . The famous scene sees the actress throw herself into a full-bodied twirl with her arms outstretched and sing the film ’ s opening words : ‘ The hills are alive ... ’ And as part of a 50th anniversary special , Diane Sawyer and her film crew recreated the famous scene , but with a drone - it took them about four takes in just half an hour . Julie Andrew revealed that it took a week to shoot the famous scene where she throws herself into a full-bodied twirl with her arms outstretched and singing the film ’ s opening words : ‘ The hills are alive ... ’ Diane Sawyer and her film crew recreated the scene with a drone in Germany ( pictured ) The drone flew over the top of the trees and captured Sawyer as she span around . It took her film crew about four takes in just half an hour . The 79-year-old told Diane Sawyer in the upcoming '20/20 ' special that although the shot looked perfect it required a great deal of effort . Although the film was set in Austria , the filming of the movie ’ s title song was carried out in Mehlweg in southern Bavaria . The 79-year-old actress told ABC 's Diane Sawyer in the upcoming '20/20 ' special that although the shot looked perfect it required a great deal of effort . 'This giant helicopter came at me sideways with a very brave cameraman hanging out the side of … where the door would be normally … the helicopter would shoot me , and I 'd come from one end of the field and he 'd come from the other , ' Andrews recalled . ' I 'd make the big turn , and then he 'd go around me to go back and start again , and I 'd run to the other end . Pictured left , the helicopter that filmed the opening scene to The Sound of Music fifty years ago and right , the drone that Diane Sawyer 's team used . 'This giant helicopter came at me sideways with a very brave cameraman hanging out the side of … where the door would be normally … the helicopter would shoot me , and I 'd come from one end of the field and he 'd come from the other , ' Andrews recalled . 'Every time he went around me , the downdraft from the jets would fling me down into the grass , ' she said . Julie Andrews filming as Maria in The Sound Of Music which opened 50 years ago and quickly became the most popular film on the planet . 'But every time he went around me , the downdraft from the jets would fling me down into the grass . ' Andrews , who was signed to play Maria for a fee of $ 225,000 ( £150,000 ) , without any share of the profits , had to have her hair and clothes refreshed after each of the nine takes it took to get the scene completed . In his book ‘ The Sound of Music Story ’ Tom Santopietro details how having been knocked down on half of the ten takes , even the placid actress ‘ finally got so angry I yelled , “ That ’ s enough ! ” ’ But she couldn ’ t be heard over the sound of the helicopter , and the pilot interpreted his star ’ s hand signals as a thumbs-up gesture of , ‘ You ’ re doing great – let ’ s go for one more. ’ Andrews , who was 28 during the filming , told Sawyer said that the brook , which was actually plastic filled with water , was also brought in by the movie studio and the birch trees were also brought in . In his book Santopietro writes how helicopter rentals were very expensive , and the budget was so slim on the film that With only the first half of the number requiring the use of the helicopter , as soon as the shot was captured , the pilot would instantly fly to Obersalzberg for the filming of the movie ’ s finale : the von Trapp family ’ s escape over the Alps into Switzerland . There was no money for even one more day ’ s helicopter rental . The story – based on fact – of Maria von Trapp , an Austrian nun turned governess who married into a musical family and defied the Nazis , inspired devotion and ardent fervour . On every continent where it played it set one box office record after another . It ranks as the fifth highest-grossing film of all time ( when gross is adjusted for inflation ) and is , arguably , the most beloved film ever . Andrews had to have her hair and clothes refreshed after each of the nine takes it took to get the scene completed .
Film was set in Austria , but filming of the movie ’ s title song was carried out in Mehlweg in southern Bavaria . The famous scene was filmed over a week in 1964 . Andrews had to battle a helicopter that kept blowing across her hair and make-up . As part of a 50th anniversary special , Diane Sawyer recreated the famous scene , but with a drone - it took them nine takes in just half an hour .