Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

Sholom Aleichem (book)
Joseph Stein (play)

Release Date:

3 November 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Musical

Tagline:

a tradition (re-release)

Plot:

In pre-revolutionary Russia, a poor Jewish peasant must contend with marrying off his three daughters while antisemitic sentiment threatens his home.

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Russia | Milkman | Tradition | Pogrom

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Topol	...	Tevye
Norma Crane	...	Golde
Leonard Frey	...	Motel Kamzoil
Molly Picon	...	Yente
Paul Mann	...	Lazar Wolf
Rosalind Harris	...	Tzeitel
Michele Marsh	...	Hodel
Neva Small	...	Chava
Paul Michael Glaser	...	Perchik (as Michael Glaser)
Ray Lovelock	...	Fyedka (as Raymond Lovelock)
Elaine Edwards	...	Shprintze
Candy Bonstein	...	Bielke
Shimen Ruskin	...	Mordcha
Zvee Scooler	...	Rabbi
Louis Zorich	...	Constable

Also Known As:

El violinista en el tejado (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Spelman på taket (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
Un violon sur le toit (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Anatevka (West Germany) [de]
Damdaki kemanci (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
El violinista a la teulada (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Hegedüs a háztetön (Hungary) [hu]
Il violinista sul tetto (Italy) [it]
O violistis sti stegi (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
O violistis stin stegi (Greece) [el]
Scripcarul de pe acoperis (Romania) [ro]
Skrzypek na dachu (Poland) [pl]
Spillemand på en tagryg (Denmark) [da]
Um Violinista no Telhado (Brazil) [pt]
Viulunsoittaja katolla (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

181 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints) | Stereo (35 mm mag-optical prints)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8 | Ireland:G | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:G | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Gorica, Croatia

Company:

Cartier Productions

Trivia:

Cameo: [Sammy Bayes] [the Assistant Choreographer is one of the Russian Dancers.]

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the movie, the fact that Tevye wants to dance with his wife, as well as Motel and Tzeitel in their wedding, is portrayed in the movie as a scandal. As a matter of fact it is common for Orthodox Jews to dance with their brides on their wedding, this dance is called in Yiddish the Kosher-Tants. It is not prohibited for married men and women to dance with each other, although this does not apply to singles.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Tevye: A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask 'Why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous?' Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: tradition!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Big Bang Theory: The Grasshopper Experiment (#1.8)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

To Life

Wonderful adaptation of a great stage musical.

A wonderful musical film. My all-time personal favorite musical.

Director Norman Jewison gets the show off with a bang with a big production number of "Tradition". A rousing joyous song in itself, Jewison uses it and the action to get the viewer acquainted with the characters, the village and their traditions which is the essence of the whole story.

John Williams' musical arrangements for the film, incorporating violin soloist Isaac Stern, are magnificent and deservedly won Williams an "Oscar".

The cast is top-notch all the way around, all give excellent performances and they all do their own singing. I had never really heard of any of them when I saw this film during its original release in 1971. I knew who Paul Michael Glaser and Molly Picon were and I had recognized the name "Zvie Scooler" on several credit crawls, but really did not know who he was. Topel (as Tevye) and Leonard Frey (as Motel) both received "Oscar" nominations.

The costumes (designed by Elizabeth Haffenden and Joan Bridge; Haffenden having won two previous "Oscars" for "Ben-Hur" and "A Man for All Seasons" and Bridge one, also for "A Man for All Seasons"), the "Oscar" nominated sets, designed by Robert Boyle (a favorite of Hitchcock), and the locations (Yugoslavia, substituting for Russia) are all captured perfectly by cinematographer Oswald Morris who also won an "Oscar" for his work. Sound recordists Gordon McCallum and David Hildyard round out the 3 "Oscar" wins for this film.

I think those familiar with the play (with the legendary Zero Mostel in the role of Tevye) will like this film and those who have not heard of it will also like it. It is just a really good movie.

The beautiful song "Sunrise, Sunset" is what introduced me to this musical in the first place. My brother played piano and had the sheet music for this song, he would play and I would sing. Living way too far from Broadway to ever see the play, I really had no idea what the story was or anything about any other songs. It was wonderful when I finally saw the film at the theater.

I recommend this film very highly. I think you will like it.