Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

I am not generally a fan of musicals that have been adapted to the screen, but "Fiddler on the Roof" remains as one of the notable exceptions, thanks largely to the genius of director Norman Jewison ("In the Heat of the Night", "Moonstruck", "The Thomas Crown Affair, "Jesus Christ Superstar"), the endearing charm, vitality, and humanity of (Chaim) Topol, the ability of the rest of the cast to meet the elevated standard set by the lead, the innovative cinematography of Oswald Morris ("Lolita", "Oliver!", "The Entertainer", "Guns of Navarone") and the wonderful music, originally written by Jerry Bock and so capably adapted to the screen by John Williams.As to the excellent cast, note that there isn't one, single Hollywood superstar on the list, but they nevertheless succeed in creating one of the best musicals ever adapted to film and a movie that still survives on my list of favorites after many viewings. Personally, I would have loved to see Bea Arthur reprise her Broadway role as Yenta, but that's show business. Jewison's pick of Topol over Zero Mostel, however, was another one of his strokes of brilliance. Although Topol was mostly unknown outside of his native Israel, Jewison made a bold decision to cast him as Tevye, and this was only one example of the director's daring, innovative thinking that enhanced his directing and producing endeavors. He also agreed to cast Norma Crane as the female lead, Golde, who compliments Topol perfectly, even though I don't recall ever seeing her in a film other than her part as the mean and nasty town slut in "Tea and Sympathy" fifteen years earlier. Only Jewison had the ability to see her as "the perfect match" for Tevye. Right? Of course right!The story, based on the Yiddish short stories of Sholom Aleichem, is a familiar one for the Jewish people as they steadfastly struggle to hold to their traditions and values in the face of a rapidly changing environment that becomes increasingly hostile to their existence as both a religious and ethnic minority. As bad as conditions were for them during pre-revolutionary Russia and Ukraine, their situation would only worsen, especially when the Nazis came to power in Germany and conquered much of the rest of Europe only a few decades later.The fiddler in the play is a symbol of the perpetually precarious existence of Jews who have often depended upon the kindness of strangers throughout much of their thousands of years of history. Beyond the unique Jewish experience, the fiddler represents the universal fragility of all of our lives, regardless of our specific faith or ethnicity. Indeed, the uncertainties of life itself are like...they're like a fiddler on the roof!

What can I say? I'm Jewish and I liked it. Singing, dancing, talking, arguing, and of course tradition all visit with us and lift us up and capture us in the moment. We become part of the film with ease thus we hang on every word of Tevye played by Topol who the movie centers around. One of the songs "if I were a rich man" should touch everyone who is or is not rich because we all think the same. The Russian dance scene will pump up your blood and then will have you out of your chair and the prayer before the Sabbath is something to be remembered. Who wouldn't want to bless their family before eating? Ah yes the fiddler. Trying to make a go of it all wherever he is and in whatever he is doing never giving up but instead keeping that song in his heart. Got 3.5 hours on your hands? You do? then.....

"Here in Anatevka, we have traditions for everything: how to sleep, how to eat, how to work, how to wear clothes. It's a tradition, and because of our traditions, every one of us knows who he is and what God expects him to do" says Tevye (Topol), the Jewish village milkman in pre-revolutionary Russia. He believed that they were still God's chosen people, as God said in Exodus 19:5b (KJV), "…ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people." A "tradition" purist, he, prejudiced against the foreign Russians as they intermingle with them in Anatevka, wishes to marry out his three older daughters."But would it be heresy on my part to suggest that "Fiddler" isn't much as a musical, and that director Norman Jewison has made as good a film as can be made from a story that is quite simply boring?" asks critic Roger Ebert. As much as I respect him, I disagree with him here. The story is not about marrying out his three daughters, but instead about Tevye's controversial decisions in those marriages that alter the Jewish life in their village. In the end, the Russians drive out these Jews in a pogrom; it is not a key point of the plot, but an indirect effect of the generations-long Jew discrimination. The truth that it teaches doesn't lie in the history, but perhaps in the way Tevye impacted Anatevka's history.Faithful to the Jewish traditions, Fiddler is an accurate portrayal of Jews that can both entertain and educate without stark preaching. Perhaps the greatest openly-Jewish/Christian movie made by mainstream Hollywood, it deals with the various differences in the peoples and the ignorance of Tevye of the outside world. But Fiddler doesn't preach; it presents the message throughout the entire film's two hours and fifty-nine minutes. The "teachable" moments don't come in one cheap, blink-and-you-miss-it line, but instead through Jewison's smooth storytelling and direction that sinks the message comfortably in.This gradual separation from tradition comes in the form of his daughters' husbands. First, instead of accepting the village matchmaker's choice of husbands, they love and know their selected mates, an alien concept to Tevye. Second, these desired husbands' ideas and positions push the borders of tradition one at a time, with the eldest marrying a tailor in the village, the second a Revolutionist and the third, a goy. Tevye, quickly though a bit reluctantly accepts the tailor, he is skeptical but consents to the Revolutionist, but he altogether rejects the goy. He feels the change happening. He can't avoid it, yet, at the same time, he still can't fully accept it. Based on the hit, still on-going Broadway musical, Fiddler won three Academy Awards for sound, the clever use of cinematography and John William's adaption of the score. The witty dialogue, catchy songs and the wise-guy Tevye brings the Jews back into an accepted light.

A tale worth knowing but it tests our patience.I got to know of this through a friend Abhijeet Kulkarni (a big fan of singer Kishore Kumar) who "I like it because its my idols favorite movie" and watched it nearly 3 years back for first time. When I revisited it now I am just all over in love with it for the first hour, the second hour seemed dragging and I had to sit through 3rd just to finish it. Over three hours long, this tale of a family of Tevye (playe by Topol) becomes too sardonic and too painful by the end. Had it been a tad shorter, it would have just right up there as a great movie. Now, still its definitely a good movie and worth watching for many reasons. Top most reason being there to see Topol playing Tevye, the family runner, a man for a family. Topol is just so fine and brings so much more to the character Tevye is that there is no escape form empathizing, falling in love with Tevye and embracing him for the way he dealt with his things. Setup in 1900's Russia, this is a tale of a family of Tevye who has 5 daughters and he has to get them married, now tradition is what he believes in sticks to and he has to fore go a few beliefs too for his own family and he does that too and becomes so very humane. Now, did I ever mention that its a musical and oh wow, the music is so good, 'Matchmaker' and 'Do you love me' are two songs that are my favorites and will listen them over again and again. John Williams for sure has produced a supreme soundtrack and worth a collection. So is the cinematography and art direction which are simply superb.Now, editing is not up to the mark and this being a musical I agree it has less scope and it needed a large landscape to take us and make us delve into the niceties of such place and also its grave atrocities. It's great if looked at as a play for its completely performance oriented but as a movie, I wish it was just shorter by say half an hour.It's 3/5 for a good movie and definitely worth a watch for TOPOL and surely thanks to Kishore da and Abhijeet for making me watch this.