Fiddler on the Roof (film)

The film takes place in 1905, in the fictional village of Anatevka, a typical shtetl somewhere in Ukraine, part of the Pale of Settlement in Imperial Russia. Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman compares the lives of the Jews of Anatevka to a "fiddler on the roof", using tradition to "scratch out a pleasant, simple tune" without breaking their necks. While making his rounds, Tevye meets Perchick, a Jewish student from the university in Kyiv, with modern religious ideas and Bolshevik political views. Tevye invites Perchik to stay with his family in exchange for Perchik tutoring his daughters. Yente the matchmaker has arranged for Tevye's eldest daughter, Tzeitel, to marry widower Lazar Wolf, Anatevka's affluent butcher, who is many years her senior. However, Tzeitel is in love with her childhood sweetheart, Motel Kamzoil the tailor, and begs her father not to make her marry Lazar. Tevye does not think very highly of Motel, considering him timid and meek. Reluctantly, Tevye gives Tzeitel and Motel permission to marry, despite Lazar Wolf's humiliation. Worried that Golde will not accept the marriage, Tevye tells her of a false prophetic dream he had in which Tzeitel is fated to marry Motel, and Lazar's dead wife will haunt her if she marries the butcher. Earlier, Tevye is warned by the Constable that the locals would attack (calling it an "Unofficial Demonstration") on an indefinite date and wonders why God would allow this to happen. At the wedding, an argument erupts among the guests over whether a girl should be able to choose her husband. Perchik says it should be left for the couple to decide. He creates further controversy when he asks Tevye's daughter Hodel to dance with him, crossing the barrier between the men and women. Initially, the crowd is shocked but they soon warm to the idea and the wedding proceeds with great joy. Suddenly, a mob of local peasants arrives and begins a pogrom, attacking the Jews and their property. Perchik tries to intervene but is subdued by the Tsar's men, resulting in a concussion. While the attacks continue with the other Jewish villages, Tevye wonders why God could not stop the atrocities. Later, as Perchik prepares to leave Anatevka to work for the revolution, he tells Hodel that he loves her, and she agrees to marry him. Tevye is furious to learn they want to marry without his permission and with Perchik leaving Anatevka, but he relents because they love each other. Weeks later, when Perchik is arrested in Kyiv and exiled to Siberia, Hodel leaves to join him there. Meanwhile, Tevye's third daughter, Chava, has fallen in love with Fyedka, a young man of Christian faith. In another soliloquy, Tevye concludes that he cannot countenance Chava marrying a non-Jew, in effect abandoning the Jewish faith. Chava and Fyedka elope and marry in an Orthodox Christian church. Tevye ostracizes Chava when she begs for his forgiveness and acceptance. Finally, the people of Anatevka are notified that the Imperial Russian government will force the Jews to vacate the village; they have three days to leave. Tevye and his family and friends pack and head variously for New York, Chicago, Jerusalem, and other places they know nothing about. Chava and Fyedka arrive to inform Tevye, who ignores the conversation, that the two of them are moving to Kraków, Poland. As they say their goodbyes, Tevye mutters 'God be with you', which Tzeitel repeats to the couple. Tevye spots the fiddler, and they travel down the road. == Cast ==

All songs by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, arranged by John Williams. • "Prologue / Tradition" – Tevye and Company • "Overture" • "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" – Tzeitel, Hodel, Chava, Shprintze and Bielke • "If I Were a Rich Man" – Tevye • "Sabbath Prayer" – Tevye, Golde and Chorus • "To Life" – Tevye, Lazar Wolf, Townsmen and Cossacks • "Tevye's Monologue (Tzeitel and Motel)" – Tevye • "Miracle of Miracles" – Motel • "Tevye's Dream" – Tevye, Golde, Grandmother Tzeitel, Rabbi, Fruma-Sarah and Ghostly chorus • "Sunrise, Sunset" – Tevye, Golde, Perchik, Hodel and Guests • "Wedding Celebration / The Bottle Dance" • "Entr'acte" – Orchestra • "Tradition" (Reprise) – Chorus • "Tevye's Monologue (Hodel and Perchik)" – Tevye • "Do You Love Me?" – Tevye and Golde • "Far from the Home I Love" – Hodel • "Chava Ballet Sequence (Little Bird, Little Chavaleh)" – Tevye • "Tevye's Monologue (Chava and Fyedka)" – Tevye • "Anatevka" – Tevye, Golde, Lazar Wolf, Yente, Mendel, Mordcha and Full company • "Exit Music" == Differences from Broadway ==

The film follows the plot of the stage play very closely, retaining nearly all of the play's dialogue, although it omits the songs "Now I Have Everything" and "The Rumor (I Just Heard)". She argues that changes in American culture and politics and developments in Israel led the filmmakers to portray certain characters differently and to offer a different version of Anatevka. Huttner also notes that the "Chagall color palette" of the original Broadway production was exchanged for a grittier, more realistic depiction of the village of Anatevka. ==Production==

Principal photography was done on location in Yugoslavia and at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. Most of the exterior shots were done in Mala Gorica, Lekenik, and Zagreb within the Yugoslav constituent republic of Croatia. One reason the area was chosen was because of the heavy snow present during location scouting in 1969; however, during the actual filming the following year, no snow fell and the producers had to ship in marble dust to stand in for snow. Additional scenes were shot at the Jadran Film studios. Rob Reiner auditioned for the role of Motel. Richard Thomas was Jewison's original choice to play Fyedka, but ultimately, Italian actor Ray Lovelock was cast in the part. Though Lovelock was a singer who released several records, he did not appear in any of the film's musical numbers. Talia Shire and Katey Sagal both auditioned to play Tevye's daughters. Norman Jewison makes two cameo appearances, first as the voice of the rabbi the "Tevye's Dream" number, and later as a wedding guest. Fiddler on the Roof was the final film of Norma Crane, who died of breast cancer in 1973, two years after its release. Music The music for the film was conducted and adapted by John Williams from the original score by Jerry Bock. Williams also composed additional music and an original cadenza for Isaac Stern, who performed the various violin solos in the film. The score was orchestrated by Williams and Alexander Courage. ==Release==

Roadshow presentation Because the film follows the stage musical so closely, and the musical did not have an overture, the filmmakers chose to eliminate the customary film overture played before the beginning of most motion pictures shown in a roadshow-style presentation. However, there is a solo by the Fiddler played over the opening credits (after the conclusion of "Tradition"), an intermission featuring entr'acte music, and exit music played at the end after the closing credits. Reception The film was a success, earning United Artists profits of $6.1 million, plus distribution profits of $8 million. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 81% rating based on 78 reviews, with an average of 7.80/10. The consensus summarizes: "A bird may love a fish - and musical fans will love this adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof, even if it is not quite as transcendent as the long-running stage version." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 67 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Roger Ebert thought the storyline of the musical was "quite simply boring", but still gave the screen version three stars out of four, explaining that Jewison "has made as good a film as can be made" from the material. Gene Siskel awarded three-and-a-half stars out of four, writing that the musical numbers were "better staged and choreographed than in any recent Broadway film adaptation". Vincent Canby of The New York Times thought the film version was inferior, explaining that by "literalizing" the show with real landscapes and houses, Jewison and Stein "have effectively overwhelmed not only Aleichem, but the best things about the stage production ... pushed beyond its limits, the music goes flat and renders banal moments that, on the stage, are immensely moving." Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "has been done not only with such artistry, but also with such evident love, devotion, integrity and high aspiration that watching it is a kind of duplex pleasure." Gary Arnold of The Washington Post stated, "Jewison's Fiddler is a great film, by which I mean great in the sense that matters most – greatly moving, an extraordinarily powerful, emotional experience." Pauline Kael of The New Yorker called it "an absolutely smashing movie; it is not especially sensitive, it is far from delicate, and it isn't even particularly imaginative, but it seems to me the most powerful movie musical ever made." Retrospective reception The film continues to receive acclaim since its original release and it is often seen as one of the best musical films ever made. When the film celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021, The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship collaborated on a retrospective celebrating the film and its legacy, including a virtual roundtable discussion with film critics, scholars and historians regarding the film's relevance in modern times and how it would be remembered in years time. One of the participants, Matthew Kennedy, called it "a very fine and enduring work of popular entertainment. Of all the big musicals at the end of the roadshow era, this one ages the best. If anything, it looks and sounds better today than it did fifty years ago. The music, the visuals, the story that's so specific yet moves people throughout the world. Humor, heartbreak, memorable songs, big themes, and moral lessons - Fiddler has it all." In 2023, the film ranked number 15 on IndieWires list of "The 60 Best Movie Musicals of All Time," with Jude Dry writing "It's hard to go wrong with such great material, yet many have failed in their attempts to translate the epic nature of a live Broadway show to the comparatively flat screen. Led by Israeli actor Chaim Topol as the indefatigable narrator Tevye (though the decision not to cast Zero Mostel was controversial at the time), the movie delivers all of the laughs, tears, and chills of the musical ... From its rousing opening to its plaintive final notes, Fiddler on the Roof is nothing less than a cinematic tradition." Awards and nominations American Film Institute recognition • AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers - #82 == Soundtrack ==

A 2 record soundtrack album was issued by United Artists Records in 1971. The cassette and 8 track tape version featured two instrumental tracks not on the original LP release: "Entr'acte" and "The Pogrom" (tracked as "First Act Finale" on later compact disc releases). In 2001, EMI Records issued a remastered and expanded 30th anniversary Fiddler soundtrack album on CD. This was the first release of the "First Act Finale" and "Entr'acte" on CD. The expanded CD also included the previously unreleased "Wedding Procession" track and a demo of "Any Day Now", a song that was cut from the final film. On December 7, 2021, La-La Land Records released a limited edition 3 disc soundtrack album which featured alternate versions of songs, as well as unreleased instrumental music composed by Williams. In February 2022, the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, & Dance presented a concert version of Fiddler using the arrangements by John Williams for the film. Broadway performers Chuck Cooper and Loretta Ables Sayre played the roles of Tevye and Golde accompanied by the Grand Rapids Symphony. The event was the first live performance of Williams' orchestrations for the film. ==Documentary==

An independently produced documentary about the making of the film, ''Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen'', was made by Adama Films in 2021. Produced, directed and edited by Daniel Raim and featuring interviews with the surviving cast and crew members, as well as behind-the-scenes footage, it premiered at the Miami Jewish Film Festival on January 26, 2022, and was released theatrically by Kino Lorber and Zeitgeist Films that Spring. It was later made available to stream on Paramount+. ==Remake==

On May 28, 2020, it was announced that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and producers Dan Jinks and Aaron Harnick will oversee a remake, with Thomas Kail (known for his work on Hamilton and Grease Live!) directing and co-producing, and Dear Evan Hansen librettist Steven Levenson penning the screenplay. ==See also==