The first time I became familiar with Fiddler on the Roof, it was by coincidence when I heard the song 'Sunrise, Sunset' in a Full House episode. I didn't think much of it back then and dismissed it as just any other song.
However, it was not until I was introduced to the movie that it came from by my college roommate, who harbored an evident distaste for the film, primarily because he found the protagonist, Tevye, too unsympathetic for him to care for. We watched the first half of the movie one night and then covered the last half the following morning. But ever since then, I have been fascinated by the story of Fiddler on the Roof and how I could have evaluated the movie on my own.
I decided to finally judge Fiddler on the Roof for myself when I had a chance to check out the original musical. Now, watching it again as it originally came out, I found the musical to be an intriguing peek into the lives of the Yiddish culture in the village of Anatevka before the Czar of Russia, Nicholas II, interfered with their lifestyles and threatened to kill them unless they evacuated from their homeland.
But as I looked closer at the musical, the varying levels of sympathetic qualities out of the characters, whether it's with Tevye, his wife Golde, their three daughters, Motel, or any of the other characters, I welcome that exposure immensely. If anything, it only added to their complexity and subsequent appeal. Personally, it pays for the characters to be interpreted in many different ways because that tells me how there are multiple facets to their personality that I can assess and appreciate since they're not completely good or evil. Because of this, the way they worked off each other contributed to the dramatic dynamics in the story of something like Fiddler on the Roof.
But now, having watched the movie again, this time after seeing the musical, I truly appreciate what the film established and how far more enriching it felt as a film.
To recap you on the story, here's what's going on. Based on Sholem Aleichem's stories and set in early-20th century Anatevka, Tevye, the local dairyman, started to experience his world turning upside down as his three eldest daughters expressed their desires for who they wanted for their husbands. It began to rattle Tevye a little because their actions started veering away from what's considered proper traditional practices. Usually, every time any son or daughter was ready for marriage, they were entrusted to their local village matchmaker, Yente, who would've looked at the sons and daughters of every family in town and judged them thoroughly to see who would be the proper match for who.
However, Tevye's daughters became more interested in marrying not out of arrangement but out of love. It all started when the eldest daughter, Tzeitel, expressed her feelings for Motel, who, in her parents' eyes, was just a humble, poor tailor, a good friend of Tzeitel, and nothing more. So when they began expressing an even deeper love than they anticipated, it threw them for a loop, leaving them to reevaluate how love and marriage should be arranged and if they ever need to be.
This trend continued with two more of Tevye's daughters, with each marriage proposal becoming more divergent and radical than the last. It all occurred in the form of Tevye's daughters seeking out suitors who looked at things and practiced things separately from how the rest of their village did. By then, it started to reach hot boiling waters once the bookworm and middle daughter, Chava, took her chances in marrying a young man who happened to be Christian.
However, voluntary and involuntary marriages aren't all that's quizzing and troubling Tevye. While he had his family dilemmas to worry about, the Anatevka villagers were being checked up upon and preparing for a potential evacuation of their home as the Cossacks went forth to exterminate all of the Jewish people in the country.
So now, not only was the village in danger of having its traditional practices challenged and questioned, but it was facing severe prejudice for them, too. What were Tevye, his family, and the other villagers to do with so many unanticipated obstacles slithering in every corner of their town of Anatevka?
Now, I acknowledge that this movie came out in the early 70s, and for musicals back then, I remember them reaching rocky terrain. The last time big-scale musicals were made, 20th Century Fox achieved it with Hello Dolly. However, that movie was frowned upon by critics who thought it was too sentimental and splashy for a Broadway musical turned into a film. Not only that, but this also came at a time when New Hollywood was on the rise, with movies like Bonnie and Clyde and The Godfather pushing the envelope in terms of cinematic violence and with films like Last Tango in Paris, where sexuality was all over the place. So, what place did old Hollywood-style musicals have in Hollywood in that day and age?
Fortunately, Fiddler on the Roof had the benefit of roping in some cherished A-list actors, writers, and composers willing to take on musicals like Fiddler on the Roof and give it the big screen translation it deserved.
Of course, other small-scale musicals also came out during the early 1970s, such as Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which both came out around the same year as Fiddler on the Roof. However, they were far from the same level as the big Hollywood-style musicals that were everywhere throughout the 20th century, and we're talking about musicals like Singin' in the Rain, The Sound of Music, and others.
Speaking of roping in plenty of people to work on the movie, I must also point out who took care of the musical score for this film. With many movies based on stage musicals, they always had a composer come in to adapt the score from the stage into the film. For example, André Previn adapted Frederick Loewe's score from My Fair Lady. There are also Irwin Coastal of The Sound of Music and Ken Darby and Alfred Newman, both of The King and I, all adapting the musical score that Richard Rodgers wrote. And who did the honors of adapting Jerry Bock's musical score of Fiddler on the Roof for its cinematic treatment?
If you can believe it, it would be John Williams.
That's right. Williams helped adapt the score while he was on the rise as a composer and before he composed the music for the Star Wars films and most of Steven Spielberg's films. There are tons of crescendos, emotional beats, and rhythms that would most likely be associated with what John Williams would later compose for film, and you can hear what would've flourished in the years to come, beginning here.
Even more impressive is that Williams won his first Oscar for his work on this film. When you listen to his music, there's a sense that John Williams was flexing his muscles and working out his kinks with Jerry Bock's music. And for what he started with, he did a fantastic job of doing right by Fiddler on the Roof's sense of melodic essence.
So already, though everybody settled for whatever uncertainties awaited them in the 70s, they were about to be in for something familiar yet equally compelling, revolutionary, and groundbreaking.
However, the musical score is not the only factor that deserves attention. Many other aspects worked in this film's favor as well.
For starters…I don't know how it is. First, there's The Sound of Music with Austria, then The King and I with Thailand, and now Fiddler on the Roof with the Russian countryside. I feel like I've had the benefit of being acquainted with musicals that were filmed so that they'd allow you to relish the atmosphere and beauty of the locations in which the story was set.
And it's not just the general atmosphere, the location, or how it was all presented throughout the movie that drew me in. I'm also in love with how the film was shot, as cinematographer Oswald Morris did. It was shot so that it'd allow me to relax, breathe in the scenery surrounding the events concerning Tevye and his family, soak up the atmosphere, appreciate the magnitude of the story being told, and acknowledge why places like Anatevka are so special to Tevye and his fellow townspeople.
The opening shot with the fiddler playing his violin on the rooftop by the sunset nearby is among the most stunning images I've ever seen in film. You can enjoy the music being played while also being lost in the translucence of the shot at hand. I cannot help but admire the colors, the visual presentation, the silhouette of the fiddler, and the overall visual composition of the movie.
Getting back to the characters, director Norman Jewison helped maintain his focus on them as they all wrapped their heads around the validity of their traditional practices and what place they could have had in modern society, especially when everybody could have decided for themselves what and who they wanted in their lives, as Tevye's daughters demonstrated. Whenever Tevye had to stand or sit to himself in monologue as he contemplated all the different ways certain situations could go, Jewison excelled in keeping it so that we, as the audience, would've felt like we were in Tevye's head and watching him make his tough decisions depending on what he thought was most appropriate not just for himself, but also for his family and friends.
Almost all the songs that made the musical work so well have been brought into the movie and worked just as efficiently as in the original stage show. They include not just 'Sunrise, Sunset' but also the following:
Tradition
If I Were a Rich Man
Matchmaker, Matchmaker
Miracle of Miracles
To Life
Anatevka
and More!
If you'd like to hear my thoughts on the songs, you can read my review of the musical.
As for the actors, how well have they done throughout the movie?
Now, this part of the movie, I'm about to have an absolute field day talking about because there are so many good actors here who've done a remarkable job of bringing the classic characters from the musical to life and making sure they leave as much an impact in the film as the original actors did on stage. One came here directly from the stage show to do just that, but I'll get to him soon.
First, the actress playing Golde, Norma Crane, portrayed her with a slight stubbornness, as if she was the most adherent to the traditions and the family, even compared to Tevye. But she still expressed enough tenderness to convince me that she loved her family through and through. She even conveyed her conflicted nature and concern as she wrapped her head around all the unanticipated twists and turns that she and her family had to deal with, whether by Tevye, her daughter's requests, or outside forces.
Also, Leonard Frey's performance as Motel, Tzeitel's childhood friend and eventual husband, conveyed his multifaceted personality to a tee. At first, Frey conveyed him with just enough timidity to establish his soft-hearted instincts and confidence as he proudly went – well, tried – to marry the girl of his dreams. But whenever he had to reason with Tevye about his reasons for marrying Tzeitel and other matters, it was only then that he slowly but surely unleashed his inner instincts and stood his ground as the true man that he slowly became. Even Tevye thought so when Motel told him why he wanted to marry Tzeitel. Frey honed in enough confidence to show how an inner lion was emerging through Motel's mousey shell, and it only grew as it established what kind of sensible husband Motel proved himself to be to Tzeitel. So, Frey did right by his character in the long run.
I do enjoy the slight flightiness that Molly Picon gave Yente, the matchmaker. She did an excellent job conveying a slight frivolity to express her slightly carefree antics, if not her commitment to her job as the village matchmaker. However, sometimes, Picon played her to the point of making her look a tad oblivious to what was happening in the outside world. Regardless, everything Yente had done, even if it made her traditionalist practices blind her to whomever she matched, told me that Yente was still considering their best interests at heart, even if she did not always exercise her talents on them with enough thorough assessments to know whether she was making the proper matches or not.
When the butcher, Lazar Wolf, proposed to Tevye to marry Tzeitel, Paul Mann played him as a bit of a bumbling guy, just like Tevye tended to be. I remember Tzeitel telling Tevye he was a good friend, but she wouldn't have seen him as her husband. As I see it, the one part of the relationship that would not have guaranteed a proper marriage is the age gap. Despite being on the brink of adulthood, Tzeitel was still young enough not to know what she considered the best thing to do. But the butcher looked like he was around the same age as Tevye and old enough to be Tzeitel's father and brother to Tevye as opposed to Tzeitel's husband-to-be and Tevye's son-in-law. And I got that same impression as I watched Paul Mann convey his character with as much untidiness as Tevye. But he also portrayed him with a genuine fondness, so much so that I was convinced that he meant well to Tzeitel and was long-time friends with Tevye even before Tzeitel was born.
I also admire the three actresses who played the three eldest daughters: Rosalind Harris as Tzeitel, Michele Marsh as Hodel, and Neva Small as Chava. They all carried their roles with evident weight, bringing each daughter to life with intriguing personalities while adding a touch of anguish to make them easy to sympathize with and separate enough from everyone else to feel like their own people. I don't know if they expressed enough flaws to them to make them seem imperfect outside of their rebellious natures, but maybe it's that which made them imperfect in the eyes of their father and possibly the rest of their village. So, despite their love for their father and village, there was a slight discord with what they decided was best for them and their love life.
I also find myself fond of Louis Zorich as the constable and messenger of the Czar. He played him like he genuinely knew Tevye and the other citizens of Anatevka for a long time but expressed some conflict when the Czar gave him orders to evict everybody from Anatevka. I could feel his inner struggle to carry out the orders and do right by the citizens of Anatevka when he had to carry the order out. Because of that, he played him with such a level of sophistication that it made him feel less like an everyday Russian villain and more like an everyday pal at war with himself over his alliances. It added so much depth to Zorich’s character this way, just as I recall seeing out of Claude Rains with his in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
Finally, let's talk about the one actor who I thought brought a level of energy, charisma, gusto, and conflicted nature into the movie: Chaim Topol as Tevye.
Compared to all the other actors who participated in the movie with him, Topol had the most experience playing the character. He played him with panache ever since he took on the role in London's stage showing of Fiddler on the Roof, especially after Zero Mostel first mastered it on stage. As for how Topol portrayed Tevye, there are many different ways to describe his personality, if not his performance.
Sometimes, he can be a little childish, but he can also be brash. Sometimes, he can be flighty and cheerful, but other times, he can be pretty raw. Sometimes, he can be pretty wishy-washy, but other times, he can be too domineering. One minute, you're wondering whether he can even think for himself. In the next, you start looking at him like he's finally beginning to understand what went on around him and trying to work out the ins and outs of where he stood and what he could've done to tolerate what he considered harmful behavior. It's interesting to watch him react to all the different things around him, not just within his family circle but also within his social circle as far as his village was concerned.
It gets to a point where, after putting up with Tevye in all his different emotional ranges for so long, there is no one way to look at him. Whether he was conscientious or too uneven to think straight about what and who he dealt with is indiscernible. And you know what? I still find it one of the greatest strengths of Tevye's character as a hardcore traditionalist. Topol nailed down all those facets of Tevye when he played him on stage before, but as he reprised his role in the film, he managed to sink even further into his role and bring him to life with potentially more aspects to his character that only enriched him throughout the story.
Speaking of which, while I may already have mentioned this regarding the acting, I should also highlight the characters themselves.
Yente, the matchmaker, did seem like a very contented, comfortable woman who's had a knack for finding the right match for the right people, even if she did it for so long that she never thought to take a step back and see whether her sense of arrangement was going to guarantee a long-lasting relationship for whomever she paired together.
I want to talk about Tevye's daughters as well. I remember the main three of the five daughters having varying personalities in the musical, with the two younger daughters barely participating in the plot. However, in this take of Fiddler on the Roof, all three of the eldest daughters expressed varying complexity and rebellion to their characters, mainly because of their age and different interests in how they decided to find their husbands.
With Tzeitel, the eldest, there's a sense that she was the most vocal about who she decided to marry and pick for a husband, even though she was not without some fantasizing about who the matchmaker could have found for her as a soulmate. Even then, it's still apparent she was disheartened by the idea of having Lazar Wolf for a husband, for she set her eyes on her childhood friend, Motel.
Meanwhile, Tevye's second eldest daughter, Hodel, was more average and regular as a daughter. She seemed to barely have any complaints about the matchmaking prospects – at least, until Perchik came along.
And finally, there's the middle daughter, Chava, who I think is the most rebellious of the daughters because of how she always read books in a village where she was not supposed to be doing that and instead bred and raised to learn about house chores, cooking, cleaning and how to tend to her husband and children. But once she was saved from some bullies, who taunted her in the fields, by Fyedka, a Christian man, she fell in love with him, only she decided to not only marry him, but they had the gall to marry in secret without Chava's family's knowledge.
I remember one scene where Tevye introduced Motel and Perchik to his daughters. 'Hodel has my wit,' Tevye said at one point. If that was the case, Chava must have had his sense of audacity, which is a little intriguing considering how what she did was deemed too sacrilegious to Tevye to the point of disowning her for it.
So, the three daughters' differing personalities made for a compelling family drama that stemmed from their different ideas of proper marriage.
Motel, Tzeitel's boyfriend, also expressed competence, humility, and inner strength from someone considered one of the feebler men in town. As I mentioned, he's been Tzeitel's best friend since their childhood before proving himself quite efficient as a village tailor as he constantly sewed and made clothes for everybody. But even he started having different ideas of what constituted proper lifestyles, for he was saving for a sewing machine, which he believed would've helped him with his job most speedily and by the bulk. Outside of Tzeitel's requests for marriage and the creeping forces of the Cossacks, this also demonstrated the conflicts he and his fellow village folk dealt with regarding traditional values versus modern values and whether or not there could be any semblance of middle ground between them.
As for Tevye's wife, Golde, she too was firm about her traditional upbringing and religious beliefs to the point of never questioning them once. But at the same time, Golde also expressed a more supportive side of her, like when she had to try to set Tevye's mind at ease about all the strange things going on with her, their family, and the town, and that Golde was unwavered – or, at least, she tried to be – by all the unanticipated circumstances going on with them.
And finally, there's Tevye, the proud dairyman who lived in town doing what he knew he was best at while also lamenting how he was stuck with this lifestyle and was hoping for better things for himself and his family. So there's some contentedness in Tevye's constant work schedule and manageability in town, but also a sense of conflict all at once. But when things started slipping into his family and even his village's lifestyles that he thought were too unusual, avant-garde, or new to belong in either one, then he would've taken a step back to assess the pros and cons of all that came forth in town, whether it's the new practices or even the men whom his daughters sought out for a husband. It shows that he’s a somewhat carefree guy who's a good deal committed to his tradition while also feeling open-minded enough to let certain things slide, especially if he thought it was in his daughters' best benefit.
However, when things started to reach rockier terrain, like with his middle daughter, Chava, Tevye began to doubt how far he should go before he felt like he had dishonored the tradition he loved so much. In response, he cut off all ties with Chava. As he pointed out during his self-monologue about Chava marrying a Christian man behind his back, if he had bent too far, he would break.
It would usually seem improper of him to disown Chava for this action. But here's where the issues get a little muddy. Tevye recognized Chava's choice for a husband, Fyedka, and distrusted him because he came from, of all places, the Christian portion of Anatevka and was thus likely closer to the Cossacks and the Czar by faith. During the 'Tradition' number, Tevye introduced the two portions of town while looking at the Christian branch and suspecting them of being confused and unorderly. As he and the townspeople did, they kept things tidy between them by having one never bother the other.
Now, it was fascinating to watch him react to the marriages of some of the other members of his family, such as Tzeitel with Motel, especially since Tevye was supposed to bless the marriage between Tzeitel and his friend Lazar Wolf, whereas he still found value in joining Tzeitel in holy matrimony with Motel, part of which was arranged through a dream he made up. He told Golde how her grandmother, also named Tzeitel, warned him about the dangers of marrying Tzeitel off to Lazar Wolf and that they would've been haunted by the ghost of Lazar Wolf's deceased wife. It was pretty hilarious but also no less beautiful to watch. On stage, there was only so much that could be performed with just the effects and the costuming. Here, they went all out with the costuming, movements, mood, and effects necessary to pull it off for Fiddler on the Roof as a movie.
And with his second eldest daughter, Hodel, it was interesting to watch him react to the idea of her marrying Perchik, a passerby wanderer who expressed a committed personality to him as he wanted to rally some of his fellow people into a war against the Czar and his people. Perchik may have come across as entirely unfamiliar and new to someone like Tevye. However, Tevye's reactions and inner dilemmas still tell me that Tevye loved his daughters too much to consider them worth prioritizing over his traditions. But even then, that's why I find his reaction to Chava marrying outside of the faith fascinating, even if others may interpret how he handled it as crossing the line. Even today, interfaith marriage is still a pretty touchy subject, regardless of religious practices.
Even as I saw Tevye approve of his two eldest daughters' marriages, I saw it as proof that love has no shape or predetermined form to take on as long as the lovers knew they loved each other. Still, when it concerned marrying outside of your faith, I can understand how it would be a generally controversial issue.
Long story short, do you remember what I said about how I like how there was no way to look at Tevye? One of the reasons I like that about Tevye is because it tells me there are so many layers to unveil about this character and that they were all in conflict with each other but still made one person. As I elaborated in my review of the original musical, there's no other character I can think of who evoked this kind of complicated reaction out of me outside of Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind. There were many different ways in which the characters worked off each other depending on how much they shared in common or how little they turned out to have shared in common.
And I did not realize this until just recently. Since Perchik led a revolution against the Czar and his people, he would technically have sewn the seeds that would've grown into the Communist rule that formed the Soviet Union in 1922. Reflecting on what kind of infamous reputation Russia left behind as a Communist country left me to reevaluate Perchik for what he preached and believed, especially compared to the practices that Tevye, his family, and Anatevka made.
I may have pointed this out in the musical review, but I'll throw it out again.
One of the strengths of this movie lies in how it addresses the different sociopolitical systems going on with Yiddish societies in the early 20th century and how much they expected to abide by their religious practices, even if modern techniques and technology would've guaranteed to make things much more accessible and manageable for them all.
What I also admire about this film, as far as its emphasis on tradition is concerned, is how so many new things erupted around Tevye and Anatevka, challenging them on their faith and devotion to it. Ultimately, this movie is saying that the traditions they practice are not wrong; it's just that some practices need to be dropped to make way for what's healthy for everyone about this tradition.
I might as well take a cue from Tevye and spit this out.
As the good book (that I read) says:
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
In this case, the customs are the branches, the tradition is the vine, and it's more a matter of which branches grow old, wither, and bear no fruit on their own and which ones need to be hacked off because of that to make room for new branches to grow on. And even then, that's not to cast a negative light on the traditional practices that could come across as too restrictive or micromanaging. It's just a matter of maintaining what is the most valuable about one's tradition while being flexible about it and making room for what's new but healthier and more advantageous.
It leads to what I still find intriguing and vital about Fiddler on the Roof. What happens when a town that is committed to its centuries-old tradition is suddenly surrounded by sudden eruptions of change, whether it's from a familial scale, like with Tevye, or from a widespread angle, like with Anatevka versus the Czar, his soldiers, and the Cossacks? There's a lot to unpack from this movie, and they all provide great food for thought to ponder when we reflect on what happened in the past and how we got to where we ended up today.
In addition, it's not just Tevye. Sometimes, the movie also has a good sense of humor.
There's one scene where, during a meeting/debate in the rabbi's office about the legitimacy of divorce under traditional laws, they were approached by a man who brought forth good news about a new arrival in town. The next scene had the villagers gathering around, and at first, I thought they gathered to see the birth of a new baby. But then it took one character to say, 'What is it?' and it turns out that they were gathering to see Motel's new sewing machine that he saved up for. That was a genuinely funny way to build up the anticipation. But shortly afterwards, it revealed that someone did indeed have a baby, and it was Tzeitel and Motel. But the first instance still served as a good fake-out.
Of course, as pleasant as it was to see both of those occurring all at once, it also was much needed as we prepared ourselves for the bombshell to be dropped by Chava, who wanted to talk to Tevye about marrying Fyedka, to which he absolutely refused.
But even that scene was not without its humor. During one of Tevye's following tirades about maintaining control in the family, he shouted about wanting to see Motel's new sewing machine. Next, he went to the doorstep, peeked inside, and said, 'Now we can go home.'
It's hilarious and intriguing how this movie brought forth so many painful moments while sprinkling them in between with some moments of levity to keep them from being total downers.
I also should talk about Jerome Robbins' choreography. Much like how he directed the choreography for West Side Story and had the privilege of doing the same for the film, the same thing occurred concerning Fiddler on the Roof. As I recall from his contributions to West Side Story in the movie, he was no slouch in unleashing the melodic movements among the actors and the magnificence behind them for Fiddler on the Roof.
Much like how it's performed on stage, all the dancers went to town with their dancing skills and how much their sense of movement and rhythm reflected the mood, atmosphere, and energy of the musical numbers being performed. Sometimes, they were modest, like in 'Tradition' regarding the citizens' celebratory methods of traditional marriage practices. Other times, they were exuberant, like with the wedding sequence where all the dancers reflected the excitement of the occasion with their frivolous dancing and even the balancing of the wine bottles on their heads.
I can already tell you that comparing Fiddler on the Roof, the musical, to the movie gives me a more evident idea now of what benefits theater has and what benefits cinema has when it comes to stage adaptations. For example, on stage, we can see the characters, the sets, their dialogue, the musical numbers, the choreography, and everything. But when it's all filmed for cinema, everything is still there with the benefit of perfecting whatever little details must be done to add to the collectively authentic feel of the story being told. For example, this is one of those situations where you don't need to ad-lib if anything goes slightly off; you can always go back and shoot it again until you get it right. In Fiddler on the Roof's case, everything from Jerome Robbins's choreography to the expressions and even the locations were so on point.
And for what we got, I feel relieved that I was introduced to Fiddler on the Roof through this movie long before I became acquainted with the musical. Everything about the performances was masterful. The songs, as always, are first-rate. The music by John Williams is some of his most incredible early starts. The cinematography is stunning. The directing helped strengthen the story. And the scope added to the epic yet ultimately tragic and thought-provoking conclusions that were on the horizon for the characters in the movie. That convinced me that no matter when a movie comes out, it doesn't have to follow a particular trend. All it needs is the right artists to make the magic happen, take the suitable musicals, and turn them into something spectacular and meaningful.
Fiddler on the Roof. The values I discovered from this gem are a tradition worth preaching.
My Rating
A
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