Fiddler on the Roof (movie)

Fiddler on the Roof is an epic 1971 musical film. It is an adaptation of a Broadway musical with the same name. Norman Jewison directed the film. Joseph Stein and Sholem Aleichem wrote the script. The film stars Topol, Norma Crane, Leonard Frey, Molly Picon, and Paul Mann. The film s about Tevye, a Jew in AnatevkaIt. He has to reevaluate his values with the marriages of his daughters. It was nominated for eight Oscars and won three Academy Awards in 1972.

Fiddler on the Roof
Directed byNorman Jewison
Produced byNorman Jewison
Screenplay byJoseph Stein
StarringTopol

Norma Crane Leonard Frey Molly Picon

Paul Mann
Music byJerry Bock, John Williams (adaption)
CinematographyOswald Morris
Edited byAnton Gibbs, Robert Lawrence
Production
company
The Mirisch Production Company
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
November 3, 1971
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$9 million
Box office$83.3 million

Plot

The film is broken into two acts and an intermission.

Act 1

It follows the family of the milkman Tevye in the Ukrainian Town of Anatekva in Imperial Russia. The people in the town are compared to a fiddler on the roof, who use tradition to stay on their feet and "scratch out a pleasant, simple tune." The story deals with Tevye coming to terms with deviations from tradition. The oldest daughter Motel ends up marrying the tailor Tzeitel out of love and not as arranged by the father. At their wedding, the two dance together, which is shocking and new for the town, as men and women cannot dance together. Then Russians come and break up the wedding and vandalize the place.

Act 2

The second daughter, Motel falls in love with and marries a Jewish Marxist student Perchik from Kiev. Tevye reluctantly accepts their love and the two eventually settle in Siberia. The youngest daughter Chava falls in love with Chava, a Russian Orthodox Christian. Tevye does not accept that Chava marries a non-Jew. Near the end, the villagers of Anatekva are forced to leave and evacuate the town to Europe, Israel and the United States. At various points in the film, a fiddler appears and plays the fiddle.

Cast

Music

John Williams adapted the music from Jerry Bock. The violin soloist was Isaac Stern.

  1. "Prologue / Tradition" – Tevye and Company
  2. "Overture"
  3. "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" – Tzeitel, Hodel, Chava, Shprintze and Bielke - 20:00
  4. "If I Were a Rich Man" – Tevye - 24:50
  5. "Sabbath Prayer" – Tevye, Golde and Chorus
  6. "To Life" – Tevye, Lazar Wolf, Townsmen and Cossacks - 49:20
  7. "Tevye's Monologue (Tzeitel and Motel)" – Tevye
  8. "Miracle of Miracles" – Motel
  9. "Tevye's Dream" – Tevye, Golde, Grandmother Tzeitel, Rabbi, Fruma-Sarah and Ghostly chorus
  10. "Sunrise, Sunset" – Tevye, Golde, Perchik, Hodel and Guests
  11. "Wedding Celebration / The Bottle Dance"
  12. "Entr'acte" – Orchestra
  13. "Tradition" (Reprise) – Chorus
  14. "Tevye's Monologue (Hodel and Perchik)" – Tevye
  15. "Do You Love Me?" – Tevye and Golde
  16. "Far from the Home I Love" – Hodel
  17. "Chava Ballet Sequence (Little Bird, Little Chavaleh)" – Tevye
  18. "Tevye's Monologue (Chava and Fyedka)" – Tevye
  19. "Anatevka" – Tevye, Golde, Lazar Wolf, Yente, Mendel, Mordcha and Full company
  20. "Exit Music"

Reception

Box Office

The movie was a financial success making over $80 million. It was the highest-grossing film in 1971.

Critical Response

The film received positive reviews by critics. The film has a 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics considered the movie a powerful and emotion work. Some thought the storyline was boring.

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