Fiddler on the Roof (1971) Review

Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

cinema

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My Review

“Fiddler on the Roof” is probably one of the most inspirational movies ever made. The three hour film is loaded with great musical numbers, earning an Oscar for John Williams for Best Music for his adaptation of said music from the long running Broadway play, written by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. (The two other Academy Awards for the film went for Best Sound and Best Cinematography.)

Israeli actor Chaim Topol seems to personify Tevye, the poor Jewish milkman from a small town in Czarist Russia trying to make ends meet and provide for his family. It is clear that his faith in the God of Israel is central in his life. Co-stars include Norma Crane, Rosalind Harris, Michele Marsh, Neva Small, Molly Picon, Paul Mann, Leonard Fry, Paul Michael Glaser, Raymond Lovelock, and Zvee Scooler as Rabbi.

Producer-director Norman Jewison (“In the Heat of the Night” 1967) deserves credit for this high quality production and for keeping the film faithful to the stage play written by Joseph Stein, which debuted on Broadway in 1964 and ran for ten years. Stein also penned the film’s screenplay; the film and play were adapted from the 1894 book “Tevye the Dairyman” by Sholem Aleichem (1959-1916).

“Fiddler on the Roof” was the highest grossing film of 1971, a massive blockbuster for producer Norman Jewison, The Mirisch Company, Cartier Productions, and United Artists.

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