Fiddler on the Roof (film)

Fiddler on the Roof
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Norman Jewison
Produced by	Norman Jewison Uncredited: Walter Mirisch
Screenplay by	Joseph Stein
Based on	Tevye and His Daughters by Sholem Aleichem
Starring	Chaim Topol Norma Crane Leonard Frey Molly Picon Paul Mann
Music by	Jerry Bock (Original Musical) Sheldon Harnick (Lyrics) John Williams (Song Score Adaptation)
Cinematography	Oswald Morris
Edited by	Antony Gibbs Robert Lawrence
Production company	The Mirisch Production Company
Distributed by	United Artists
Release dates	November 3, 1971 (1971-11-03)
Running time	179 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Hebrew Russian
Budget	$9 million
Box office	$83.3 million

Fiddler on the Roof is a 1971 American musical comedy-drama film produced and directed by Norman Jewison. It is an adaptation of the 1964 Broadway musical of the same name, with music composed by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and screenplay by Joseph Stein. The film won three Academy Awards, including one for arranger-conductor John Williams. It was nominated for several more, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Chaim Topol as Tevye, and Best Supporting Actor for Leonard Frey, who played Mottel Kamzoil the Tailor (both had originally acted in the musical; Topol as Tevye in the London production and Frey in a minor part as Mendel, the rabbi's son). The decision to cast Topol, instead of Zero Mostel, as Tevye was a somewhat controversial one, as the role had originated with Mostel and he had made it famous. Years later, Jewison explained that he felt Mostel's larger-than-life personality, while fine on stage, would cause film audiences to see him (i.e., Zero Mostel, the actor) rather than the character of Tevye.

The film centers on the Tevye family, a Jewish family living in the town of Anatevka, in the Russian Empire, in 1905. Anatevka is broken into two sections: a small Orthodox Jewish section and a larger Russian Orthodox Christian section. Tevye notes that, "We don't bother them, and so far, they don't bother us." Throughout the film, Tevye breaks the fourth wall by talking at times, directly to the audience or to the heavens (to God), for the audience's benefit. Much of the story is told in musical form.

Tevye is not wealthy, partly because he has a lot of children, despite working hard, like most Jews in Anatevka. He and his sharp-tongued wife, Golde, have five daughters and cannot afford to give them much in the way of dowries. According to their tradition, they have to rely on the village matchmaker, Yente, to find them husbands. Life in the little town of Anatevka is very hard and Tevye speaks not only of the difficulties of being poor but also of the Jewish community's constant fear of harassment from their non-Jewish neighbors. In addition, Tevye has a lame horse that adds to the misery of being poor, and has to pull the wagon by himself.

Plot

Act 1

In 1905, Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman living in the Russian village of Anatevka, explains to the audience what keeps the Jews of Anatevka going is the balance they achieve through following their ancient traditions, comparing their precarious circumstance to a fiddler on a roof: trying to scratch out a pleasant tune, while not breaking their necks. The fiddler appears throughout the film as a metaphoric reminder of the Jews' ever-present fears and danger, and also as a symbol of the traditions Tevye is trying to hold on to as his world changes around him. While in town, Tevye meets Perchik, a radical Marxist from Kiev. Tevye invites Perchik to stay with him and his family, and as a deal, offers him food, in exchange for Perchik tutoring his daughters.

Through Yente, a matchmaker, Tevye arranges a marriage for his oldest daughter, Tzeitel, to Lazar Wolf, a wealthy butcher. However, Tzeitel is in love with her childhood sweetheart, Motel (pronounced "mottle") Kamzoil the tailor, and begs her father not to make her marry the much older butcher. Initially angry because he has already made an "agreement" with Wolf, Tevye realizes that Tzeitel loves Motel and yields to his daughter's demands. To get Tzeitel and Tevye out of the agreement with Lazar, Tevye claims to have had a nightmare, which he repeats to his wife Golde. In the nightmare, he says that Golde's deceased Grandmother Tzeitel told him that Tzeitel is supposed to marry Motel, as it was decided in heaven. Also in the nightmare, Lazar Wolf's late wife, Fruma-Sarah, warns Tevye that if Tzeitel marries Lazar, she will kill Tzeitel after three weeks of marriage. Golde concludes that the dream was a message to be followed from their ancestors, and Tzeitel and Motel arrange to be married.

Meanwhile, after one of Perchik's lessons with Bielke and Shprintze (the youngest of Tevye's daughters), Tevye's second daughter, Hodel, mocks Perchik's interpretation of the story of Leah he told her sisters. He, in turn, criticizes her for hanging on to the old traditions of her religion and tells her that the world is changing. To illustrate this, he dances with her, because the opposite sexes dancing together is considered forbidden to Orthodox Jews. The two are shown to be falling in love, and Perchik tells Hodel that they just changed an old tradition.

The constable is basically sympathetic to the Jewish villagers, though not enough to give up his job in their defense. He resists when ordered to put on a "spontaneous" anti-Jewish demonstration, but gives in to keep his job. Before Tzeitel's wedding, he warns Tevye of the impending demonstration.

Later, at Tzeitel and Motel's wedding, an argument breaks out between Tevye and Lazar Wolf, who first decides to accept the fact that he is not married by giving the new couple gifts. However, when Tevye wants to share something with him, Lazar Wolf angrily does not want to listen to him and states that he should have been married to Tzeitel, as it was first promised. Another argument breaks out over whether a girl should be able to choose her own husband. Perchik addresses the crowd and says that, since they love each other, it should be left for the couple to decide and creates further controversy by asking Hodel to dance with him. The two begin to dance, and gradually, the crowd warms to the idea—with Tevye and Golde joining, then Motel and Tzeitel. The wedding then proceeds with great joy. Suddenly, the military presence in the town and the constable arrive and begin a pogrom, attacking the Jews and their property. The constable stops the attack on the wedding celebration after the "radical" Perchik is wounded in the scuffle with the Tsar's men; however, he allows the pogrom to continue in the form of massive property damage to the village of Anatevka. Tevye and the immediate family stand still, until Tevye angrily orders them to clean up, following the damage, instead of standing around. Tevye has no words to say, except silently, asking why God allowed this to happen to them, without any answers.

Act 2

Months later, Perchik prepares to leave Anatevka for the revolution and proposes to Hodel, to which she accepts. When they tell Tevye, he is furious that they have decided to marry without his permission and with Perchik leaving Hodel behind in Anatevka, but again he relents because they love each other. This time, Tevye tells Golde the truth and, as a side effect, they are prompted to re-evaluate their own arranged marriage and relationship, realizing that, despite paired by a matchmaker, they do love each other.

Weeks later, Perchik is arrested in Kiev and is exiled to Siberia. Hodel decides to join him there. She promises Tevye that she and Perchik will be married under a canopy there. Meanwhile, Tzeitel and Motel become parents, and Motel finally buys the sewing machine for which he has long scrimped and saved. By now they are becoming respected members of the community, and a close, almost parent-child relationship is developing between Motel and Tevye and Golde—who, not so long ago, had scorned Motel as a nobody.

Meanwhile, Tevye's third daughter Chava has fallen in love with a young Russian peasant—a Russian Orthodox Christian—named Fyedka. When Fyedka introduces himself to Tevye, with just a few words, Tevye advises Chava to be just distant friends, because of his religion, however, when she eventually works up the courage to ask Tevye to allow her to marry him, not agreeing with the tradition of not being allowed to marry outside the family's faith. Horrified, Tevye forbids her to see him again, as well as to not have any contact or to mention his name again, but they elope and are married in a Russian Orthodox church, as Golde would find out when she meets up with the priest upon hearing about the marriage. Grief-stricken, she runs off to find Tevye doing his rounds and tells him everything. He then urges Golde to go home to the other children, telling her that Chava is dead to the family, and that they shall forget her all together. Chava later arrives to ask Tevye to accept both Fyedka and Chava as married. In a soliloquy reminiscent of those spoken by Tevye concerning his other daughters, but with a radically different conclusion, Tevye concludes that he cannot accept Chava marrying a non-Jew, in effect abandoning the Jewish faith, so he disowns her.

One winter day, the Jews of Anatevka are notified that they have to leave the village or be forced out by the government; they have three days. Tevye, his family and friends begin packing up to leave, heading for various parts of the United States and other places: Yente the matchmaker to Ottoman Palestine, Lazar Wolf to Chicago and Tzeitel and Motel to Warsaw (until they make enough money to join the rest of the family in New York). Tevye did receive letters from Hodel mentioning that while Perchik stays in the Siberian prison that Hodel is working hard, and it's hoped that when Perchik is released, that they would join the others in the United States. Chava and her husband Fyedka come to Tevye's house and tell her family that they are leaving, too—unable to stay in a place that would force innocent people out. They head to Kraków, Poland. Tevye shows signs of forgiving Chava by murmuring under his breath "And God be with you", silently urging Tzeitel to repeat his words to Chava. Golde calls out to Chava and Fyedka, telling them where they will be living in New York.

As the mass evacuation of Anatevka takes place, the Constable silently watches. The community forms their circle at a crossroad for one last time before scattering in different directions. Tevye spots the fiddler and motions to him to come along, symbolizing that even though he must leave his town, his traditions will always be with him.

Cast

• Chaim Topol as Tevye
• Norma Crane as Golde, his wife
• Leonard Frey as Motel Kamzoil, the tailor, Tzeitel's eventual husband
• Molly Picon as Yente, the matchmaker
• Paul Mann as Lazar Wolf, the butcher, Tzeitel's older suitor
• Rosalind Harris as Tzeitel, the oldest daughter
• Michele Marsh as Hodel, the second daughter
• Neva Small as Chava, the third daughter
• Michael Glaser as Perchik, the revolutionary, Hodel's eventual husband
• Raymond Lovelock as Fyedka, a Christian, Chava's eventual husband
• Elaine Edwards as Shprintze, the fourth daughter
• Candy Bonstein as Bielke, the fifth daughter
• Shimen Rushkin as Mordcha
• Zvee Scooler as Rabbi
• Louis Zorich as Constable
• Alfie Scopp as Avram
• Howard Goorney as Nachum
• Barry Dennen as Mendel
• Ruth Madoc as Fruma-Sarah, the butcher's late wife
• Patience Collier as Grandmother Tzeitel
• Tutte Lemkow as Fiddler
• Marika Rivera as Rifka
• Kenneth Waller (uncredited)

Musical numbers

1. "Prologue / Tradition" – Tevye and Company
2. "Matchmaker" – Tzeitel, Hodel, Chava, Shprintze, and Bielke
3. "If I Were a Rich Man" – Tevye
4. "Sabbath Prayer" – Tevye, Golde, and Chorus
5. "To Life" – Tevye, Lazar Wolf, and Male Company
6. "Tevye's Monologue (Tzeitel and Motel)" – Tevye
7. "Miracle of Miracles" – Motel
8. "Tevye's Dream" – Tevye, Golde, Grandmother Tzeitel, Rabbi, Fruma-Sarah, and Chorus
9. "Sunrise, Sunset" – Tevye, Golde, Perchik, Hodel, and Chorus
10. "Wedding Celebration / The Bottle Dance"
11. "Tevye's Monologue (Hodel and Perchik)" – Tevye
12. "Do You Love Me?" – Tevye and Golde
13. "Far from the Home I Love" – Hodel
14. "Chava Ballet Sequence (Chava)" – Tevye
15. "Tevye's Monologue (Chava and Fyedka)" – Tevye
16. "Anatevka" – Tevye, Golde, Lazar Wolf, Yente, Mendel, Mordcha, and Company

Production

Principal photography was done at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. Most of the exterior shots were done in SFR Yugoslavia—specifically in Mala Gorica, Lekenik, and Zagreb within the Yugoslav constituent republic of Croatia. Isaac Stern provided the violin solos.

Norman Jewison plays a Rabbi during the "Tevye's Dream" sequence, singing the repeated words: "MAZELTOV. MAZELTOV".

Differences from the Broadway musical

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)". Lyrical portions of "Tevye's Dream (Tailor Motel Kemzoil)", were omitted to avoid repetition. Also, the song "Tradition" omits the dialogue between Reb Nachum the beggar, (who in the film version, is a village idiot, who cannot speak except to make irritating wordless noises) and Lazar Wolf, and the dialogue of Yente attempting to match Avram's son with an almost-blind daughter was omitted. In "Tradition", the argument between two men, about whether a sold horse is actually a mule was changed to whether a horse claimed to be six years old was actually twelve. Tevye whispers to one of the men that "it was really twelve years old", thus starting the heated argument again.

Seven additional scenes were added to the film:

1. The Constable gets orders from his superior for the "demonstration" against the Jews (referred to by the superior as "Christ-killers") in Anatevka.
2. Perchik is arrested at a workers' rally in Kiev.
3. Golde goes to the priest to look for Chava (described by her in the stage production).
4. Motel is getting dressed for his upcoming wedding to Tzeitel.
5. The Rabbi and his students, inside the synagogue, receive the news about a new arrival, in reference to Motel's new sewing machine.
6. The Rabbi takes the Torah out of the ark for the last time, inside the synagogue, and takes it for the long journey as the Rabbi weeps and chants quietly, having to abandon his synagogue, that he had been using for a long time.
7. Tevye feeds his animals in the barn for the final time, and tells his lame horse to take care of his leg, and to treat his new owner and master well.

The scene with Hodel and Perchik, where he plans to leave to start a revolution, was extended in the film. A new song intended to be sung by Perchik was recorded ("Any Day Now"), but it was omitted from the final print and is included in the 2004 re-released soundtrack. When the film was re-released in 1979, 32 minutes were cut, including the songs "Far from the Home I Love" and "Anatevka".

Another difference between the film and the stage versions of "Fiddler on the Roof" occurs in the stage version, where Tevye and Lazar Wolf meet in the tavern to discuss the proposed marriage by Lazar Wolf to Tzeitel, while in the film version, the proposal takes place inside Lazar Wolf's home, which is the only place in the village which is owned by a wealthy person, whose home is filled with golden artifacts, as well as a stern female servant. When Tevye comments to the servant about all of those decorations, being the result of all of the slaughtering of the cattle, the servant firmly tells Tevye "Don't Touch Anything", before she disappears, and Tevye browses into one of the golden artifacts before Lazar Wolf comes into the room, after dealing with the slaughter of an unseen animal. After Tevye agrees to the marriage then the two of them celebrate inside the tavern.

Although the film is a faithful adaptation of the original stage version, compared with most adaptations, Fiddler scholar Jan Lisa Huttner has noted several differences between stage and screen. Between Fiddler on the Roof's Broadway debut in 1964 and the film's 1971 release, changes in American culture and politics, as well as developments in Israel, affected the perception and portrayal of characters like Yente and Perchik, as well as the general setting of Anatevka. Bea Arthur's Broadway stage presence as tall, booming Yente contrasts with Molly Picon's tiny, timid portrayal in the film. Besides singing "The Rumor", Arthur had more dialogue than Picon, whose only scenes were with women. Perchik's song to Hodel, "Now I Have Everything", was replaced by a scene in Kiev. 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.

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 an intermission featuring entr'acte music, and exit music is played at the end after the closing credits.

Reception

The film was a big hit, earning United Artists profits of $6.1 million, plus distribution profits of $8 million.

Awards

The film won three Academy Awards in 1972 and two Golden Globes in 1971. It won Academy Awards for Best Song Score Adaptation (John Williams), Best Cinematography (Oswald Morris), and Best Sound (Gordon McCallum, David Hildyard).

It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Topol.

American Film Institute recognition

• AFI's 100 Years…100 Songs:
  • Sunrise, Sunset - Nominated
  • If I Were a Rich Man - Nominated
• AFI's 100 Years…100 Cheers - #82

See also

• List of American films of 1971

External links

• Fiddler on the Roof at IMDb
• Fiddler on the Roof at the TCM Movie Database
• Fiddler on the Roof at Box Office Mojo
• Fiddler on the Roof at Rotten Tomatoes