Review of Fiddler on the Roof (1971) by Barbara D — 02 Mar 2010

Fiddler on the Roof is based on the musical of the same name, which is based on Tevye the Milkman, a collection of short stories written by Yiddish author Sholem Aleichem. First of all, I haven't read the stories or seen the musical, so I definitely can't make comparisons.

Regardless, the musical is a gem. The songs are great and the score is fantastic. The score was actually orchestrated wonderfully by John Williams, who is responsible for writing some of the most famous film-tunes that we all know like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Jaws. As much as I think Williams writes great tunes, one of the problems I have with his scores as that these signature tunes play ALL THE TIME in the films they're from. Every time Darth Vader is on the screen in Star Wars, the Darth Vader music plays and on top of that, you hear the theme all the time. The same went for Philosopher's Stone (NOT SORCERER'S STONE FOR GOD'S SAKE), where Hedwig's theme plays all the time. This wasn't the case in Fiddler on the Roof. Williams actually had some variety when he fused the traditional Jewish melodies with classical music.

The songs in the movie were also wonderful. Although I think Lazar Wolf's song went on for a bit too long and was a bit irrelevant to the plot (especially since Lazar doesn't marry Tzeitel), the rest of the songs worked perfectly in the context of the film. Topol had a wonderful voice and as for Norma Crane, it's good to see an alto in a lead female role!

For me, the thing that really stood out about the film was the characters, especially Tevye. I love Tevye. He's a poor Orthodox Jew who may be old-fashioned and extremely traditional, but overall he means well and cares about his family so much. He's just so good-natured and likeable. Usually I can't stand traditionalists! Golde was a very strong character too and each of the three main daughters were really interesting.

Tzeitel is interesting because she's willing to rebel against the unfair traditions of the day and goes out for what she wants, whether people approve of it or not. Hodel is interesting because she starts out as a girl who's waiting for her prince to rescue her; an anti-feminist. But then she realises that what she really wants is to dedicate her life to the Russian Revolution (which unfortunately didn't end well). Chava is interesting because she's willing to do everything she can to get what she wants, even if it means having to leave her family.

If I had to pick a fault with this movie, it would mainly be the length. Although I didn't have a problem with it, most people won't likely want to watch a movie that almost goes for three hours, despite the fact that it's based on a stage musical.

The other fault is that although I really liked the scenes they showed portraying the persecution of the Jews, I think they could've pushed it a little further, maybe even killing off one of the characters. I'm not saying it should've been violent like Schindler's List, but I think if they had shown a bit more violence, it would've given the musical a new level of depth and showed how Anti-Semitism is wrong. To be clear though, these faults are only tiny and can be forgiven. They're only things that if done differently, the movie would've been extra-extra awesome.

I say for anyone who loves musicals, Jewish culture or likes history in general, they should definitely give it a watch. It's accurate, it's fun and it's good natured. In general, this is truly a wonderful movie.