This year marks the 40th anniversary of the film Fiddler on the Roof, nominated for eight Academy Awards in 1971, winner of three, and generally beloved by most fans of musicals, film, and Jewishness. What better way to celebrate than with a glossy new Blu-ray and DVD double package? The film’s quality has never looked better, though the transfer is not quite perfect, and the music has never sounded more vibrant. While I personally think the film is quite dated it’s true that being remastered in high definition adds a much-needed modern feel to the proceedings.
Fiddler on the Roof was adapted from a hit Broadway musical of the same name that debuted in 1964, starring the incomparable Zero Mostel as family patriarch Reb Tevye. It was nominated for ten Tony Awards that year and won nine, including Best Musical, and spawned four Broadway revivals, besides being for a time the longest running show in Broadway history. It’s both easy and impossible to adapt such successful and popular material for the big screen; on one hand, the quality seems so high that you can’t screw it up too much, but on the other, the devotion to the original show makes any changes to the production a sore spot with hardcore fans (and Lord knows, there aren’t many more fervent fans out there than theater buffs).
The decision of filmmaker Norman Jewison to cast Topol, the star of the London stage production, rather than Mostel was at first a warning sign for many Fiddler fans. Why mess with such an undeniably good thing? Yet his gamble paid off, for Topol’s performance is the heart of the film and the part that stands the test of time best. He epitomizes the lovable and yet overbearing father who can’t let his love of tradition and control stand in the way of the happiness of those he loves most—in this case, his five daughters. Three are of marrying age, but because the Tevyes are so poor, no dowries can be provided for them. As a result, Tevye and his steadfast wife, Golde (Norma Crane) enlist the local matchmaker to find the girls proper (as in rich) husbands. Yet modernity is quickly encroaching on the old-fashioned and sheltered ways of their village, both in the form of the Russian Revolution and in the notion of young girls marrying for love. Over the course of the film, each of Tevye’s three eldest daughters will find themselves a man without the help of the matchmaker, and Tevye’s slow and reluctant acceptance of each is what drives the story forward. Meanwhile, the pogroms and the repression of the Jews in Tsarist Russia on the eve of the revolution takes the familial drama at the center of the story and places it in a larger historical context, with large doses of heartache and hope as the villagers try to figure out what their place is in this strange, terrible new world.
Most of the acting is in that over-the-top style characteristic of the last sixties and early seventies, as well as characteristic of the stage. Many members of the ensemble, in particular the three elder Tevye daughters and the village tailor, Motel, played in an Oscar-nominated performance by Leonard Frey, seem to be projecting to the nosebleed seats of a gigantic Broadway theatre. This is a tad overwhelming when the film is being viewed on a moderate-sized television inn a less-than-moderate sized apartment. Topol’s performance is larger than life, to be sure, but for his character it is much more fitting. Apart from him, the most timeless quality of Fiddler on the Roof is definitely the music. The songs from the original show are heartwarming, catchy, and fun, as all the best show tunes should be, and the musical score by John Williams (one of his earliest, before he became the juggernaut that he is today) is also a standout. It is indeed a beautifully produced production, with the strange epic quality that movie musicals today are sorely lacking. However, as much as it may sound blasphemous to say, I feel that Fiddler on the Roof could benefit a lot not just from a shiny new DVD release like this one, but a shiny new remake that would preserve the music and the story but present it all with more modern filmmaking techniques. Yet there is no contemporary actor that comes to mind who could fill Topol’s sizable, legendary shoes, so for now, enjoy the Blu-ray release, and remember a time when filmmaking was more like theatre—big, loud, and in song.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Naturally, this being an anniversary edition Blu-ray, the set is chock full of special features and retrospectives, including commentary by Jewison and Topol on the both high-def and standard discs. The rest of the extras are confined to the Blu-ray, such as:
- Two featurettes on director Norman Jewison’s work: Norman Jewison, Filmmaker and Norman Jewison Looks Back.
- John Williams: Creating a Musical Tradition, a must-watch for anyone interested in film scores, especially those of the legendary Mr. Williams, as well as a separate featurette on the musical numbers titled Songs of Fiddler on the Roof.
- A demo for a deleted song, “Any Day Now,” that was made specifically for the movie but never used. Considering how many great songs are already featured in the three-hour running time, it’s no great loss, but it’s interesting to hear nonetheless.
- Inside looks at the production of the film, including Set in Reality: Production Design and a storyboard–to-film comparison. These are really only must-sees if you are involved in film production yourself…or at least wish you were.
- Trailers, teasers and TV spots for the various theatrical and DVD releases of the film since 1971.
"Fiddler on the Roof" is on sale April 5, 2011 and is rated G. Drama, Musical. Directed by Norman Jewison. Written by Joseph Stein, Sholom Aleichem. Starring Norma Crane, Topol.
