Amazon.com video review:
This rousing musical, based on the stories of Shalom Aleichem,
takes place in pre-revolutionary Russia and centers on the life of
Tevye (Topol), a milkman who is trying to keep his family's traditions
in place while marrying off his three older daughters. Yet, times are
changing and the daughters want to make their own matches, breaking
free of many of the constricting customs required of them by
Judaism. In the background of these events, Russia is on the brink of
revolution and Jews are feeling increasingly unwelcome in their
villages. Tevye--who expresses his desire for sameness in the opening
number, "Tradition"--is trying to keep everyone, and everything,
together. The movie is strongly allegorical--Tevye represents the
common man--but it does it dexterously, and the resulting film is a
stunning work of art. The music is excellent (it won Oscars for the
scoring and the sound), with plenty of familiar songs such as
"Sunrise, Sunset" and "If I Were a Rich Man," which you'll be humming
long after the movie is over. Isaac Stern's violin--he provides the
music for the fiddler on the roof--is hauntingly beautiful. And
despite the serious subject matter, the film is quite comedic in
parts; it also well deserves the Oscar it won for
cinematography. --Jenny Brown
