In prerevolutionary Russia, a Jewish peasant contends with marrying off three of his daughters while growing anti-Semitic sentiment threatens his village.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Jews and Orthodox Christians live in the little village of Anatevka in the pre-revolutionary Russia of the Czars. Among the traditions of the Jewish community, the matchmaker arranges the match and the father approves it. The milkman Reb Tevye is a poor man that has been married for twenty-five years with Golde and they have five daughters. When the local matchmaker Yente arranges the match between his older daughter Tzeitel and the old widow butcher Lazar Wolf, Tevye agrees with the wedding. However Tzeitel is in love with the poor tailor Motel Kamzoil and they ask permission to Tevye to get married that he accepts to please his daughter. Then his second daughter Hodel (Michele Marsh) and the revolutionary student Perchik decide to marry each other and Tevye is forced to accept. When Perchik is arrested by the Czar troops and sent to Siberia, Hodel decides to leave her family and homeland and travel to Siberia to be with her beloved Perchik....Written by
Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Before production, Norma Crane was diagnosed with breast cancer, which would eventually kill her. She told only director Norman Jewison, co-star Topol and associate producer Patrick J. Palmer, all of whom kept her secret. See more »
Goofs
During the parade to Tzeitel and Motel's wedding with everyone holding candles, Yente's candle isn't burning. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Tevye:
A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask 'Why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous?' Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: tradition!
See more »
Crazy Credits
Topol and the cast sing "Tradition" without any opening credits rolling. At the end of the number, the fiddler, standing on the left of the screen, launches into an extensive solo while the opening credits roll on the right of the screen. See more »
Alternate Versions
Originally released at 181 minutes (with an intermission), later trimmed for 1979 reissue to 149 minutes. See more »
"Fiddler On the Roof" is the stage-to-screen adaptation of the famous musical. It tells the story of Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman in the tiny Russian village of Anatevka. This role is played by Topol, who played the character onstage in the London production of "Fiddler." We see him as a man mired in traditions, but struggling between his devout faith and the changing times when three of his daughters feel the urge to marry. The movie is beautifully shot, and tempers the story, which deals with the harsh realities of Jewish life in pre-Revolutionary Russia, with classic musical numbers sure to put a smile on your face. Between its incarnations on the stage and on screen, "Fiddler" will be immortal.
42 of 51 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
"Fiddler On the Roof" is the stage-to-screen adaptation of the famous musical. It tells the story of Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman in the tiny Russian village of Anatevka. This role is played by Topol, who played the character onstage in the London production of "Fiddler." We see him as a man mired in traditions, but struggling between his devout faith and the changing times when three of his daughters feel the urge to marry. The movie is beautifully shot, and tempers the story, which deals with the harsh realities of Jewish life in pre-Revolutionary Russia, with classic musical numbers sure to put a smile on your face. Between its incarnations on the stage and on screen, "Fiddler" will be immortal.