For sheer
emotional content few musicals can rival director Norman Jewison's Fiddler on the Roof (1971); a devote
celebration of faith, life and humanity made for the Mirisch Company at a
critical juncture in Hollywood's history. By 1971 musicals were hardly
considered bankable box office. The overwhelming success of the stage play
convinced the Mirisch Company to fund the project, shot on location in and
around Zagreb in the former Yugoslavia and also at England's Pinewood Studios.
Jewison, better known for his hard-hitting dramas, assumed a monumental task in
bringing this much beloved stagecraft to the big screen. On stage, with its
vaguely designed sets, surrealistically lit to convey mood and emotions Fiddler on the Roof had been a stunning
example of stage-bound artistry and craftsmanship . On film, it demanded a more
concrete realism to depict the Russian village of Anatevka. Alas, in
re-imagining the show as a living history rather than an impressionist snapshot
something became lost in the translation.
Jewison also
had to grapple with an elephantine organization of thousands of extras, most of
whom did not speak English as their first language – if, in fact, they
understood it at all. Relying on an interpreter for crowd scenes, Jewison and
his company were besought by chronic inclement weather that refused to
cooperate, sending the entire schedule into a tailspin of delays that
threatened to end not only the film's shoot but also Jewison's career as a
director. Worse, the system behind the mounting of such super productions had
steadily eroded to a point where every movie made needed to come in on time and
on budget or face the possibility of utter financial ruin for the company
funding it.
Yet, none of
these internal stresses seems to have impacted Fiddler on the Roof, although readily Jewison was driven to
distraction by stern communications from UA’s nervous front office and prone to
occasional outbursts on the set. At the time the film was being made there was
also a minor critical backlash in the decision to cast Topol as Tevye. On
stage, veteran actor Zero Mostel had created an iconic character much beloved
and embraced by audiences and critics. Yet, in Topol the producers and director
made an inspired second choice, one that would ultimately elevate the actor’s
cache in Hollywood and seal Fiddler’s success.
Based on
Sholom Aleichem's Tevye's Daughters, Fiddler on the Roof is the story of
Tevye; a simple farmer whose idyllic pastoral life is turned topsy-turvy when
his daughters all choose to fall in love for themselves. What sacrilege! Women
do not choose who they marry. They are betrothed in arranged marriages made by
their parents. After all, it's tradition! And in the tiny Tsarist Russian
village of Anatevka, tradition is everything. Tevye, however, is not a
tyrannical patriarch. But he is very poor, relying on wife Golde (Norma Crane)
to hire Yente the matchmaker (Molly Picon) to find his five daughters suitable
husbands. Out of kindness, Tevye arranges for a visiting scholar, Perchik
(Michael Glaser) to tutor his daughters - then, an unheard of prospect for
young women.
But Tevye also
arranges for his eldest, Tzeitel (Rosalind Harris) to marry the wealthy
widower, Lazar Wolf (Paul Mann), a man thirty years her senior. The match will
ensure not only Tzeitel's own prosperity but also the family's. The only thing
it will not guarantee is love, for Tzeitel's heart belongs to the penniless,
though kindly tailor, Motel Kamzoil (Leonard Frey) instead. Meanwhile, Tevye's
second daughter, Hodel (Michele Marsh) has fallen hopelessly in love with
Perchik who is also penniless, though he loves her dearly. After much
consternation, Tevye relents to Tzeitel and Motel's marriage because he
realizes how dearly they love one another. Tevye's acceptance proves the catalyst
for Hodel's confession that she loves Perchik.
At first,
Tevye is enraged. Gradually, he relinquishes his control on Hodel also, again
because he cannot stand in the way of true love. Perchik joins the revolution
against Tsarist Russia and is exiled to Siberia. Hodel leaves home to join him,
vowing to Tevye that they too will be married under a canopy like Tzeitel and
Motel. The third act of Fiddler on the
Roof is a tragedy of epic proportions grafted onto the intimate story of a
family in steep decline. Tevye's third daughter, Chava (Neva Small) has fallen
for a handsome Russian soldier, Fyedka (Raymond Lovelock) who is an Orthodox
Christian. Tevye forbids Chava this relationship but she disobeys her father to
marry Fyedka in a Russian Orthodox Church. Unable to forgive her this
renunciation of her Jewish faith, Tevye disowns Chava who leaves the family
commune heartbroken.
Later, the
Jewish inhabitants of Anatevka are told by the Russian provisional guard that
the government has decided they can no longer live on their lands. As Tevye
packs up his family and prepares for the arduous journey to America, Chava and
Fyedka come to the house to declare that they too have decided to leave because
they will not live in a country where such oppressions exist. Although Tevye
shows signs that he may forgive Chava her marriage, he tells Tzeitel to go on
ahead and tell Chava and her husband, "God
be with them." This reconciliation pleases Golde and his other
daughters. Tevye departs with his family down the lonely and uncertain open
road with the fiddler coming up from behind, playing the 'tradition' song.
Fiddler on the Roof is quite unlike any other
musical before or since. On stage its social critique was a superbly rendered
history of injustices that shared in equal portions of memorable song, dance
and melodrama. On film, this precarious balancing act became more challenging
for Jewison, who clearly saw the film as more a human history than a musical. 'Opening
up' the play to satisfy its Super Panavision 70mm cinematography, Oswald Morris
creates a rich tapestry of tangibly rural visual splendors. These fill the eye,
but ironically deprive the story of its more poignantly moments of intimacy. If
the film does have a weakness, it remains Tommy Abbott's choreography. On
stage, Jerome Robbins had evolved a mesmerizing tapestry of dance. In the film,
camera movement substitutes for choreography, the one exception being the intricate
dance at Tzeitel's reception. Here, Abbott borrows heavily from Robbin's
original choreography. Unfortunately, this pageantry is interrupted by
Jewison's heavy-handed editing and a camera that refuses to stand still or stay
focused long enough to fully appreciate the dancers in their movements.
Nevertheless, Fiddler on film remains a memorable
outing. The sets, particularly Tevye's farm appear authentic. Sheldon Harnick's
songs and Jerry Bock's music have been lovingly preserved with commendable
performances that have stood the test of these passing years. Composer John
Williams’ underscoring cleverly retains the illusion of being a part of the
original stage show, linking theme and character development into a cohesive
cinematic experience; unique yet adhering to the fidelity of the original stage
show. In the final analysis, Fiddler on
the Roof yields to a bounty of riches as emotionally satisfying as they have
endured as a cultural touchstone of the American musical theater.
Fox/MGM Home
Video has released Fiddler on the Roof in
a 40th Anniversary Blu-ray that is –
in a word – disappointing. It appears as though Fox has used the same digital
files scanned for the DVD image harvest for this Blu-ray, merely bumping them
to a 1080p signal. The results speak for themselves; a lack of anything more
than marginal improvements over the DVD in all departments. Colors are only
slightly more refined. Contrast is the same. Film grain appears inconsistently
throughout and there are some curious moire patterns that also plagued the DVD –
imported over and even more glaringly obvious in hi-def. The film ought to have
been split across two discs or, at the very least, had its extra features carried
over onto another disc. Instead, we get a 3 hour feature and nearly an hour of
extras squeezed onto one disc, compromising the overall bit-rate for the feature
film. Blu-ray’s capabilities are good – just not that good! Does Fiddler look better on Blu-ray than it did on DVD?
Unquestionably, yes. Does it look as good as it should? Absolutely not!
The audio has
been remastered in 7.1 Tru-HD with impressive results. Aurally, dialogue is
still frontal sounding and rather tinny at times. But the music has been lovingly
preserved with exceptional clarity. Extras include a fascinating ‘behind the
scenes’ documentary produced at the time the film was being shot in Zagreb.
There's also a rather funny and engaging audio commentary from Jewison and
Topol, featurettes on Tevye's daughters, the dream sequence in color, outtakes
and audio tracks, plus a short subject on John Williams and how he created the
underscoring. Bottom line: I suppose I’ll recommend this one. But as a Blu-ray
it’s not the best and that’s a shame.
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)
5
VIDEO/AUDIO
3.5
EXTRAS
4
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