One of Broadway’s longest-running musicals may go on indefinitely now that its film version has been digitized and encased in plastic.
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"Fiddler on the Roof" is one of the most popular musicals ever written. But until now I had never fully appreciated the movie interpretation, in spite of its poignant story and abundance of memorable songs. Maybe it was because of the inherently dark nature of its setting and the stark reality of seeing it on film; maybe it was because of the story´s seemingly interminable length; or maybe it was because I missed the incomparable Zero Mostel in the role of Tevye from the original Broadway production.
In any event, after a few minutes this new DVD presentation dispelled most of my prejudicial reservations about watching it again. In wide screen and wide sound, it is an entertaining three hours of Hollywood film making.
The plot is based on the short stories of turn-of-the-century Ukrainian writer Sholem Aleichem. The setting is the small Russian village of Anatevka, a poor community of mostly Jewish peasants living under Czarist rule in the early part of the century. They are on the brink of the Russian Revolution, but most of them know little of the outside world, relying on their rich traditions to hold them together. Israeli actor Topol plays Tevye, a local dairyman, who wants his daughters to marry well.
The plot fondly, if rather lengthily, chronicles both the romantic and mercenary interests of the main characters, while the threat of Czarist repression and impending Revolution loom over them. By the end of the movie, the Czar forces the Jews to leave their age-old homeland, and in sadness but with undaunted courage Tevye and his family move on, they hope to a better place in America.
The peasants are ignorant but blissful; poor but happy. The story is an affirmation, a celebration, of life under the harshest conditions. If it all seems a little grim for the subject of a musical, remember that Hollywood has a way of glossing over most obstacles. Director Norman Jewison does a good job translating most of the story´s joys and sorrows to the big screen. Topol at first seems somewhat prosaic in the title role, but he projects an earthy sincerity that soon wins one over.
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