Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

Directed by Norman Jewison. Starring Topol, Norma Crane, Paul Michael Glaser, Rosalind Harris, Leonard Frey, Michele Marsh, Paul Mann, Molly Picon, Louis Zorich, Neva Small, Raymond Lovelock, Zvee Scooler. [G]

Schmaltzy, phlegmatic big screen translation of the hit Broadway musical doesn’t open things up so much as air it all out, offering glimpses of rustic poetry with earthy boisterousness, but an ingrained familiarity and fondness for the material going in may be, if not requisite, then assuredly recommended. The story of a simple Jewish peasant locking horns with his strong-willed daughters over affairs of the heart is neither fresh nor involving (and structurally repetitive to boot), and no number of spirited song performances can forgive the extreme length, but it’s neither guilty of timidity nor shorn of misguided excess (maybe the graveyard dream sequence worked on stage, but not here). Grumblings about Topol taking over the central role of Tevye from Zero Mostel were foolhardy—his savory performance is one of the few true achievements—but he’s adrift in a sea of romanticized feel-good malarkey, where even the climactic exile is given an optimistic kick of kitsch from the worst example of literalization between stage and screen. Time-tested slate of Jerry Bock/Sheldon Harnick tunes includes “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” “Tradition,” and “Sunrise, Sunset”. John Williams won the first Academy Award of his career for his score adaptation; the film also picked up statuettes for its sound and photography.

51/100