Fiddler on the Roof
In pre-revolutionary Russia, a poor Jewish peasant must contend with marrying off his three daughters while antisemitic sentiment threatens his home.
- Director: Norman Jewison
- Genre:Drama / Family / Musical
- Runtime:178 minutes
Cast
Topol : Tevye
Norma Crane : Golde
Leonard Frey : Motel
Molly Picon : Yente
Paul Mann : Lazar Wolf
Official Site:-
The film centers on the family of Tevye (Topol), an Orthodox Jewish milkman in the village of Anatevka (probably in the Pale of Settlement) in Tsarist Russia, in 1905. Anatevka is broken into two sections: a small Orthodox Jewish section; and a larger Orthodox Christian section. Tevye notes that, “We don’t bother them, and so far, they don’t bother us.” Throughout the movie, Tevye breaks the fourth wall by talking at times, directly to the audience or to the heavens (to God), for the audience’s benefit. Much of the story is also told in musical form.
Tevye is very poor, despite working hard, like most Jews in Anatevka. He and his wife, Golde, (Norma Crane), have five daughters and cannot afford to give them dowries so they have to rely on the village matchmaker to find them husbands. Life in the shtetl of Anatevka is very hard and Tevye speaks not only of the difficulties of being poor but also of the Jewish community’s constant fear of harassment from their non-Jewish neighbours.
The film begins with Tevye explaining to the audience that what keeps the Jews of Anatevka going is the balance they achieve through following their ancient traditions. He also explains that the lot of the Jews in Russia is as precarious as a fiddler on a roof: trying to eke out a pleasant tune, while not breaking their necks. The fiddler appears throughout the film as a metaphoric reminder of the Jews’ ever-present fears and danger. While in town, Tevye meets Perchik (Michael Glaser), a student with modern political ideas (clearly a Marxist). Tevye invites Perchik to stay with him and his family, in exchange for Perchik tutoring his daughters.
Through Yente the matchmaker, Tevye arranges a marriage for his oldest daughter, Tzeitel (Rosalind Harris), to Lazar Wolf (Paul Mann), a wealthy butcher. However, Tzeitel is in love with her childhood sweetheart, Motel (pronounced “mottle”) (Leonard Frey) the tailor, and begs her father not to make her marry the much older butcher. Tevye reluctantly agrees. To get Tzeitel and Tevye out of the agreement with Lazar, Tevye claims to have a nightmare, which he repeats to Golde. In the nightmare, he says that Golde’s deceased grandmother Tzeitel told him that Tzeitel is supposed to marry Motel, as it was decided in heaven. Also in the nightmare, Lazar Wolf’s late wife, Fruma Sarah, warns Tevye that if Tzeitel marries Lazar, she will kill Tzeitel after three weeks of marriage. Golde concludes the dream as a message to be followed from their ancestors, and Tzeitel and Motel arrange to be married. Read more
