Fiddler on the Roof is a 1971 American period musical film produced and directed by Norman Jewison from a screenplay written by Joseph Stein, based on the 1964 stage musical of the same name by Stein, Jerry Bock, and Sheldon Harnick. Set in early 20th-century Imperial Russia, the film centers on Tevye, played by Topol, a poor Jewish milkman who is faced with the challenge of marrying off his five daughters amidst the growing tension in his shtetl. The cast also features Norma Crane, Leonard Frey, Molly Picon, Paul Mann, Rosalind Harris, Michèle Marsh, Neva Small and Paul Michael Glaser. The musical score, composed by Bock with lyrics by Harnick, was adapted and conducted by John Williams.
Filmed at Shepperton Studios in England and on-location in Yugoslavia, Fiddler on the Roof was theatrically released on November 3, 1971, by United Artists to critical and commercial success. Reviewers praised Jewison's direction, the screenplay, and the performances of the cast, while the film grossed $83.3 million worldwide on a $9 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1971.
The film received a leading eight nominations at the 44th Academy Awards, including for Best Picture and Best Director, and won three: Best Score Adaptation (Williams), Best Cinematography (Oswald Morris) and Best Sound (Gordon K. McCallum, David Hildyard). The film also won two Golden Globes: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Topol.
In retrospective years since its release, it continues to receive acclaim and is often considered to be one of the greatest musical films of all time. An independently-produced documentary about the making of the film, titled Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen, was released in 2022. A remake of the film, directed by Thomas Kail, is currently in development.
Plot
The film's plot largely follows that of the musical from which it is adapted.
Act 1
In 1905, Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman living in the Ukrainian village of Anatevka, a typical shtetl in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia, compares the lives of the Jews of Anatevka to a fiddler on the roof (who appears throughout the film in this metaphorical role), using tradition to “scratch out a pleasant, simple tune” without breaking their necks.
In town, Tevye meets Perchik, a radical Marxist from Kiev, who admonishes those for talking but doing nothing about news of the Tsar banishing Jews from their villages. Tevye invites Perchik to stay with his family, offering him room and board in exchange for him tutoring his daughters.
Tevye arranges for his oldest daughter, Tzeitel, to marry Lazar Wolf, a wealthy widowed butcher much older than she is. Meanwhile, Tevye’s second daughter, Hodel, falls in love with Perchik. They argue over the story of Leah and the place of old religious traditions in a changing world. The two dance together, which is considered forbidden by Orthodox Jewish tradition. Perchik tells Hodel that they just changed an old tradition.
Tzeitel loves her childhood sweetheart, the poor tailor Motel Kamzoil, and frantically begs her father not to make her marry Lazar. Although initially angry, Tevye realizes Tzeitel loves Motel and, upon seeing that Motel is equally devoted to Tzeitel, and impressed with his maturity and work ethic (“Your daughter will not starve”) yields to his daughter’s wishes.
To convince his wife Golde that Tzeitel should not marry Lazar, Tevye claims to have had a nightmare. He says that Golde’s deceased grandmother told him Tzeitel is supposed to marry Motel, and that Lazar’s late wife, Fruma-Sarah, threatened to kill Tzeitel if the two marry, along with Tevye and Golde. Golde concludes the dream was a message from their ancestors, and Tzeitel and Motel arrange to be married.
At Tzeitel and Motel’s wedding, an argument breaks out after Lazar presents the newlyweds with gifts. When Tevye tries to speak to Lazar about the Torah, Lazar refuses to listen, arguing that the wedding should have been his all along. Minutes later, another argument breaks out over whether a girl should be able to choose her own husband. Perchik addresses the crowd and says that, since they love each other, it should be left for the couple to decide. He creates further controversy by asking Hodel to dance with him.