Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 01/23/2007

This rousing musical, based on the stories of Shalom Aleichem, takes place in pre-revolutionary Russia and centers on the life of Tevye (Topol), a milkman who is trying to keep his family's traditions in place while marrying off his three older daughters. Yet, times are changing and the daughters want to make their own matches, breaking free of many of the constricting customs required of them by Judaism. In the background of these events, Russia is on the brink of revolution and Jews are feeling increasingly unwelcome in their villages. Tevye--who expresses his desire for sameness in the opening number, "Tradition"--is trying to keep everyone, and everything, together. The movie is strongly allegorical--Tevye represents the common man--but it does it dexterously, and the resulting film is a stunning work of art. The music is excellent (it won Oscars for the scoring and the sound), with plenty of familiar songs such as "Sunrise, Sunset" and "If I Were a Rich Man," which you'll be humming long after the movie is over. Isaac Stern's violin--he provides the music for the fiddler on the roof--is hauntingly beautiful. And despite the serious subject matter, the film is quite comedic in parts; it also well deserves the Oscar it won for cinematography. --Jenny Brown

I'd never seen this before getting the DVD, or at least never seen the entire film. I knew all the songs already, and my husband says we saw it as a play, but if we did, a lot of stuff was cut out.

Milkman Tevye (Topol), his wife, and five (!) daughters in pre-revolutionary Russia. I remember my parents going to see this at the theater, probably back in 1971, when it was released, and listening to my mom and some of her friends swooning over Topol. I have to say, I can see their point. It's not the appearance, it's the character.

One by one, his older daughters buck tradition and choose their own husbands by falling in love: a penniless tailor, a revolutionary teacher, and a local, non-Jewish Russian boy. And despite his bluster at not being obeyed as the head of the household, one by one they twist him around their little fingers. (The last one almost doesn't succeed.) One of the sweetest moments in the movie comes when all this romance gets to Tevye and he asks his wife of many years if she loves him.

It's a wonderfully emotional snapshot of the setting--the time and the place, but it's not just historical drama. It's about the struggle to find, accept, and hold on to one's roles in the family and in society, something everyone can relate to.

The historical parts--the anti-Semitism that forced these people from their homes--were hard to watch, but important, especially if the thinking they provoke extends beyond the specific people, time, and place. The lesson is all the more powerful for being surrounded by warmth and humor.

The music is, of course, the first thing I think of, and is just perfect. Even my kids liked it, and I've heard warped versions of "If I Were a Rich Man" around the house a few times since we finished watching the movie.

If you own only one classic musical film get this one first. It is a wonderful integration of music into a story. A brilliant translation to the wide screen. And Topol is outstanding in his somewhat underplayed (relatively speaking) performance which allows the rest of the cast their moments of glory. It may not represent the poverty of the Russian shtetl, but it is a warm,ingratiating story of how one man came to accept the modern world. And a little bit of ancestral cultural feeling. And shows why groups often reject change as it tears down the traditions that sustain their human pride in a dizzy political mire that was Eastern Europe for Jewry. Just wonderful technically in its use of the wide canvas of Panavision. Let's look for a blu ray DVD soon...

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film with my granddaughter. Her Performance group in middle school are going to present their version of this play and she wanted to see the dvd in order to understand and be able to relate to the story. I had not seen the Broadway performance of the long running version, but I loved the music and knew what the story was about. This dvd was excellent and gave me a certain warmness towards the culture that existed in the period of the story. It gave a good message regarding acceptance and forgiveness. of a sorts, towards family even though their restrictions were
not upheld. I recommend this to the whole family for its sorrows and hope.
BM

After having played for many years on Broadway it hit the movie screen. Great story of a Jewish peasant in Czarist Russian around 1917. Superb music,beautiful scenes and great acting.Highly recommend it.

This has got to be among the top 5 musicals ever adapted for the big screen. You could argue that this the screen version is even better than the original stage version too. Many musicals have great difficulty in balancing the music and dance with the storyline as they are either too heavy on the one side over the other but here you get excellent music and choreography and an equally excellent storyline.

Set at the turn of the 20th century in Russia, the film tells the story of a small Jewish community struggling to make ends meet in a very harsh environment having to battle the elements as well as racism and persecution as seen from the eyes of the protagonist, Tevye, played so well by Topol who should have won the Best Actor Oscar for that year too. The Fiddler on the Roof is a euphemism for the attempts of Tevye to hang on to the many traditions of his faith but facing a losing battle against the fast-changing modern world trying to balance the two without falling headlong on either side. This is not a new thing for the Jewish community which also had to fight against Hellenism from the time of Alexander the Great for example in having to struggle against the "corrupting" influence of the secular world on the hearts and minds of the youth.

Tevye although a firm believer of his faith and traditions is also a loving father and his ability to look beyond strict adherence of the law and to understand the spirit of the law instead helps him to overcome in most part the attacks on his traditional beliefs when each of his first 3 older daughters decide to choose their own spouses. This movie is 3 hours long and yet it is so enjoyable that I didn't even feel the length and the Intermission at the middle of the movie actually irritated me rather than giving me a sense of relief at the break. The anamorphic widescreen presentation as well as the brilliant scoring and camerawork makes this an unforgettable cinematic experience.

The only downside about this dvd version is the unrestored picture quality which means white spots abound on most of the frames to the extent that it actually took away a great deal from the overall enjoyment of the film. The sound quality though is very, very good having been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and is only apt that a great musical has great sound options. The special features on the reverse side of the disc are also very good with a very good documentary:"Norman Jewison, Filmaker" and "Stories of Shalom Aleichem ..." which is read by the director himself.

I'm hoping that with the advent of Blu-ray that they take the opportunity to do a proper picture quality restoration to remove all the white spots and other imperfections to do proper justice to this great musical classic. Other than the inferior picture quality though the rest of this dvd version from the excellent sound quality to the great special features makes this a great version of how all dvds should be made.

Great movie but perhaps you should wait for another better restored picture quality dvd version either in Blu-ray or standard dvd format.