Fiddler on the Roof (1971) [2-Disc Collector’s Edition] – DVD

***/**** Image A Sound A Extras B
starring Topol, Norma Crane, Leonard Frey, Molly Picon
screenplay by Joseph Stein, based on his play
directed by Norman Jewison

by Travis Mackenzie Hoover Fiddler on the Roof is sort of the transition point between the late-'60s Twilight of Old Hollywood and the American Renaissance of the '70s. In one sense, it's the very last of the king-sized Broadway adaptations the industry kept churning out to no avail before the advent of Easy Rider, and there's no denying that the film is over-scaled and over-orchestrated in that manner. Yet there's a genuine sensibility going on here beyond masonry and screeching violins: incredibly, director Norman Jewison has managed to infuse the expensive proceedings with a certain emotional honesty–enough to keep you rapt in fascination without sending your blood-sugar level through the roof, if not enough to make Fiddler on the Roof the masterpiece its status as a home-video perennial would suggest.

The subject, inspired by the stories of Sholom Aleichem, is unusual for a Broadway musical. Dealing with the trials of Tevye (Topol), a poor Jewish milkman in an early twentieth-century Russian shtetl, it pits his unshakeable belief in Orthodox tradition against the determination of his daughters to marry by choice and not by matchmaker. He would have eldest Tzeitel (Rosalind Harris) hitched to much older (and much richer) butcher Lazar Wolf (Paul Mann), but she's in love with poor tailor Motel (Leonard Frey) and refuses to budge. The next youngest follow suit: Hodel (Michelle Marsh) falls for Communist teacher Perchik (Paul Michael Glaser), while Chava (Neva Small) commits the unpardonable sin of pledging marriage to a Russian outside the faith. Tevye's world is crumbling, and the pogroms looming on the horizon aren't helping.

To be sure, the film has a case of the cutes in a big way: no Great White Way juggernaut is complete without too much grinning and too much "life force" being ascribed to the lead figure. Too, though one can understand buidling the entire shtetl for the sake of verisimilitude, there's a sense that the production is flaunting its largeness both materially and in John Williams's overblown arrangements. And still, the movie has something resembling soul. Topol–wisely chosen over Zero Mostel, who originated the role on stage–is an actual actor rather than a voice and a body aiming to please; his Tevye seems genuinely puzzled and disappointed when his daughters forsake his guidance and authority. Meanwhile Jewison–not noted for his gentle touch in films past and future–capably susses out the characters' feelings in a manner that's genuinely emotional despite constantly teetering on the edge of corny.

I'm not in the habit of praising film versions of Broadway musicals, but there's no denying the pull of this particularly earnest piece. It's unusual in its true belief in the book and songs: where others of its ilk would simply go through the motions of rhyming of the romantic entanglements and the hero's "adorable" adherence to tradition, Fiddler on the Roof appears to be sincerely moved by the breakdown of Tevye's bedrock as well as the final elimination of the shtetl by public decree. In its way, it tries to resurrect the historical and cultural moment remembered by the play, and if both source and finished product don't quite have the eloquence to pull it off completely, there's a will to be accurate at least within the boundaries of their respective entertainment forms. You won't worship Fiddler on the Roof, but you won't feel cheated, either.

THE DVD
MGM brings Fiddler on the Roof to DVD once again, this time in a 2-Disc Collector's Edition that mainly updates the encoding of the 2001 release. Presented in a 2.42:1, 16×9-enhanced transfer, the movie itself often looks magnificent but shadow detail wanes from time to time and minor imperfections in the source print are visible in darker scenes. The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, not a remix but an approximation of the film's prestigious six-track soundmix, offers a full-body immersion in the music due to harmonious synchronization of the surround speakers; it rings like crystal and is quite potent to boot. Extras break down as follows:

Commentary with Norman Jewison and Topol
This is a small masterpiece of point/counterpoint: first Jewison will say something high-flown but inarticulate, then Topol (intercut from a separate session) will elaborate in his unpretentious but vivid manner. That said, it's a sparse commentary with many dead spots–I believe the "Sabbath Prayer" number passes without comment.

"John Williams: Creating a Musical Tradition"
I hadn't heard the play's score before seeing the film, but this featurette proved what I had suspected: that John Williams inflated it. He offers his rationales involving the "weight" that was visible in the film, but though original composers Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick voice their approval, I still think the interstitial music should have been more intimate.

"Tevye's Daughters" (15 mins.)
Rosalind Harris, Michele Marsh, and Neva Small reminisce about auditioning and getting their respective parts as Hodel, Chava, and Perchik. They're unstinting in their praise for collaborators, especially Jewison and his "gentle nature."

"Set in Reality: Production Design" (10 mins.)
Robert Boyle discusses the enormous task of rebuilding a Jewish shtetl: from determining that WWII had destroyed most of the original villages (and thus a reliable frame of reference) to the logistics of working not just with a director but also a choreographer and how Serbian marble dust looks more like snow than snow.

"Songs of Fiddler on the Roof" (15 mins.)
Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein, and (via a 2005 phone interview) Jerry Bock discuss the process by which they wrote the songs–which was less straightforward than one might think. Among the revelations: "Tradition," the opening number, was the last one written, and the gibberish lines of "If I Were a Rich Man" were inspired by a Yiddish performance discovered during research.

"Historical Background" (11 mins.)
Norman Jewison reads some historical information about the shtetls over photos found after the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. While his information isn't all that interesting, he delves into the pogroms that drove many Jewish residents to emigrate in moderately illuminating detail.

"Norman Jewison: Filmmaker" (49 mins.)
It was inevitable that the NFB would eventually turn its attention to Canada's national treasure, hence this dull and pokey 1971 documentary in which Jewison expounds on dubious and/or commonplace theories while struggling to control Fiddler on the Roof's budget. It's a fascinating sign of the times that this aimless doc could get made in a fashion that would be impossible now, but that's its only point of interest.

"Norman Jewison Looks Back" (9 mins.)
A brief reminiscence from Jewison, covering the studio's shock that the director was not, in fact, a Jew; the casting of Topol over Zero Mostel; and the film's unexpected success in Japan, where it was seen as a very Japanese story of crumbling tradition.

"Tevye's Dream Sequence in Full Color" (6 mins.)
A brief Jewison intro reveals that the sequence was filmed in colour and then desaturated; for those with an interest in vivid flair, here it is as it was shot. Includes a side-by-side comparison with the finished product.

Deleted Song: "Any Day Now" (3 mins.)
An unused demo for what would have followed Perchik's proposal to Chava, which begins with marriage and ends with Communist utopia. It wouldn't have fit, but it's a nice thought.

"The Stories of Sholom Aleichem"
Two three-minute clips of Jewison reading from the titular author: "The Bubble Bursts" finds Tevye entranced by a large town to which he's sold butter; and "Modern Children" has him face to face with Lazar Wolf's match proposal. Compare and contrast these no-nonsense texts with the preciousness of the film itself.

Storyboard-to-Film Comparison
"Tradition" (2 mins.), "Matchmaker" (4 mins.), the intro to "Miracle of Miracles" (7 mins.), "Tevye's Dream" (6 mins.), and the Tevye/Lazar Wolf match agreement scene (1 min.) are juxtaposed with their storyboard counterparts, for those who care about such things.

Rounding things out: galleries of production design sketches, storyboards, production notes (unusually detailed, from casting to make-up to call sheets), a "photographic production diary" from production to the New York premiere, and various promotional materials; plus two trailers, two teaser trailers, and two TV spots. Fiddler on the Roof's 2-Disc Collector's Edition comes in a slipcovered swingtray keepcase.

181 minutes; G; 2.42:1 (16×9-enhanced); English DD 5.1, English DD 2.0 (Mono), French DD 2.0 (Mono), Spanish DD 2.0 (Mono); CC; English, Spanish subtitles; 2 DVD-9s; Region One; MGM/Fox