Fiddler on the Roof 1971 (1971)

Sight and Sound
"Just when the big-budget musical seemed to be lumbering into history, along came FIDDLER with its emotional resonance and killer craftsmanship." 03/01/2004 p.77

Entertainment Weekly
"It's a wonderful way to revisit -- or discover -- a stunner of a musical." -- Grade: A 02/02/2007 p.111

Ultimate DVD
5 stars out of 5 -- "A magnificent realization which tugs at all the emotions with skill, artistry and great enthusiasm." 03/01/2007 p.113

ReelViews 9 of 10
Fiddler on the Roof was inarguably one of the most beloved stage musicals of the second half of the 20th century. Based on a series of short stories by Ukranian writer Sholom Aleichem (the "Jewish Mark Twain"), the Harold Prince production opened on Broadway in September 1964. More than seven years later, when Norman Jewison's screen version was released, millions around the world were already familiar with the story of Tevye and his family. The motion picture adaptation further widened Fiddler on the Roof's audience and increased interest in the long-running play...As with any musical, the focus never strays far from the songs, and Fiddler on the Roof contains a number of instantly recognizable numbers, from the lively and uplifting "Tradition," "If I Were a Rich Man," and "To Life" to the delightful "Matchmaker" and the sublime "Sunrise, Sunset." In all, the film contains more than a dozen songs...However, those in search of a particularly rousing rendition need look no further than "If I Were a Rich Man."...Fiddler on the Roof is not a perfect motion picture - it is too long and there are times when it's obvious that the musical numbers have been pre-recorded then lip-synched - but it represents an enjoyable three hours...Jewison's attention to detail is undeniable - great care was taken to represent Jewish customs as accurately as possible. The cinematography (by Oswald Morris, who won an Oscar) is gorgeous, starting with a glorious sunrise over Anatevka and concluding with a long-distance view of Tevye and his family silhouetted against a slate-gray sky. For Fiddler on the Roof, Jewison, who had previously gained notice with such films as The Cincinnati Kid and In the Heat of the Night, and who would go on to make ...And Justice for All and Moonstruck, immersed himself in the material, creating an effective and enduring cinematic representation of a great play. - James Berardinelli
 
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
I suppose "Fiddler on the Roof" is just the movie that lovers of the stage play were waiting for -- and since "Fiddler" is the most popular stage musical in history, that's something, all right...But would it be heresy on my part to suggest that "Fiddler" isn't much as a musical, and that director Norman Jewison has made as good a film as can be made from a story that is quite simply boring?...The problem with "Fiddler" is that it's so fantastically far from the roots of its story that it might as well be moved to Ireland, where the peasants could grow potatoes instead of corn...That leaves (you are probably bursting to tell me) the songs and the dances, of course. They're fine. It is good to hear the show's hit songs for the 400th time, with a chorus of thousands brought in to bolster the simple peasant's simple songs. It is good to see the dancing -- which Jewison has liberated from its stage limitations. I hate movies in which the dancers are carefully choreographed to play to an actual theater audience. Jewison moves his camera in among the dancers and gives us a real feeling of celebration and ceremony...The Israeli actor Topol makes a good Tevye, and I liked Leonard Frey as the tailor whose first sewing machine is like his first baby. But Molly Picon's matchmaker is too much of a star turn. And the three daughters (two of whom look more gentile than the third one's husband) hardly come alive at all..."Fiddler on the Roof" has been around a long time, has become an institution and has added some good songs to our memories. But in the process it's become so polished, so packaged, so distanced from the real feelings that inspired the original stories of Sholem Aleichem (who didn't even make it onto the mimeographed list of credits) that it's become just another pleasant product of American entertainment industrialism. So why do I give it three stars? Because what it does, it does well. - Roger Ebert