Fiddler on the Roof is an adaptation of the 1964 Broadway musical of the same name which in part was based on Tevye and his Daughters and other stories by Sholem Aleichem. The story centers on Tevye, a poor milkman with five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his Jewish religion and cultural traditions as outside influences intrude upon the lives of his family. The original stage production not only won 9 Tony Awards (including Best Musical), but also held the record as the longest-running Broadway show for almost 10 years until the original production of Grease surpassed it. Actor Zero Mostel had also won so much acclaim with his portrayal of Tevye. It was because of the success of the original production that a film adaptation was of course inevitable.
After United Artists started developing the film, the executives brought acclaimed filmmaker Norman Jewison (In the Heat of the Night, The Thomas Crown Affair) on board about directing it. When he met with the executives, Jewison’s first words to them were “You know I’m not Jewish, right?” Nonetheless, Jewison was hired, and one of the first (and most controversial) decisions he made was to not cast Zero Mostel as Tevye. The reason why Norman Jewison didn’t cast Mostel in the film was because he felt his larger-than-life personality wouldn’t translate well to a film setting. When Jewison went to see the original West End production of Fiddler on the Roof in London, he discovered a then 33-year-old Israelian performer named Topol leading the company, and felt he found his Tevye.
Several of the other cast members in this film had previously done the musical on Broadway (Leonard Frey who played Motel in the film had actually played that part after originating the role of Mendel, The Rabbi’s Son; Rosalind Harris who played Tzeitel in the film had previously replaced Bette Midler in the role on Broadway; and Zvee Scooler who played The Rabbi in the film had actually originated the role of Mordcha, The Innkeeper). In fact, if you’re unfamiliar with the theatre world, the only actor you’ll probably even recognize in this film is (Paul) Michael Glaser, who would a few years later make a name for himself on the TV series Starsky & Hutch. For those who don’t know, Fiddler on the Roof was actually Glaser’s motion picture debut, and even gets some moments to sing and dance. He even got to record and film a new song that previously wasn’t in the Broadway show called ‘Any Day Now’ which would’ve replaced his character’s previous number ‘Now I Have Everything’, but didn’t end up making the final cut.
But nonetheless, whenever film adaptations of Broadway musicals are made without any big stars in them (1776, Godspell, Rent, Jersey Boys, In the Heights), they usually flop at the box office as they catered more towards a theatregoing audience which is never enough to turn a profit. However, the 1971 film adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof was successfully able to gross over $83,000,000 worldwide on a budget of just $9,000,000. Especially at a time when the era of Hollywood musicals was starting to die down with flops such as Paint Your Wagon, Hello, Dolly!, and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. The film also earned 8 Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture), and won 3 for Best Cinematography (Oswald Morris), Best Sound (Gordon K. McCallum and David Hildyard), and the now retired category of Best Adapted Score (which was also the very first Oscar won by future superstar film composer, John Williams).
After United Artists started developing the film, the executives brought acclaimed filmmaker Norman Jewison (In the Heat of the Night, The Thomas Crown Affair) on board about directing it. When he met with the executives, Jewison’s first words to them were “You know I’m not Jewish, right?” Nonetheless, Jewison was hired, and one of the first (and most controversial) decisions he made was to not cast Zero Mostel as Tevye. The reason why Norman Jewison didn’t cast Mostel in the film was because he felt his larger-than-life personality wouldn’t translate well to a film setting. When Jewison went to see the original West End production of Fiddler on the Roof in London, he discovered a then 33-year-old Israelian performer named Topol leading the company, and felt he found his Tevye.
Several of the other cast members in this film had previously done the musical on Broadway (Leonard Frey who played Motel in the film had actually played that part after originating the role of Mendel, The Rabbi’s Son; Rosalind Harris who played Tzeitel in the film had previously replaced Bette Midler in the role on Broadway; and Zvee Scooler who played The Rabbi in the film had actually originated the role of Mordcha, The Innkeeper). In fact, if you’re unfamiliar with the theatre world, the only actor you’ll probably even recognize in this film is (Paul) Michael Glaser, who would a few years later make a name for himself on the TV series Starsky & Hutch. For those who don’t know, Fiddler on the Roof was actually Glaser’s motion picture debut, and even gets some moments to sing and dance. He even got to record and film a new song that previously wasn’t in the Broadway show called ‘Any Day Now’ which would’ve replaced his character’s previous number ‘Now I Have Everything’, but didn’t end up making the final cut.
But nonetheless, whenever film adaptations of Broadway musicals are made without any big stars in them (1776, Godspell, Rent, Jersey Boys, In the Heights), they usually flop at the box office as they catered more towards a theatregoing audience which is never enough to turn a profit. However, the 1971 film adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof was successfully able to gross over $83,000,000 worldwide on a budget of just $9,000,000. Especially at a time when the era of Hollywood musicals was starting to die down with flops such as Paint Your Wagon, Hello, Dolly!, and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. The film also earned 8 Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture), and won 3 for Best Cinematography (Oswald Morris), Best Sound (Gordon K. McCallum and David Hildyard), and the now retired category of Best Adapted Score (which was also the very first Oscar won by future superstar film composer, John Williams).
Numbers I Was Most Impressed With:
‘Tradition’
‘Matchmaker’
‘If I Were a Rich Man’
‘To Life’
‘Miracle of Miracles’
‘Tevye’s Dream’
‘Far From the Home I Love’
‘Chavaleh’