Fiddlers’ Journey to the Big Screen - Jewish Film Festival
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Date Reviewed: 24/10/2022
For any lover of musicals (like me) Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen is a must as it is as much a homage to the filmmakers as it is to the film!
Director/Producer Norman Jewison was committed to turning this iconic theatre piece into a realistic, gritty, natural-looking film which was achieved through immersive camera work, painstaking cinematography (including putting a silk stocking over the camera lens to achieve the brown tones required) and having Tevye played by Israeli actor Topol, who had starred in the role in London’s West End instead of Zero Mostel who Jewison considered too big a presence for the film.
The best part of a documentary like Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen are the glimpses we get into the thinking of those gifted people who can piece together the impossible movie jigsaw puzzle, to show us our world, our community, our families, and ourselves.
The results, crammed with film clips and behind-the-scenes footage are fascinating to anyone who has seen the film or who is contemplating viewing it. The filmmaker takes a broad approach, dealing with the origins of the Broadway musical and providing an in-depth portrait of Jewison who gave the impression he was Jewish because of his name. He is however of English descent.
The documentary’s most moving segments involve music. Director Daniel Raim includes many instances of “Fiddler” actors and music department members reciting lines or singing lyrics from the movie, often from memory. Raim intercuts these contemporary moments with the original scenes, accentuating how the power of cinema lies in its ability to endure even as its creators fade.
There are numerous highlights in Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen. My favourites are the interview with Topol highlighting Jewison’s direction of him and his scaling down of performance from a music theatre performer to a screen performer.
The other is the identity of the fiddler on the roof. The actual violin playing was performed by Isaac Stern, a world-famous violinist at the time who included an elaborate cadenza written for him by John Williams. However, an actor was required to get onto the roof, Stern was not keen!
The themes of “Fiddler on the Roof” are simple: family, tradition and its opposite, change. Also, how life can sometimes feel as precarious as a musician trying to play his violin on the roof without breaking his neck. Those are life lessons that, as this winning little film reminiscence makes clear, are common to us all.
Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen is entertaining, informative and an eye-opening window into a great film maker!
Reviewed by Barry Hill