Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen

Of the 144 films on this year's long list for the Documentary Oscar, I don't expect Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen to be one of the fifteen for the short list in a few weeks. But its subject is appealing, so I'm going to look at it. You should look at it too even if you know its subject by heart.

Max Lewkowicz already chronicled how Sholem Aleichem's stories of Tevye the Milkman made it to Broadway as Fiddler on the Roof in his documentary, Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles. Daniel Raim chronicles here how Norman Jewison brought it "To (cinematic) Life." Jewison, despite the name, is a Goy, something he brought up when United Artists asked him to helm the film. He faced antisemitism for that last name alone and felt like an outsider. His experiences with social injustice influenced his directorial career, including In The Heat of the Night. In a way, he was still a reasonable choice for the definitive musical about European Jewish life. 

I've known a few of its anecdotes already. There's the Tevye casting process, for example. We see how Jewison passed up Zero Mostel, who originated the role on Broadway, for Topol, his West End counterpart. Jewison felt Mostel's towering stage presence would be too much on film. But critic Kenneth Turan makes an interesting counterpoint for Mostel's Tevye. Jewison's bemusement as he recounts how Frank Sinatra threw his hat in the ring is entertaining. It's also entertaining to hear for the first or fiftieth time to hear how cinematographer Oswald Morris rendered his Oscar-winning work through silk stockings.

It also has a few new fascinating stories. We see how Rosalind Harris, Michele Marsh and Neva Small were cast as Tevye's eldest daughters, Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava. Them recounting how Jewison went all in running lines with them is fun to hear about. We see how Lekenik in the former Yugoslavia was chosen as the primary filming location for Tevye's shtetl Anatevka. We see how the production moved to soundstages when it became infeasible to film the astounding bottle dance in the Yugoslavian winter. We see how violinist Isaac Stern was hired for the titular role's solos. John Williams, whose score adaptation won him his first Oscar, tells how he created the opening credit solo.

Its most compelling stories describe its societal relevance. Early on, we see critic Pauline Kael proclaim it "the most powerful movie musical ever," especially when contemporary movie musicals were often bloated messes. Later on, we see the interviewees go in detail about what the film means for them. Topol tells us how he channeled his heritage into his acting as Tevye. His story of his father's hardships gives one profound context the next time they see Tevye dismissing Anatevka. Yugoslavia no longer existing adds poignancy to its story of changing times. As Jewison recounts, the film moved Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and it was especially successful in Japan. He succeeded in making a film for everyone. "Not bad for a goy," as he put it upon accepting his Irving G. Thalburg award.

I would have liked to hear anecdotes about the late co-stars Norma Crane and Leonard Frey (Tevye's wife and son-in-law Golde and Motel) and how Jewison voiced the ghostly rabbi in Tevye's "nightmare." But these are minor gripes in an otherwise good documentary. Anyone who knows Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick's songs by heart will love to see Fiddler's Journey on the Big Screen. There's quite a bit to learn in just 88 minutes. I saw it on Amazon Prime, where A Miracle of Miracles is also streaming for free. That's a great double bill, a triple if you want to add Fiddler itself.