Fiddler on the Roof
A poor Jewish milkman in pre-revolutionary Ukraine sees his traditions tested as his daughters choose their own husbands and antisemitism rises.
Where to watch online
Official services. The link goes straight to this film.
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About the film
To Life!
What it’s about
In 1905 Ukraine, Tevye the milkman tries to marry off his daughters, but they defy his plans by choosing their own husbands.
What hooks you
Norman Jewison directs Chaim Topol as Tevye, with Norma Crane as his wife Golde. The film won three Oscars, including Best Cinematography, and two Golden Globes. Its depiction of Jewish customs is notably thorough, and it became unexpectedly popular in Japan.
Who it’s for
It suits viewers who enjoy musicals grounded in family conflict, where humor and heartbreak sit side by side, and those drawn to stories about the pressures of tradition in a changing world.
Ratings
MOVIE․ONE · 566 votesCreative team
All 9
Trivia
All facts 10
- The film quite unexpectedly became very popular in Japan, where audiences were moved by the theme of the destruction of a centuries-old way of life.
- Director Norman Jewison made Tutte Lemkow, the actor playing the violinist, try seven instruments before he found the one that suited him best.
- The film owes its title to a painting by Marc Chagall (1887-1985) that depicts a funeral and a man on a rooftop playing the violin.
- Several times throughout the film, people touch a small box attached to a doorpost. It contains a parchment scroll made from the skin of a kosher animal, bearing part of the text of the Shema prayer (a Jewish liturgical text consisting of four quotations from the Pentateuch; daily recitation of the prayer is prescribed as a commandment in Deuteronomy). The inner side of the scroll bears verses from two parts of the Shema prayer (Deut. 6:4-9 and Deut. 11:13-21). In Jewish homes it is traditionally affixed to the doorpost.
- Jewish customs and traditions are depicted in the film with particular care.
- The crew traveled all over Europe looking for a filming location. Permission to film in the USSR was not granted (the story was set in pre-revolutionary Russia, in Ukraine, south of Kyiv), and the producers ultimately chose Yugoslavia (now Croatia). By 1919, most of the villages there had been destroyed during the Russian Civil War, and hundreds of thousands of Jews had been killed and displaced.
Awards and nominations
5 wins · 10 nominations
- 3 wins Academy Awards
- 2 wins Golden Globe Awards
- Best Cinematography Academy Awards · 1972
- Best Sound Academy Awards · 1972
- Best soundtrack Academy Awards · 1972
- Best Actor (Comedy or Musical) Chaim Topol Golden Globe Awards · 1972
- Best Picture (Comedy or Musical) Golden Globe Awards · 1972
Also nominated BAFTA Awards3
Reviews
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Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
Fiddler on the Roof
1971
Fiddler on the Roof
1971
Fiddler on the Roof
1971