FIDDLER’S JOURNEY TO THE BIG SCREEN
US, 2022, 88 minutes, Colour.
Narrated by Jeff Goldblum.
Directed by Daniel Raim.
A very enjoyable screen experience for anyone who loves films.
Fiddler on the Roof had its origins in the short stories of Sholem Aleichem (died 1916), stories of the Jews of Eastern Europe, the persecutions, the migrations. It then developed into the Broadway play, written by Joseph Stein. It was a star vehicle for Zero Mostel on Broadway, Topol on London’s West End. And then there was the film version. While this documentary takes us back to the original short stories and their atmosphere, as well as the development of the musical theatre, it is principally about, as the title suggests, bringing Fiddler’s Journey to this Screen.
Audiences intending to watch this documentary will be pleased to know that there are many excerpts from the film, bringing back many memories. And, great attention is given to the songs, the composition, their dramatic place, performance and interpretation.
And, all throughout, a great range of talking heads, and narration by Jeff Goldblum, and interviews with the director himself, Norman Jewison (Canadian and not from a Jewish family), seeing him at work in documentary footage about the making of the film, and most genial of interviewees and conversations at a later age. His Canadian background is shown, presumptions at school that he was Jewish because of his name, his service in the Navy and shock at segregation in America after his release, his early career, television, the romantic comedies of the 1960s…
Jewison relishes the memories of the film and its production, not without difficulties, location photography in Yugoslavia, recreation of sets, especially for the wedding dancing the men with the bottles on their head, in English studios. Jewison is so friendly that he invites us into his reminiscences.
There are various film critics like Kenneth Turan, members of the cast, especially the older women reminiscing on their being cast as the daughters in the film, but, especially, extensive interviews with Topol himself, performance in London, interviews in his old age and happy reminiscences. Many audiences, familiar with John Williams and his music for Star Wars, Superman: the Movie, and all the Stephen Spielberg films, may be surprised as extensive work with Norman Jewison for the music of the film. There is also discussion with Robert Boyle, production designer.
So, for the older generation who remember the film, happy memories. For younger generations, an introduction to the musical and its themes, and awareness of the problems in Eastern Europe in the 19th century and the consequences for migration, and a masterclass about the making of a movie.
