MEOW!
Does anyone find it ironically interesting that the director's last name is Jewison? Just me? Fair enough. Movin' on.
Nostalgic Insights: I don't have a collective memory of Fiddler on the Roof back when I was a wee young lad, other than when my dad directed a Junior production of it at Timothy Edwards Middle School. In fact, I've never seen the movie musical adaptation until I decided to choose it as one of the films to review for MMMMM's. Still, I'm familiar with a few songs from this musical, such as "Tradition," "If I Were A Rich Man," and "To Life (First time I heard that song was actually from an episode of The Big Bang Theory. Gotta love when Sheldon Cooper drinks)."
So, what do I think of it today?
Critical Insights: While there could've been twenty minutes edited out to make it flow better, and some the songs are not as memorable as others, Fiddler on the Roof is a terrifically acted, often mesmerizing movie musical. It's also very thought provoking in a way that challenges your own preconceptions on humanity, religion, and tradition. All in the course of a pure three hours, with an intermission, of course!
The prologue is nothing short of hypnotizing, and will certainly appeal to any film lover out there. The film begins with a tracking shot of a town awakened by a sunrise and a fiddler (Tutte Lemkow) playing his beautiful music on the roof. This leads to "Tradition," and Tevye (Topol) breaks the fourth wall introducing us to his town, which eventually leads to one incredible shot afterwards of the fiddler playing during the opening credits. The art direction, camera angles, editing, music, and performances all set up for what the rest of the film will bring in the next two hours and fifty minutes.
What happens in those next two hours and fifty minutes don't quite live up to those opening scenes. Some of the scenes are too drawn out to justify a three-hour length, such as an entire musical number, called "Tevye's Dream," that is convoluted and unnecessary to its storytelling. It's also, unlike "Tradition," a song that will evaporate by the time the film is over. And the ending, which almost feels like an eternity, could've been ten-to-fifteen minutes shorter; it's understandable feeling the pain that the characters feel when they get evicted from their village, but when the weight is taken off as the film reaches its inevitable end, I don't feel the joy of telling everyone to see this film. I feel relieved that it's over.
That said, there are a wealthy amount of riches to find in this musical. Some of the songs, composed by Jerry Bock and written by Sheldon Harnick, can infect you healthily. "To Life" is a celebratory dedication to...well...life in general, and it's a wonderful musical number. The performances are genuine and honest, especially Topol's performance, who yearns for one of his daughters to marry someone wealthy so that he can become "a rich man." Kind of a greedy wish, but honestly, I can't think of one person who hasn't wished for that to happen in their lives. Most notably, however, is that it appropriately challenges what we've become accustomed to. Folks, let's face it: comfort and familiarity will grow to become tiring; we need something new that we can adjust to. Now sometimes that cannot always be a good thing, as when the characters are evicted out of their homes, but when looking at it as a positive quality, it's a chance for a non-Shawshank redemption. I'd say that's worth a couple days of your own life.
It's an excellent message in a movie musical that's twenty minutes too long. It's a good, if not great, movie musical with terrific performances and some mesmerizing sequences through the magic of cinema. Would I watch it again? Probably not. But I'm glad I saw it, and I hope you get a chance to see it at least once. Out of five fiddlers on the roof, I give Fiddler on the Roof...
Until next time...
ugh...FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY...
OK, for the children...
MEOW!
What happens in those next two hours and fifty minutes don't quite live up to those opening scenes. Some of the scenes are too drawn out to justify a three-hour length, such as an entire musical number, called "Tevye's Dream," that is convoluted and unnecessary to its storytelling. It's also, unlike "Tradition," a song that will evaporate by the time the film is over. And the ending, which almost feels like an eternity, could've been ten-to-fifteen minutes shorter; it's understandable feeling the pain that the characters feel when they get evicted from their village, but when the weight is taken off as the film reaches its inevitable end, I don't feel the joy of telling everyone to see this film. I feel relieved that it's over.
That said, there are a wealthy amount of riches to find in this musical. Some of the songs, composed by Jerry Bock and written by Sheldon Harnick, can infect you healthily. "To Life" is a celebratory dedication to...well...life in general, and it's a wonderful musical number. The performances are genuine and honest, especially Topol's performance, who yearns for one of his daughters to marry someone wealthy so that he can become "a rich man." Kind of a greedy wish, but honestly, I can't think of one person who hasn't wished for that to happen in their lives. Most notably, however, is that it appropriately challenges what we've become accustomed to. Folks, let's face it: comfort and familiarity will grow to become tiring; we need something new that we can adjust to. Now sometimes that cannot always be a good thing, as when the characters are evicted out of their homes, but when looking at it as a positive quality, it's a chance for a non-Shawshank redemption. I'd say that's worth a couple days of your own life.
It's an excellent message in a movie musical that's twenty minutes too long. It's a good, if not great, movie musical with terrific performances and some mesmerizing sequences through the magic of cinema. Would I watch it again? Probably not. But I'm glad I saw it, and I hope you get a chance to see it at least once. Out of five fiddlers on the roof, I give Fiddler on the Roof...
Until next time...
ugh...FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY...
OK, for the children...
MEOW!
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