If you have never seen this on stage, or heard the justifiably famous original Broadway cast album (with the legendary Zero Mostel as Tevye), then maybe this will pass muster. The cast is generally good, it's realistically filmed on location (or close enough) in Yugoslavia, etc. However, there is something really lackluster in the whole production.
The big disappointment is Israeli actor Topol as Tevye. He's younger and handsomer than Mostel, but doesn't sing or "emote" nearly as well, and he has one of those rather odd Israeli accents that are partly British -- certainly NOT Russian -- and that comes off as awkward. Tevye is the prime role, he has the major songs, like "Tradition" and "If I Were A Rich Man", so having a so-so leading man here is fatal to the film. He's also too old to play Tevye on screen -- on the stage, it's OK to have an older actor, but Tevye's oldest daughter is 18 and he was supposedly married at 18 himself, so realistically he is supposed to be about 37. Instead, Topol appears 50 or more with gray hair. (This is also true for the actress who plays his wife.)
The larger flaw of the film is that like a lot of other musicals (the recent "Rent" comes to mind), the film director felt that it had to made on location and as realistically as possible. This just doesn't work well for most musicals, which are intended for the more stylized presentation of a stage and a theater. Forced to look at Tevye's actual barn and animals is very distracting. Plus, with the action staged out of doors, the singing (which is obviously done in a studio) sounds absurd -- where's the echo chamber? LOL!
Despite everything looking "real" in the physical sense, the art direction has gone way overboard in the sense that all the peasants are depicted as living far too grandly for Jews of that time and place. Tevye's house is a multi-story Ralph Lauren summer home, and sits on many acres of land -- in those days, he would have REALLY been a rich man if he had all that. When Tevye sings about being rich and owning chicken, I believe its meant to imply that he's too poor to actually own any -- not an excuse to cut to photography of his flock!
That being said, if you like the music and general story, it's all here, and reasonably faithful to the theatrical production in terms of plot, resolution, etc. Since there is no bringing back Zero Mostel, this is what we have! and probably a bit better than the typical community theater productions that still are around.
In conclusion, I see a lot of reviewers talk about the sadness of the ending, as the Jews are forced to leave Anatevka. Personally, I have never considered this as sad. The film distorts things a bit by depicting Tevye as a landowner with lots of farm animals, furniture, a house, etc. In reality, peasants this poor had virtually nothing. The reality -- as experienced by my own paternal grandmother, who left Russia in 1920 -- is that these Russian Jews came to America to lead vastly better lives in a free country. Not to mention that their children and grandchildren became successful doctors, lawyers, business owners. This is not a sad ending, folks -- it's the happiest ending of all time!
The big disappointment is Israeli actor Topol as Tevye. He's younger and handsomer than Mostel, but doesn't sing or "emote" nearly as well, and he has one of those rather odd Israeli accents that are partly British -- certainly NOT Russian -- and that comes off as awkward. Tevye is the prime role, he has the major songs, like "Tradition" and "If I Were A Rich Man", so having a so-so leading man here is fatal to the film. He's also too old to play Tevye on screen -- on the stage, it's OK to have an older actor, but Tevye's oldest daughter is 18 and he was supposedly married at 18 himself, so realistically he is supposed to be about 37. Instead, Topol appears 50 or more with gray hair. (This is also true for the actress who plays his wife.)
The larger flaw of the film is that like a lot of other musicals (the recent "Rent" comes to mind), the film director felt that it had to made on location and as realistically as possible. This just doesn't work well for most musicals, which are intended for the more stylized presentation of a stage and a theater. Forced to look at Tevye's actual barn and animals is very distracting. Plus, with the action staged out of doors, the singing (which is obviously done in a studio) sounds absurd -- where's the echo chamber? LOL!
Despite everything looking "real" in the physical sense, the art direction has gone way overboard in the sense that all the peasants are depicted as living far too grandly for Jews of that time and place. Tevye's house is a multi-story Ralph Lauren summer home, and sits on many acres of land -- in those days, he would have REALLY been a rich man if he had all that. When Tevye sings about being rich and owning chicken, I believe its meant to imply that he's too poor to actually own any -- not an excuse to cut to photography of his flock!
That being said, if you like the music and general story, it's all here, and reasonably faithful to the theatrical production in terms of plot, resolution, etc. Since there is no bringing back Zero Mostel, this is what we have! and probably a bit better than the typical community theater productions that still are around.
In conclusion, I see a lot of reviewers talk about the sadness of the ending, as the Jews are forced to leave Anatevka. Personally, I have never considered this as sad. The film distorts things a bit by depicting Tevye as a landowner with lots of farm animals, furniture, a house, etc. In reality, peasants this poor had virtually nothing. The reality -- as experienced by my own paternal grandmother, who left Russia in 1920 -- is that these Russian Jews came to America to lead vastly better lives in a free country. Not to mention that their children and grandchildren became successful doctors, lawyers, business owners. This is not a sad ending, folks -- it's the happiest ending of all time!