Fiddler on the Roof – 1971
Director
Norman Jewison

Writers
Sholom Aleichem
Joseph Stein

Cast
Topol
Norma Crane
Leonard Frey

Reviewed by Wayne Malin

Loud, lively but too long,

Musical about the life of Jews in pre-Revolutionary Russia. Well-done with good acting (especially Topol) and some good songs and incredible dances…but at 3 hours it’s way too long. Some of the songs are real duds and should have been cut and some of the dances go on forever. From what I’ve heard, this was never a big hit–in fact it was reissued in 1981 cut by 30 minutes! I’m usually against editing films but in this case it needs it. So it’s good but overlong.