Showing posts with label Norman Jewison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Norman Jewison. Show all posts

Thursday, April 14, 2022

Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen (2022)


Director Daniel Raim continues his quest to champion the art of filmmaking with his latest documentary Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen (2022). Narrated by Jeff Goldblum, this documentary takes a deep dive into the making of Fiddler on the Roof (1971), director Norman Jewison's personal and professional journey and all of the key players who came to together to make one of the greatest musical films of all time.

Fiddler on the Roof was the brainchild of composer Jerry Bock, lyricist Sheldon Harnick and writer Joseph Stein. The inspiration came from a selection of short stories by Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem called Teyve and his Daughters as well as artist Marc Chagall's 1912 painting The Fiddler. The play opened on Broadway in 1964 and there was some concern that the story would only appeal to a small Jewish audience. However, Fiddler's tale of a Jewish dairy farmer who attempts to marry off his five daughters in pre-revolutionary Russia, is a story of family, tradition and the inevitability of change. This gave the story a universal appeal and along with the excellent story and top-notch musical numbers, Fiddler was an international success. And naturally it was destined to become a film. 

Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen explores the history behind the Broadway show, how Norman Jewison came to be involved, the casting, musical direction, art direction, location scouting, choreography, cinematography and many other elements that came to make the film as well as Fiddler's legacy. There is so much here to take in but it never feels overwhelming. 

The documentary includes interviews with director Norman Jewison, lyricist Sheldon Harnick, musical director John Williams, actresses Rosalind Harris (Tzeitel), Michele Marsh (Hodel) and Neva Small (Chava) and film critic Kenneth Turan. There are also archival interviews of Jewison back in 2000 as well as actor Topol and art director Robert F. Boyle. The interviews add so much to this documentary. There is nothing quite like first hand accounts of an important moment in film history. And much like Daniel Raim's other documentaries, there are illustrations from artist Patrick Mate as well as plenty of archival footage and behind-the-scenes photographs. The documentary is also is chock full of interesting facts even beyond just the making of Fiddler on the Roof. Watching it felt like I was getting two documentaries for the price of one: the making of a film and the biography of its director. 


Courtesy of Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber

Courtesy of Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber


"My documentaries preserve film history and depict the art, craft, and soul of the movies through intimate portraits of cinema artists." — Daniel Raim


I was already a fan of Daniel Raim's other work, especially Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story which continues to be my favorite documentary. I also really loved Image Makers: The Adventures of America’s Pioneer Cinematographers and In Search of Ozu (available on the Criterion Channel). He scores another win with Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen.




An engrossing documentary from start to finish, Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen is a must watch for fans of the musical and for anyone interested in the art of filmmaking.


Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen is distributed by Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber (I'm hoping a blu-ray/dvd release is in the near future!). It opens at the Angelika Film Center in NYC on April 29th and the Laemmle Royal and Town Center in LA on May 6th which many more screenings to follow. Visit the official page for more details.


Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Cinema Shame: Fiddler on the Roof (1971)



Fiddler on the Roof (1971) was always one of those classic musicals that I've meant to see but I never got around to. When the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival schedule was announced, I saw the film was part of their Sunday morning line-up. And the director Norman Jewison, who has directed some of my absolute favorite films, was going to be in attendance at the screening. TCMFF is the best venue to experience a film for the first time. Unfortunately it didn't happen. When Sunday morning rolled around, I was very sick from the physical effects of social anxiety. I've since gotten over that and can attend the festivals with no problems.

Fast forward to the 2016 TCM festival when I got to meet film researcher Lillian Michelson on the red carpet. She was there with director Daniel Raim and producer Jennifer Raim to screen their documentary Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story. This is a documentary I've been championing ever since I watched it in November of 2015. In the film, Lillian discusses how she did research for Fiddler on the Roof and she met with Jewish ladies "of a certain age" at a deli and asked what young girls wore for undergarments. One of the ladies fetched her a pattern and the end result was period-specific undergarments, with scalloping on the bottom, in the Matchmaker musical number.





In my brief red carpet interview with Lillian Michelson (which you can watch here), I asked her which of the films she worked on was her favorite. And her answer was Fiddler on the Roof. Her research went beyond just the clothing so when you see the film you know the specifics are as true to turn-of-the-century Russia as possible. Also for Lillian this helped connect her to her familial roots.

Fast forward to 2018 and I was heading back to California for my sixth TCM festival. I was scheduled to have a lunch with Lillian, Daniel and Jennifer and I knew I had to watch Fiddler before I got there. The film on briefly came up in conversation but I was glad that I finally got to see that film that meant so much to Lillian, and to the Raims too!

I really connected with Fiddler. Even though I was raised Protestant and I don't know what it feels like to deal with Anti-Semitism, I connected with the story about family, about marrying for love, going against ingrained cultural norms and the disconnect between generations. The movie is over 3 hours long but it didn't feel it. The plot and the pacing are perfect and I was swept into this family saga and stayed engaged the whole time. I can see how it became a beloved musical. I would watch Fiddler again in a heartbeat.



Fiddler on the Roof (1971) is the third of eight films that I am watching for the 2018 Cinema Shame challenge. Check out my original list and stay tuned for more reviews!

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