Fiddler on the Roof

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The CD is useless
I'm not about to review Fiddler on The Roof or a give a complete history of all its various incarnations like other reviewers have. We all acknowledge it's great. One of the best, if not THE best, musicals ever. I'm here to write about this particular packaging of the "DVD with CD". I don't know about you, but I naturally thought the CD was a CD of the soundtrack so that you can then listen to the songs while driving in your car or hanging around the house. No - it's not a soundtrack CD, which explains the relatively low price - it's a CD of 70's songs. While some are great (Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye and ABC by the Jackson 5), what the heck does "The Night Chicago Died" have to do with Fiddler on The Roof? Or "Reunited" by Peaches and Herb? Maybe they thought Herb worked in the deli down the street!?!?! I'm not sure if the same CD is included in everyone's package, but here's the listing for my CD: Billy Don't Be A Hero-Donaldson & The Heywood's Maggie May-Rod Stewart The Night Chicago Died-Paper Lace ABC-Jackson 5 Ant No Mountain High Enough-Diana Ross Lets Get It On-Marvin Gaye War-Edwin Starr Reunited- Peaches&Herb To paraphrase Edwin Starr, "What is this CD good for?" Almost absolutely nothing as everybody should already have Marvin Gaye, The Jackson 5, Diana Ross and Rod Stewart on their Ipod already!?!?!? If you want a DVD of Fiddler on The Roof and another version is cheaper - go for that version. Don't think you're getting anything special with the bonus CD.

I love Fiddler on the Roof
Ever since I had a part in "Fiddler on the Roof", while in college, it has been my favorite musical. It is really a great production.

just a delight
I'd never seen this before getting the DVD, or at least never seen the entire film. I knew all the songs already, and my husband says we saw it as a play, but if we did, a lot of stuff was cut out. Milkman Tevye (Topol), his wife, and five (!) daughters in pre-revolutionary Russia. I remember my parents going to see this at the theater, probably back in 1971, when it was released, and listening to my mom and some of her friends swooning over Topol. I have to say, I can see their point. It's not the appearance, it's the character. One by one, his older daughters buck tradition and choose their own husbands by falling in love: a penniless tailor, a revolutionary teacher, and a local, non-Jewish Russian boy. And despite his bluster at not being obeyed as the head of the household, one by one they twist him around their little fingers. (The last one almost doesn't succeed.) One of the sweetest moments in the movie comes when all this romance gets to Tevye and he asks his wife of many years if she loves him. It's a wonderfully emotional snapshot of the setting--the time and the place, but it's not just historical drama. It's about the struggle to find, accept, and hold on to one's roles in the family and in society, something everyone can relate to. The historical parts--the anti-Semitism that forced these people from their homes--were hard to watch, but important, especially if the thinking they provoke extends beyond the specific people, time, and place. The lesson is all the more powerful for being surrounded by warmth and humor. The music is, of course, the first thing I think of, and is just perfect. Even my kids liked it, and I've heard warped versions of "If I Were a Rich Man" around the house a few times since we finished watching the movie.

A must have for the wide screen TV
If you own only one classic musical film get this one first. It is a wonderful integration of music into a story. A brilliant translation to the wide screen. And Topol is outstanding in his somewhat underplayed (relatively speaking) performance which allows the rest of the cast their moments of glory. It may not represent the poverty of the Russian shtetl, but it is a warm,ingratiating story of how one man came to accept the modern world. And a little bit of ancestral cultural feeling. And shows why groups often reject change as it tears down the traditions that sustain their human pride in a dizzy political mire that was Eastern Europe for Jewry. Just wonderful technically in its use of the wide canvas of Panavision. Let's look for a blu ray DVD soon...

Good reproduction of a film that was originally a play!
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film with my granddaughter. Her Performance group in middle school are going to present their version of this play and she wanted to see the dvd in order to understand and be able to relate to the story. I had not seen the Broadway performance of the long running version, but I loved the music and knew what the story was about. This dvd was excellent and gave me a certain warmness towards the culture that existed in the period of the story. It gave a good message regarding acceptance and forgiveness. of a sorts, towards family even though their restrictions were not upheld. I recommend this to the whole family for its sorrows and hope. BM