This morning for the EYG Genre-ary DailyView, I went to Prime and found yet another long, but classic musical, one with several well known songs, including one that I happen to have on my phone.

Fiddler on the Roof is a well known musical written by Joseph Stein. It was turned into a movie in 1971. It tells the story of a family of Jewish people living in a pre-revolutionary Russian village. Tevye (Topol) is a poor milkman who lives with his family in a Ukrainian village of Anatevka. He went about his life, following traditions and hoping to find matches for his five daughters. 

Tevye struggled with the changing world and his daughters’ choices that went against his long standing beliefs. 

Tevye spoke to the camera, being his own narrator through much of the movie. 

There are plenty of classic songs in the film including “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” and “Sunrise, Sunset.” 

The cast included Paul Michael Glaser (from Starsky & Hutch), Leonard Frey (who received an Academy Award nomination), Norma Crane, Rosalind Harris, Michele Marsh, Neva Small, Paul Mann, and Molly Picon.

There is not a clear throughline of a plot, focusing basically on Tevye’s family. There are a lot of Jewish culture and traditions shown in the film and it was fascinating to see how a different group of people live their lives.