Everything you always wanted to know about Fiddler on the Roof and more. With a name like Norman Jewison, the last question the producers of the movie adaptation thought their choice for director would ask was, “What would you say if I told you I was a goy?” Anecdotes like this one delight by the dozen, but documentary director, co-writer, and co-producer Max Lewkowicz also provides a deeper look within the historical context surrounding the 1964 Broadway tale of immigrants that eventually became a musical blockbuster which coincided with the dawn of both the civil rights movement and women’s liberation. Unlike Funny Girl, this is one of the few musicals of its day that didn’t trade on nostalgia to sell tickets. (As Fran Liebowitz points out, what is there about a shtetl that necessitates sentiment?) Several of the principal songs are given a detailed inception-to-outcome breakdown by scholars, performers, and, when possible, show creators. “Sunrise, Sunset” has become a part of every Jewish wedding and/or Bar/Bat Mitzvah band’s repertoire. Heck, a tale as steeped in tradition as this can’t help but generate at least a few customs of its own. (2019) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.