If I were a rich man, The Unenthusiastic Critic would probably be less resentful about watching Norman Jewison's Fiddler on the Roof (1971), starring Topol, Norma Crane, Rosalind Harris, Michele Marsh, Neva Small, and Molly Picon.
First, with 2019 coming to an end, we're having a brief "Year in Review" discussion, and trying to determine if The Unenthusiastic Critic was actually enthusiastic about any of the movies we watched this year.
Then—in celebration of its recent status as a Christmas Eve Sing-a-Long staple—we're sitting down for Nakea's first viewing of Fiddler on the Roof, the hit adaptation of one of the most beloved Broadway musicals of all time. And we're having a lively discussion about maintaining cultural identity, marrying for love instead of money, and which one of Tevye's sons-in-law would be better in bed.
Come for the songs, stay for the free-floating holiday hostility.
Program
0:00: Prologue: from Fiddler on the Roof
0:39: Preliminary Conversation: Our Year in Review
15:08: Interlude: Re-Release Trailer
16:56: Cultural Osmosis: Pre-Viewing Discussion
31:28: Interlude: Scene from Fiddler on the Roof
32:42: The Verdict: Post-Viewing Discussion
1:17:45: Outro and Next Week's Movie
Notes and Links
—Movie Reviewed: Fiddler on the Roof (dir. Norman Jewison, United Artists, 1971)
—Links and Resources: "A New Jewish Christmas Tradition: Watching Fiddler on the Roof at Your Local Movie Theater," Tom Tugend, Jewish Telegraphic Agency; "The Jewish Mark Twain," William Deresiewicz, The Atlantic; "Tevye, Today and Beyond," Alisa Solomon, Forward.
—Find additional episodes, leave a comment, or make a donation to support the podcast at unaffiliatedcritic.com.
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—"Warm Duck Shuffle" by Arne Huseby is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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