Fiddler on the Roof is a 1971 American period musical film based on the 1964 stage musical by Joseph Stein, Jerry Bock, and Sheldon Harnick, which itself is based on Tevye and His Daughters by Sholem Aleichem. Directed by Norman Jewison from a screenplay by Stein, the film centers on Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman in early 20th-century Imperial Russia who is faced with the challenge of marrying off his five daughters amidst the growing tension in his shtetl. It stars Chaim Topol, Norma Crane, Leonard Frey, Molly Picon, Paul Mann, Rosalind Harris, Michèle Marsh, Neva Small and Paul Michael Glaser. The musical score, composed by Bock with lyrics by Harnick, was adapted and conducted by John Williams.
Filmed at Pinewood Studios in England and on-location in SR Croatia, Fiddler on the Roof was theatrically released on November 3, 1971, by United Artists to critical and commercial success. Reviewers praised Jewison's direction, the screenplay, and the performances of the cast, while the film grossed $83.3Â million worldwide on a $9Â million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1971.