This legendary Broadway musical receives an innovative screen treatment with this film. Topol is proud, powerful, and affable in the lead role, Tevye, one of those parts that will make or break any production of Fiddler. He makes it, but there's more to admire than just him. The somewhat surreal sequences where Tevye is comtemplating a dilemma are delightful, and this was the first screen musical to solve a fundamental problem with the medium. On stage, the end of musical numbers is punctuated by applause; on screen, there's often an awkward silence. For this filmed version of Fiddler On the Roof, the problem was solved by fading out or tracking away from musical numbers; this effective technique has been used in filmed musicals many times since.