“Fiddler on the Roof” (1971)
Norman Jewison, despite his surname, was not Jewish. It was a common misunderstanding throughout his youth, and yet he was bullied by classmates. Jewison, however, would go on to make one of the classic Jewish films with the adaptation of the Broadway musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” which tells the story of Tevye the milkman and his family as a pogrom approaches their village , Anatevka.
Jewison brought a painterly quality to the film’s landscapes, once telling the New York Times that he “tried working in Chagall’s colors,” referring to the artist Marc Chagall. Anatevka is rendered in earth tones — a sunset has never looked more alive than the one behind the film’s protagonist. When Tevye speaks to the camera, breaking the fourth wall feels like a warm invitation rather than a thankless cinematic convention. Casting Israeli actor Chaim Topol to play Tevye over Zero Mostel, who had played the role on Broadway, Jewison eschewed star power in favor of an actor he felt would take audiences back in time.
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‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ (1973)
Jewison followed up “Fiddler” with another interpretation of a stage production — but one that couldn’t have been more different. Taking on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar,” Jewison leaned into the material’s operatic psychedelic rock vibes. While with “Fiddler” Jewison went for the truth, with “Superstar” he leaned into the inherent absurdity of a groovy cycle of Passion songs. His “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which was shot in Israel, seems set less in our universe than in an alternate one. Just take the “King Herod’s Song” number performed by Josh Mostel (son of actor Zero Mostel) and a chorus of bikini-clad dancers with body paint who look like they were dropped from “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.” The compositions are highly creative with a hallucinatory touch.
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‘Moonstruck’ (1987)
“Moonstruck” is probably Jewison’s most beloved film, and for good reason. It’s hard to find a film more exquisite than this romantic comedy directed from a script by John Patrick Shanley. “Moonstruck” is the kind of movie that sweeps you off your feet from the moment you hear Dean Martin sing “That’s Amore” over shots of the New York skyline. At the heart of the film is the romance between a widow, Loretta Castorini (Cher) and a tormented baker, Ronnie Camareri (Nicolas Cage), who happens to be the brother of her fiancé (a troubled Danny Aiello). But “Moonstruck” is also a coming-of-age story about the ways love consummates and wanes. Jewison treats Shanley’s story with the grandeur it deserves, staying true to the very feeling of being in love. If nothing else, “Moonstruck” is a testament to how much Jewison’s camera loved the actors, capturing Cage’s grandeur, Olympia Dukakis’ devilish wisdom as Loretta’s mother, and Cher’s emotional majesty. Dukakis and Cher won Oscars for their performances.