Search - Sallah (PAL / Region 2) on DVD

An Israeli Classic

Amos Lassen | Little Rock, Arkansas | 05/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Sallah"

An Israeli Classic

Amos Lassen

"Reality is the stuff that dreams are made of" and "Sallah Shabati" is a dream of a movie. It is probably safe to say that this movie brought Israeli films into the modern age and made Topol an international star.
The movie looks at a period in history that is not known to many--the period during the early days of the State of Israel when the downtrodden of world Jewry made its way to the new nation with hopes of a better life. We have been told how the new settlers had to adapt and persevere in a new land in a new place. In "Sallah" we see a depiction of life in the early years of Israel. Ephraim Kishon, the Israeli satirist wrote and directed the film and when the movie was filmed there was only one camera available in the entire country. Kishon also admitted that he had no idea how to make a film but he surrounded himself with experts and there was an attempt to stop the distribution of "Sallah". Even so it became a hit, won many awards and received an Academy Award nomination in 1965. Kishon proved that good films can be made where there is nary financial backing and little equipment.
The film is a comedic look at the resettlement of Jews in Israel and the problems of housing the population in the early days of statehood. Two of the greatest actors that Israel has produced appear in the movie--Haim Topol and Gila Almagor.
The movie is in Hebrew with English subtitles. Sallah Shabati is a new immigrant with lots of children and they face hardships in adjustment to the new country and herein lay the humor.
The music is amazing and watching the movie fills the viewer with pride for the small country of Israel.
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Terrific Israeli Comedy about Challenges of Immigration

Gerard D. Launay | Berkeley, California | 04/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Among the top 50 Israeli films, this one is likely to appear on everyone's list. Topol is absolutely hilarious as an incorrigible layabout who is always looking for a (creative) way to avoid work. For example, many know that donors to Israel are promised a grove or tree in their name. Rather than plant new trees, Topol goes about changing the names assigned to the trees already planted...making sure he gets advance notice of the donors about to visit "their grove." From a serious standpoint, the film does exhibit some of the real problems that immigrants face in adjusting to life in Israel including the poor quality of some of the accomodations. For fans of Topol, check out some of his other films such as Left Luggage or Galileo."

L'Chaim!

Steve Reina | Troy Michigan | 07/31/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Chaim Topol, who stars as the ertswhile Sallah Shabati, really brings this movie to life.

And as he does so, he helps tell the humourous side of the story of the founding of the State of Israel, from the perspective of one of its less esteemed emigrees.

He religously avoids work. He does for the local kibbutz election what the Marx brothers did for opera. He attempts to secure a payment from his daughter's romantic suitor.

And he even keeps changing the identification placards near a single Israeli tree so that its various donars can all visit (albeit, of course, not at the same time).

Of course, any movie starring Topol invites the inevitable discussion his more noted (and later) role as Tevye the Milk Man in the super famous Fidler on the Roof. And yes, much like he would do later, he plays beyond his age.

Amazingly, when the movie was made Topol was only 27 years old, something you could just as easily miss here as you could miss it in Fidler.

And yes, much like his later portrayal, Tevye is the quintessential family man, struggling to provide for his large brood, though Shabati obviously lacks Tevye's more obvious work ethic.

However, this is a movie that rightly deserves attention for what it was. Amazingly, it was made back when there was only one movie camera in the entire State of Israel. Despite that fact (and other obvious limited resources) this movie went on to score a foreign film Academy Award nomination in 1965.

So don't watch it for Tevye. Watch it for Sallah and enjoy."