Movies, Kids & Family, Drama, Religion, N.Y.) -- Drama 

From the novel by the same name by Chaim Potok. In 1944, in Brooklyn, two Jewish kids become friends. One is from a very conservative family, and the other is more liberal. The issues of importance of tradition, parental expectations and the formation of Israel cause constant friction.

Rated PG 

Despite being the same age, having grown up within blocks of each other, and both being Jewish, late teens Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter don't really know each other - knowing each other only by name and by sight - as Orthodox Danny stays largely within his own Hasidic community, which is just fine in Reuven's mind. An incident between the two which on the surface threatens to tear them even further apart instead blossoms into a friendship between the two. They begin to learn more and more about the other and their lives, which for Danny includes becoming a rabbi, solely as it is a several generations old family calling. In Reb Saunders' mind, he who rules his family by strict Hasidic traditions, Danny becoming the next rabbi in the family is not even a question, despite Danny, deep in his heart, wanting other secular pursuits which he has not told his father. Conversely, Reuven has modern sensibilities, being raised in a two-person household by his widowed academic father, Professor David Malter. Ultimately, the views of each father may tear Danny and Reuven's friendship apart, regardless of whether each son believes wholeheartedly in what his father espouses. Professor Malter is a confirmed Zionist who believes in a secular Jewish state in Palestine, while Reb Saunders believes such thinking against Judaism, with only the Messiah being able to lead his people into such. As they grow into adulthood, Danny and Reuven becoming his own man may further alter their relationship. 

Top Cast

Maximilian Schell as Professor David Malter
Rod Steiger as Reb Saunders
Robby Benson as Danny Saunders
Barry Miller as Reuven Malter
Hildy Brooks as Mrs. Saunders
Kaethe Fine as Shaindel Saunders
Ron Rifkin as Baseball Coach
Robert John Burke as Levi Saunders (as Robert Burke)
Lonny Price as Davey
Evan Handler as Sidney Goldberg
Douglas Warhit as Sam
Jeffrey Marcus as Schwartzie (as Jeff Marcus)
Stuart Charno as 1st Baseman
Richard Lifschutz as Hassidic Coach
Clement Fowler as Doctor
John Pankow as Bully
Richard Ziman as Bully
Bruce MacVittie as Bully