All That Jazz

I'm an older dancer, (Ann Reinking (rest in peace) and I share the same birth date. I am still dancing and teaching. This is of course VERY entertaining, and the Blu Ray restoration is superb. I have had the DVD version for years. Mr. Fosse was not Roy Scheider's character, Joe Gideon, but parts are VERY much Mr. Fosse. Roy Scheider inhabited Bob Fosse, the good, the bad and the ugly. And the cattle call scene? Oh yes! Anyone in theater and particularly dancers know what that is! That feeling of "thank you, next, next group!" is as real as it gets. You are a number, hoping your number will be the dancer that they want, and you will make the next cut. The extras included, particularly the interview with Ann and the now adult Ms. Foldi IS a master class, and revealed so much about the actual Bob Fosse. When I dance Fosse, or teach it, you can feel his guiding choreographic touch right next to you, and THAT comes out in this movie. Its not ballet, its not jazz, its Fosse! This is of course a story of nihilism and self doubt, and Bob Fosse directed and choreographed it. Anyone who gets on stage feels that self doubt (that "why am I even here" feeling) - "Its showtime folks!". This is a beautiful movie, that belongs on every dancers book shelf, particularly if you study Fosse or are dancing it. But it has lessons for everyone. FIVE stars plus another FIVE stars. Ah five, six, seven eight!!!

“Life is the wire, everything else is just waiting”Criterion has released the restored and beautiful version of All That Jazz. The colors, the skin tones, the atmosphere is perfectly and beautifully presented. For a 40 year old film the 3 channel DTS sound is very clear and dynamic. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and the technical aspects of the disc are outstanding.This is an unusual musical movie. In it Bob Fosse, the director, displays his own life and predicts his own death. And he paints a picture of show business that is cynical, cruel, selfish, self-destructing and enormously appealing.I enjoy seeing the movie a second time, more than the first because you learn who the people are and what they are doing. Oh, you know that the spectacular performance of Roy Scheider is there to duplicate the director, Bob Fosse. But Jessica Lange is beautiful, mysterious and dangerous, and someone who Fosse, here named Joe Gideon, had been courting all of his life.“Do you think Stanley Kubrick ever gets depressed?”The movie is a genuine and also a fantasy, with realism enhanced by fantasy, often in dance. Gideon (Fosse) is man who smoked too much, drank too much, took too many drugs to often and never worked to maintain a relationship. You like him and maybe feel sorry for him, but you never really root for him. This movie was made in 1979 and, almost a decade later, Fosse died of the same ailment that befalls Joe Gideon in this film.Upon seeing the movie after his death, the penultimate scene with Ms. Lange, will go to your heart.

Bob Fosse was undoubtably a bastard and a genius. And, on top of both of those things, he was also incredible honest. Despite being a serial liar.This movie is basically his autobiography -- about the insane time when he was directing both the risky Broadway musical "Chicago" while ALSO directing Dustin Hoffman in the Academy Award nominated bio-pic "Lenny" (about Lenny Bruce).Unlike most filmmakers, Fosse does not shy from his faults. In fact, he puts them centerstage. He's a bastard. He admits he is. And he doesn't try to sugar coat it. That's why this brilliant masterpiece is one of the most gut wrenchingly beautiful emotional cadavers in film history. Hell, he put his own lover in the role of herself and had her play out scenes as they happened. Word for word. No rewrites. No apologies. Just the truth. Brutal and ugly. And dazzlingly entertaining.Roy Scheider (once again) shows why he was one of the biggest movie stars of the 1970s. He plays the fictional version of Bob and holy hell does he knock it out of the park. He was robbed of the Oscar that year (he was nominated). It's a performance that stands the test of time. Filled with humor, love, pathos, revulsion, pain and magic.There isn't a false beat in the whole thing. And I once again tip my hat to Criterion - they do one helluva transfer. This looks and sounds great. Top notch. Worth every dollar. This is a desert island movie for me - and I don't even like musicals. But it's not a "musical." It's all motivated (no stupid breaking out in song in the middle of a scene). This is quite simply one of the best movies ever made.

All that Jazz (1979) is another Bob Fosse masterpiece. After the huge success of Cabaret in 1972, the bar was set high to deliver another great movie musical. Here, Director Fosse makes another musical that’s geared toward an adult audience. Roy Scheider stars as Joe Gideon, a stressed out, chain smoking choreographer who flirts with death throughout the story, suffering major health setbacks, mirroring Fosse’s own path in life in a lot of ways. While some people think this story is a downer, I thought it was funny and very entertaining. I laughed several times throughout the film, and couldn’t wait to see what happened next. This musical is a breath of fresh air from the usual upbeat musical; we’re dealing with a self-destructive and ultimately tragic character who just happens to find humor in almost everything he does, and that is a refreshing combination. The Criterion Collection blu ray is an excellent transfer and comes with the usual booklet and several special features. I highly recommend All that Jazz for your movie musical collection.