[.ca] All That Jazz (Widescreen)

From Amazon.com:
Choreographer-turned-director Bob Fosse (Cabaret, Lenny) turns the camera on himself in this nervy, sometimes unnerving 1979 feature, a nakedly autobiographical piece that veers from gritty drama to razzle-dazzle musical, allegory to satire. It's an indication of his bravura, and possibly his self-absorption, that Fosse (who also cowrote the script) literally opens alter ego Joe Gideon's heart in a key scene--an unflinching glimpse of cardiac surgery, shot during an actual open-heart procedure. Roy Scheider makes a brave and largely successful leap out of his usual romantic lead roles to step into Gideon's dancing pumps, and supplies a plausible sketch of an extravagant, self-destructive, self-loathing creative dynamo, while Jessica Lange serves as a largely allegorical Muse, one of the various women that the philandering Gideon pursues (and usually abandons). Gideon's other romantic partners include Fosse's own protégé (and a major keeper of his choreographic style since his death), Ann Reinking, whose leggy grace is seductive both "onstage" and off. Fosse/Gideon's collision course with mortality, as well as his priapic obsession with the opposite sex, may offer clues into the libidinal core of the choreographer's dynamic, sexualized style of dance, but musical aficionados will be forgiven for fast-forwarding to cut out the self-analysis and focus on the music, period. At its best--as in the knockout opening, scored to George Benson's strutting version of "On Broadway," which fuses music, dance, and dazzling camera work into a paean to Fosse's hoofer nation--All That Jazz offers a sequence of classic Fosse numbers, hard-edged, caustic, and joyously physical. --Sam Sutherland

Additional Features:
The features on the All That Jazz DVD are for gourmets rather than gourmands--they don't last for hours, but they're extremely valuable. For example, Roy Scheider's 2001 commentary is scene-specific rather than running the length of the film, but he does comment on 23 different scenes, in segments ranging from 20 seconds to five minutes (about 40 minutes total), offering us a behind-the-scenes look at the film and at Fosse himself (Scheider mentions he made Ann Reinking audition to play the part based on herself). There are also three brief interviews (less than three minutes total) that Scheider recorded on the set during filming, and five clips (7.5 minutes) of Fosse directing the opening "On Broadway" number; picture and sound aren't great, but it's a fascinating look at Fosse in action. --David Horiuchi

still getting over the film...and I saw it four years ago...:
This film sounded really intriguing because I had heard about the legendary Bob Fosse and had also caught him as one of the dancers in KISS ME KATE. He is best known for CABARET and SWEET CHARITY, as director. He was also a choreographer and a performer. There were a lot of things I didn't know about the man. These factors were brought to the light after watching this film. Bob Fosse (or Joe Gideon, played by Roy Scheider) is a self-destructive, drug-addicted, egotistical nymphomaniac whose personality traits come out in the work he creates for the stage. One of the most disturbing scenes for me is repeated throughout the course of the film. He takes a shower, swigs some alcohol while downing pills, puts in eye drops and says, "Showtime!" Throughout the course of the film, as we become more aware of his self-destructive patterns, his compulsive womanizing, his obsession with sex and perfection at all costs I found myself getting progressively sicker and sicker. In fact, after I watched the film I was so disturbed I couldn't sleep. The whole story was like the ultimate nightmare for me. The dance numbers looked like they took place in someone's basement in hell. The songs, some of which were old Broadway standards came across as being snide and mean-spirited, artificial and forced. This film took every notion we ever had of Broadway, performing, dance and the arts and squashed them all like a bug under a giant magnifying glass. Though, for some people this is riveting and refreshing, for me it is the ultimate example of when excess and vanity go too far.

has one of the most drawn out death scenes ever !:
The good news about this film... some phenomenal choreography, and very strong performances by the ensemble... The bad news... woe, do they milk that death scene and the open heart surgery... It seems to go on and on and on for about half the film, until you feel like applauding when he finally goes... any minute, any minute, any minute... beeeeeeeeeeeee...pppp... oh wait... another dance number ! ! ! - - At times, it also has the feel of one of those great Broadway musicals captured on film, but that just doesn't seem to work as well on film (all in all, Broadway dance numbers are rarely true to themselves when captured on screen... atleast if you saw them on stage...) - - In the end, any film featuring Fosse or about his work is well worth seeing... however, unlike the great Fosse musicals, this film does have a tendency to drag at times (in terms of plot) (Yeah, we get the point, too much boozin', womanizing, a clogged artery, and he's about to go...) ... the choreography borders on making up for it though... I say borders because with such great acting, dancing and scripting you'd wonder why both couldn't have fit in together.

THE JAZZY, SNAZZY, MORBID UNDERBELLY OF SHOWBIZ:
What a dazzlingly engaging experimentation with the medium of film as we take an evocative peep into the life of a showbiz-obsessed director Fosse -- the hedonistic man behind the actual stage version of "Chicago." Apart from being a truly sexy turn-on of a musical, it hits one out of the park as an exploration of an artist at war with himself. Somewhat indulgent, yes, but it is the brutally honest potrayal of the many imperfections (girls, gin, glitz) of a perfectionist, in all his triumphs and trials, that makes this film a very, very endearing experience. The bleak undertones may scare the faint-hearted but for them there's all the riveting stage action. A wholesome film that belongs in your own collections, not just in your Blockbuster records.

Narcissism On Center Stage:
The whole point of the movie is Fosse is a narcissistic (...)and freely admits it. He revels in it. His attitude is not "do or don't do what I do" but, rather, I don't care what you or anyone else does because I'm special and you aren't. Sort of a Barry Bonds of the dance world. Fosse sees the Broadway dance musicals business as fake and silly. Actually, he is the one who is fake and silly and, like all narcissists, in his heart of hearts, he knows it. A rollercoaster ride of drug and alcohol binges and loud garish dance nuumbers. Brilliantly conceived and excellently acted by scheider.

An Incandescent Entertainment:
This is vintage Bob Fosse at the height of his game. Roy Scheider portrays Joe Gideon, a pill-popping womanizing workaholic who is literally unable to stop his compulsive bad behavior and the manipulation of the people around him, even at the cost of his life. The movie is reputedly semi-autobiographical, and its eye is not necessarily warm, but it is probing. We see Joe Gideon's complicated relationships with his ex-wife, his daughter, his financial backers, and his colleagues, and its not a pretty picture. But we also see Joe Gideon's gift, his manic desire to drive his performers to truly achieve, and not settle for mediocrity. And the devices through which the story is told, good old-fashioned singing and dancing production numbers are just brilliant. This film is getting on in years, it turns 25 in 2004, but the underlying story of razzle dazzle on Broadway, and the toll it exacts, remains as fresh and vibrant as ever.